I think these statistics do provide substantial and concrete evidence that sustained investment both in secondary and in further and higher education made by Labour since 1997 is yielding really significant life-changing results. As I have seen through my work chairing parliament’s skills group and via select committee enquiries just as important has been raising aspiration, and the practical impact of the Educational Maintenance Allowance in encouraging students from ‘first generation HE’ families to stay in education beyond 16. Now we need to sustain reform, and encouragement in the HE sector for students coming from non-traditional application routes, via apprenticeships, diplomas and part-time students to keep up the progress. Sadly the Tories’ nostalgia for elitist hearkening back to a golden ‘A’ level age plus their scything cuts would threaten that hard-won progress if they regained power.
Gordon Marsden MP, member, Education and Skills Committee

I welcome the fact that more people are attending university as this was one of the main aims of the government. Also welcome is the information that shows that more people from poorer backgrounds are attending, despite the current debate on fees. Education should not be about whether you can afford it, but that everyone should be given the chance to benefit from it.
Tony Wright MP, member, Business, Innovation and Skills Committee

I welcome today’s findings. University education cannot be the reserve of the wealthy or middle classes and nothing can boost social mobility, which Gordon Brown is putting at the head of Labour’s election campaign, like education. The Hefce report indicates targeted government investment is paying off. Significantly, it also suggests a narrowing of the gap in intake with a greater increase in numbers of children from the lowest income families than those from wealthier backgrounds. Without a doubt a huge disparity remains that must be tackled but progress is being made.
Ellie Gellard, Labour student and online activist