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  "path": "/money/rachel-reeves-student-loans-broken-not-a-priority",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-17T17:45:59.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Rachel Reeves announces plan to give mayors a share of national tax revenues",
    "Rachel Reeves announces £2.5billion investment in AI to boost UK economy",
    "Chinese cars join Motability scheme as Rachel Reeves axes 'high-end' vehicles from offering",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nChancellor Rachel Reeves has said Britain’s student loan system is “broken” but confirmed that reform is not among the Government’s immediate priorities.\n\nSpeaking during a Q&A following her Mais lecture in the City of London on March 17, she pointed to the state of the public finances as the main constraint.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n“Yes, the student loan system is broken,” she said. “But if you try to fix everything straight away, everything will fall over.”\n\nMs Reeves added recent geopolitical tensions had exposed the UK’s fiscal vulnerabilities.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n“We have precarious public finances, and that has also been thrown into stark relief in the last few weeks since the conflict in the Middle East erupted.”\n\nShe said other issues must take precedence, including the fact that one in six young people are currently not in education, employment or training.\n\nReducing NHS waiting lists, tackling child poverty, including scrapping the two‑child benefit cap, and increasing defence spending were also listed as higher priorities.\n\n“Politics is about priorities,” she said. “I’m not denying there is a problem… but there has to be some patience. We can’t fix everything straight away.”\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHer comments come as new figures from the Student Loan Company show interest accumulating on student debt at a rate of £482 per second during the 2024–25 financial year.\n\nA total of £15.2billion in interest was added to graduate balances over the period, wh********ile £5billion was repaid.\n\nInterest charges have risen sharply in recent years: in 2021/22, they totalled £4.7billion.\n\nOutstanding student debt has now reached £266.6billion, up from £236.2billion the previous year.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Rachel Reeves announces plan to give mayors a share of national tax revenues\n  * Rachel Reeves announces £2.5billion investment in AI to boost UK economy\n  * Chinese cars join Motability scheme as Rachel Reeves axes 'high-end' vehicles from offering\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nPlan 2 loans carry interest rates of up to three percentage points above RPI inflation, with higher earners charged more on a sliding scale.\n\nDr Arthur Joustra, a paediatric trainee in the NHS, said he borrowed £55,000, has repaid around £10,000, yet now owes £72,000.\n\n“The debt is just creeping up in the background and there’s not really an awful lot you can do about it,” he said.\n\nOliver Gardner, from campaign group Rethink Repayment, said the system no longer feels like a conventional loan.\n\n“At that point, it stops feeling like a loan and starts feeling like a penalty for going to university,” he said.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Rachel Reeves says student loans are 'broken' but 'not a priority' as graduate debt piles at £482 a second"
}