Martin Lewis addresses university tuition fee hike and says 'to be really clear'

Martin Lewis has discussed the university tuition fee rise - saying it's "worth it". The BBC and ITV star spoke out after it emerged university tuition fees in England are to go up in October 2025 for the first time in eight years.

If linked to inflation, it could take fees up to a record £9,500 in October 2025, providing some respite for universities who have been struggling with a deepening financial crisis. Mr Lewis tweeted on Twitter/X: "Just to be really clear if you asked me "Is it worth raising max tuition fees by 3.1% to get a 3.1% rise in maintenance loans (both now confirmed)?".

"My answer is YES. Tuition fee rises don't effect most 1st time students (unless so wealthy they opt not to get loans), they affect graduates and the only ones who will pay more due to the rise are mid-high to high earning graduates (and only small % more).

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"The terrible degradation of living loans has hit those from low income backgrounds - who can't afford to live while they study - and thus social mobility. So a rise is important though more is needed to catch up with the huge past years real term cuts.

"Explanations below." Domestic undergraduate tuition fees in England have been capped at £9,250 since 2017 but have been eroded in value by high inflation, forcing universities to rely on uncapped tuition fees from international students to balance their books.

It is likely to be deeply unpopular with current and future students, who were once told by the Labour party that tuition fees would be scrapped. For vice-chancellors, the concern is the increase will be nowhere near enough.

The University of Sussex’s vice-chancellor and president, Prof Sasha Roseneil, said the small increases in fees and maintenance loans announced by the government would begin to address their erosion by inflation, “but unfortunately neither students nor universities will find adequate solutions in these modest uplifts”.