Tom Gordon MP reveals the student debt of over 2 million graduates increased last year, despite making repayments

Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has revealed that during the 2025-26 tax year, the student debt balance of 2.09 million students increased despite making regular repayments, in a recent question to the Secretary of State for Education. 

The figures demonstrate a 155% leap from 2021-22, made up by an increase in the number of graduates as well as higher interest rates and frozen repayment thresholds making it harder to reduce the debt. 

The majority, nearly 1.6 million, were borrowers with Plan 2 loans. 340,000 were on Plan 1 and 158,000 on Plan 3. 

A Plan 2 graduate himself, Mr Gordon has repeatedly raised the issue in Parliament following the former Chancellor's decision to freeze student loan repayment thresholds last year. 

His recent question to the Secretary of State for Education, is the latest in his campaign to fix student finance, following the introduction of his Bill in Parliament to review the student loan system, last month. 

Tom said: 

"We knew it was a grim time for graduates. People are putting off starting families or unable to get on the property ladder because they simply can't afford it.

"But these figures spell out the problem in black and white. Two million loans where the debt has increased despite repayments. You need to make about £66,000 a year before your repayments will outstrip the interest.

"The government needs to take action, stop using this generation of graduates as cash cows and give them a fair system like the one they were promised."