A University for Swindon is vital to unlock the talents of local people and drive economic regeneration. What a shame that the Tories are undermining the prospect of bringing a University to Swindon by selling off land at North Star and cutting Higher Education funding by 80 per cent.
Swindon desperately needs a University for the future of our town. Families would be able to send their children to a local university, ensuring a high class education and unlocking the potential of our young people. A University could integrate with industry to provide opportunities for working people to develop their skills and fulfill their ambitions. A University would also drive economic regeneration by attracting new businesses and bringing new jobs to the town.
After 6 years, the Tory Council appears to be no closer to securing a University for Swindon. Many people have questioned whether the Tories really want a University for our town. The proposals to sell the land at North Star would appear to confirm this, as it would undermine the viability of North Star for a University campus.
At the same time the Tory and Liberal Democrats including our local MP’s are cutting University funding by an eye watering 80 per cent and trebling tuition fees. These measures will decimate Universities, will mean that fewer students from Swindon will be able to go to University; and will be a massively damaging to the plans for a University for Swindon.
Students and families will be saddled with debts of between £30,000 and £50,000 for a three-year programme, the highest charged by public universities in the world. Trebling tuition fees will lead to future generations of students being burdened with massive debts, and those from the poorest backgrounds priced out of the best universities.
The Liberal Democrats should hang their heads in shame. Their support for these vicious cuts; and their U-turn on tuition fees will be remembered for many years to come.
A University for Swindon would transform people’s lives, and transform the future of our town. However the Tories and the Liberal Democrats are wrecking our chances of bringing a University to our town, jeopardising the future of many of our young people, and putting a massive financial burden on families across the town.