Student debt could be a sleeping giant in the run-up to the Scottish
Parliament elections, with more than 300,000 potential voters affected
by student loan debt and the Scottish National Party promising to write
that debt off.
A sea change in the political atmosphere is seeing students more
motivated to vote than they have been in a long time, but with the
student population far less party political, promises such as writing
off student loan debt look set to attract floating voters, providing
the SNP can make enough voters aware of its pledge.
Fiona Hyslop, the SNP’s education spokeswoman stressed that the
policy was not about attracting votes, but about doing what was best
for Scotland – “encouraging young Scots to stay in education, giving
graduates freedom from the massive debt burden and helping our economy
by freeing people up to make a contribution”.
“What we have found is that voters both students and their concerned
parents are responding to that sensible and practical approach to
politics and are being attracted to the SNP’s positive vision for
Scottish education.”
The impact of student loan debt as an issue is backed up by both
statistical and anecdotal evidence. For example, an extensive study
carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Scottish Funding Council
interviewed thousands of students graduating from courses in Scotland
in 2004. Of those students, more than one third said that they would
like to take further courses, but that debt put them off.
Thirty-one per cent said that they were seriously worried about
debts resulting from their study, with this figure rising to 37 per
cent of respondents from deprived areas, and 46 per cent of non-white
learners.
Twenty-nine per cent of respondents who had gained a qualification
in 2004 and gone into work were in an inappropriate job in order to pay
off debts.
There is also anecdotal evidence of voters turning to the SNP
because of student loans. For example, Laura Evans, a pharmacist in
Edinburgh said that she had never been particularly interested in
politics, and did not follow the last election much, but that she has
been following what might happen in May much more “as it feels like the
outcome could really affect me personally”.
“I’m trying to get on the property ladder and have been looking
since December last year but it’s so expensive. My salary is
reasonable, but I have no savings for a deposit and I know I’ll
struggle to meet the repayments of somewhere even half decent on a 100
per cent mortgage.
“I went to university to become a pharmacist, a career that is
vitally important to the wellbeing of Scotland and I’m still paying off
my student loan – four years on.”
Evans said that she was definitely going to vote SNP because of the
party’s position on student debt and student loans. “We should be
inspiring people to go to university by showing them the opportunities
that exist from being a graduate instead of saddling them with a load
of debt.”
Campbell Arnott, currently doing an MA in Digital Media Design at
Glasgow Caledonian University, said that he was “definitely” going to
vote for the SNP because of his student loan debt, which currently
stands at about £16,500.
“At the moment, it’s one of the most important things in my life and
if it’s a choice to vote for someone to be going to pay it back and
someone who’s not going to pay back then I’m going to vote for the
first one.”
However, he said that the debt involved in getting his qualifications had not been a deterrent to undertaking them.
Holyrood undertook a random survey of 25 students at
Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University to find out what their voting
intentions were, what their awareness was of the SNP’s proposals to
wipe out student debt and if the latter would make any difference to
the former.
Out of the 25, comprised of 15 male students and 10 female, all
between 18 and 24 years old, 14 said that the SNP’s pledge to write off
student loan debt could make a difference to how they voted.
The majority of respondents, 23, said they would vote in May’s
elections, with only one person saying that they were not going to vote
because there was “no point”. Of those planning to vote, the vast
majority were undecided.
Fourteen were floating voters, four said they would vote Liberal
Democrat, two SNP, one Labour, one Conservative and one “other”. There
was relatively low awareness of the SNP’s plans to write off student
debt, with 17 respondents unaware of the policy.
Of those who were aware of the pledge, one said that they were aware
of it and it would be a definite factor in their voting choice, and
another said they were aware but would not be voting SNP.
No one has commented on this article.
Related news items:
|
