Sir Keir Starmer told students that a Labour government had no plans to abolish tuition fees because the country could not afford it.
The Labour leader was asked about the fees during a question-and-answer session with around 20 A-level students from three schools in Liverpool, hosted by the Liverpool Echo newspaper.
James Moran, a student at The Blue Coat School in Wavertree, asked Sir Keir if a Labour government would consider slashing interest rates on student loans or abolishing tuition fees.
Sir Keir said: “One of the things I was initially attracted to was abolishing tuition fees. Having now looked at the state of the country’s finances, I think that’s impossible and therefore we won’t make that choice.
“Some people say, ‘Well you said you wanted to abolish tuition fees and now you don’t’.
“The truth is, the state of the finances as you will have seen, has changed and difficult choices have to be made.”
Isaac Banks, a student at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy in Crosby, asked how Labour would close the attainment gap between state and privately educated youngsters.
