STEPHEN DAISLEY: The SNP has let down Scottish students… and turned others into human cash machines
Daily Mail columnist Stephen Daisley criticises the SNP's record on higher education, arguing that Scotland's flagship free tuition policy has come at the expense of both students and access to universities. He contends that the party's celebrated "no tuition fees" pledge has masked deeper problems, including funding shortfalls, capped places for Scottish applicants, and universities becoming more reliant on income from other sources to compensate for lost fee revenue.
The piece argues that Scottish universities, squeezed by frozen or inadequate funding per domestic student, have increasingly prioritised higher-paying international and rest-of-UK students over Scots, effectively turning some students into a revenue stream to prop up institutions' finances. Daisley frames this as evidence that the SNP's flagship education policy, long presented as a point of pride, has produced unintended consequences that disadvantage the very students it was meant to help.
- Columnist says SNP's free tuition policy has backfired on students
- Scottish universities accused of favouring fee-paying students over Scots
- Piece argues funding shortfalls have undermined access for domestic applicants
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Scotland's free tuition policy represents a commitment to education as a public good accessible regardless of income, a principle most developed nations uphold successfully with adequate funding. Whilst universities face genuine financial pressures, the solution is not to reintroduce fees that would burden graduates and deter working-class students, but rather to ensure taxpayers provide sufficient investment in higher education. Removing tuition barriers has expanded opportunity for Scottish students and reflects progressive values about education's societal role.
The case against
The SNP's failure to adequately fund universities whilst eliminating domestic tuition fees has created an untenable paradox where Scottish students face worse access to Scottish universities than ever before. By making domestic places less financially valuable, institutions have rationally prioritised international and English students paying full fees, effectively capping opportunities for the policy's intended beneficiaries. Free tuition becomes meaningless if places are unavailable, and the policy now functions as public subsidy for non-Scottish students rather than support for Scottish access.