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UK Student Loans – SB or BS ?

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UK Student loans, and more particularly the repayment of them, is a hot topic in the news at the moment.  The student body, both past and present, are all clamouring for more favourable terms, given Reeves' recent threshold freeze, the burgeoning cost of living, and progressive rises in student fees.  There are particular concerns about the affordability of the legacy (i.e. Plan 2) scheme which still applies to all loans taken out between September 2012 and August 2023. The majority of outstanding loan balances currently fall under this plan (5.8 million loans were taken out under the scheme in total), and the terms of this scheme have resulted in crippling interest rates due to the full built-in 3% surcharge above RPI, which applies to anyone earning over £50k. The prolonged payment threshold freeze will also ensure that virtually everyone will end up paying off both the loan and the interest, unless they are permanently on benefits (or only work part time in multiple occ...
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UK Economy: Productivity vs Growth

Editors note: I first compiled this blog in late 2022 in the aftermath of  the ignominious fall of 'Trussonomics' and before the advent of AI. Many of the ideas are still very relevant today, so a revisit with recent developments in mind is probably appropriate.... Introduction This has been a momentous couple of months all told, with more than the usual quota of economic and political U-turns, a new war in the middle east and probably more to come. The ‘new’ regime’s primary task after taking office in 2024, was to act on their manifesto promise of 'restoring some sense of stability' and preventing the economic meltdown which beckoned…. Did this actually happen ? I'll let the reader answer that particular question themselves...and give their verdict on it at the ballot box in May (if called to do so this year.) But whatever regime is in charge, what do we actually need to do in the medium- and long-term to improve our economic and social prospects as a nation...
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