WATCH: Shadow minister said students would have their debts 'wiped off' by Labour
2 min read
A shadow minister told students before the election that they would have their debts "wiped off" by a Labour government, it has been revealed.
Imran Hussain's comments, which he made in campaign video, appear at odds with Jeremy Corbyn's insistence that the party never made that specific pledge.
Mr Corbyn told the NME in a pre-election video that he would "deal with" the student debt burden.
He and other senior party figures have subsequently claimed that did not equate to a firm promise to eliminate all student debt.
However, in his video - which was published this morning by the Guido Fawkes website - the shadow justice minister said: "Just this morning Jeremy Corbyn has announced that the tuition fees will be abolished straight away from September if there’s a Labour government, and that we will bring back immediately EMA and also that every existing student will have all their debt wiped off. That’s fantastic news, isn’t it guys?"
Meanwhile, a tweet by another Labour frontbencher, Sharon Hodgson, also emerged in which she also appeared to encourage students to vote for the party to have their debts cancelled.
SHAMBLES
Schools minister Nick Gibb said the video was further evidence that Labour had tried to deceive students.
He said: "Day by day Labour’s top team are being found out for their betrayal over student debt. Their irresponsible offers to students are unravelling before our eyes.
"It is becoming abundantly clear that Labour’s election pledges were pure fantasy and they cannot be trusted to keep their promises – will they now step forward and apologise to this country’s young voters?
"Whilst Labour are in shambles the Conservatives are getting on with the job of building a better future for hard-working people across the country."
Universities minister accused Mr Corbyn of a "cover-up".
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
