Tuition fees would drop to £6,000 under Labour

Ed Miliband has confirmed that if elected, Labour will cut tuition fees in England to £6,000 from autumn 2006.Promising the policy would be non-negotiable in the event of a coalition, Miliband explained that the fee cut would be funded by reducing tax relief on pensions for those earning more than £150,000 per year.Speaking in Leeds, Miliband called the higher fees has been a "betrayal of an entire generation", as students struggled with average debts of $44,000. He added that Nick Clegg's broken promise to abolish university fees caused young people to doubt anyone in politics can be trusted."I made you a promise on tuition fees. I will keep my promise," Miliband vowed.Non-repayable maintenance grants would also be extended by £400 per year for families with a total income below £42,000, to help cover students' living costs.Reducing tuition fees will supposedly save taxpayers £40bn by 2030. The policy would be fully funded, with cuts to universities subsidised £2.7bn per year by the government.Milibiand said of the current system: "This is a disaster for [students] and a disaster for the future of Britain too - a country where the next generation is doing worse than their parents is the definition of a country in decline."Chancellor George Osborne responded: "Ed Miliband's sums don't add up because the universities would get less money and there would be fewer students so it's bad for students, bad for universities, bad for the taxpayer and bad for the British economy."