Petition Keep the current cap on pre 2012 student loan interest rates

We, the undersigned, call on the government to commit to the current cap on interest rates for pre 2012 student loans on the following grounds:

· All students who took out pre 2012 student loans did so with the understanding that interest would be capped either at RPI or banks’ base rate plus 1 per cent, whichever is lower.

· A recent report by Rothschild investment bank, commissioned by the government, included proposals to increase interest rates on student loans for 3.6 million borrowers in England who have the pre 2012 loans.

· It is completely unfair to betray the 3.6 million students who took out these loans by increasing the amount they expected to pay back, particularly when many of them are struggling to find employment.

We urge the government to commit to the current cap and to protect current and future students by establishing in law that conditions on student loans cannot be altered retrospectively.