LABOUR leader Ed Miliband’s promise to cut university tuition fees has met a mixed reaction in East Lancashire.

Mr Miliband told voters that a Labour government would look to cut the maximum fees universities could charge students from £9,000 per year to £6,000, funded by reducing tax relief for better-off pensioners.

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Opponents have hit out at the proposals, claiming the extra public funding needed to foot the bill would put pressure on other investment areas.

Supporters of the idea say the amount of unpaid debt from student loans needs to be addressed.

Ashley Whalley, branch secretary of the University Centre at Blackburn College University and Colleges Union, said: “This is a step in the right direction. Britain needs graduates and the best way of getting them is to offer what is basically a free education. At the moment, so many people never pay off their student loans.”

Will Straw, Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Rossendale & Darwen, welcomed the announcement.

He said: “This has come up at every school that I have spoken at and I think parents and students will be relieved that the amount of debt associated with going to university will be cut.

“Even better news is the fact the maintenance grant will be increased from £3,400 to £3,800 a year for students from low-income families.”

But Pendle’s Tory MP Andrew Stephenson was not convinced.

Mr Stephenson said: “I do not think their maths stand up on this and I do not understand the politics of it. We have higher tuition fees than when we came into power but we have a much fairer system where you do not pay student loans back until you are earning a set amount of money.

“Labour told us when we brought it in that we were going to put off people from disadvantaged backgrounds — but we have seen an increase in people from those backgrounds going to university. This is a gimmick and I do not think it stands up.”