Keir Starmer describes himself as a socialist and progressive but said the country does not have the funds to deliver on some of the promises he made during the 2020 Labour leadership election.
Starmer, who is facing growing pressure to clarify whether he would raise tuition fees if Labour wins the election, gave a personal speech in Lancing, West Sussex, on Monday in which he reflected on how his working-class upbringing has influenced his politics.
He said he understands the importance of financial stability because his parents had to choose between not paying their phone bills or going into debt.
He later insisted he had kept “most” of the 10 key promises he made when standing to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as party leader, but said he wanted to be honest with voters about the damage he had done to the economy and not “act like a lot of politicians” who later broke them.
He did not directly answer when asked by the Guardian whether he would rule out raising tuition fees, following warnings from vice-chancellors and former ministers that universities face bankruptcy unless they raise more money.
He told Sky News after the speech: “I have said that tuition fees should be abolished, but that’s not possible, particularly given the damage that has been done to the economy by Liz Truss… I think that’s basic honesty with the electorate.”
“I think it’s more important to stand in front of voters and say, ‘I’m sorry, but because of the damage we’ve done to the economy, we can’t do what we said we could do before now.’ What I’m saying to voters is, we’re going to tell you before the election what we don’t think we can do.”
Carol Monaghan, the SNP education spokesman and candidate for Glasgow North West, said: “Keir Starmer must come clean and admit his plans to increase university tuition fees. The growing threat from Westminster to students shows why it is essential to vote SNP to protect free university tuition fees and put Scotland’s interests first.”
“Both the Conservatives and Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party have saddled students with huge debts, but only the SNP is standing up for young people and their families. It is no wonder that more and more young people are drowning in debt imposed by Westminster and finding it impossible to buy a home or start a family.”
“In this general election, the SNP is the only party that will protect students and defend free education – which has made Scottish graduates thousands of pounds richer. A vote for the SNP is a vote to always put Scotland’s interests first.”
Molly Scott-Cate, the Green Party’s finance spokeswoman, criticised Labor and the Coalition’s record on tuition fees, calling the “marketisation of universities a terrible disaster”. “With tuition fees not increasing, universities are becoming more reliant on international students and young people are getting more and more into debt,” she said.
“The Green Party has always believed that education is a public good and should be funded through taxation.”
In his speech, Starmer emphasised his commitment to what he repeatedly called “workers” and said his government would make a “non-negotiable deal” with British voters.
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But the strength of the Labour leader’s promises has been called into question during the election campaign, with Starmer facing accusations of “betrayal” from the party’s left after he changed course from the policies he put forward four years ago.
Speaking to the BBC on Monday, he insisted he was a socialist but one who put the needs of the country ahead of party interests.
He said: “I would describe myself as a socialist. I would describe myself as a progressive. I would describe myself as someone who always puts country first and party second.”
“I know there are countless people who are still undecided about how they will vote in this election. They are tired of the Conservative party’s failure, confusion and division, but they still have questions about us: has Labour changed enough? Can I entrust them with my money, my borders and my security? My answer is, yes you can, because I have changed this party for good.
