Badenoch pledges to cut 100,000 university places to double apprenticeships

The Conservative leader, Mrs Badenoch, pledged to cut 100,000 university places and redirect the savings to double the number of apprenticeships, and Department for Education figures show 142,780 people began apprenticeships in 2025/26, a 7.7% rise from the prior year.

Mrs Badenoch spoke about education funding and apprenticeships during a visit to the Virgin Media O2 headquarters in Paddington on Monday. She described her own engineering apprenticeship before university and said she valued the workplace experience. She outlined her party's proposal to scrap certain university courses and use the savings to expand apprenticeships. She also pledged changes to some student loan terms, which she said are making repayments harder for young people. Key points: - Mrs Badenoch said she completed an engineering apprenticeship before attending university and described the experience as valuable. - She visited Virgin Media O2 in Paddington and spoke directly with apprentices during the visit. - The party proposal, as presented by Mrs Badenoch, would cut 100,000 university places and redirect those funds to double the number of apprenticeship schemes. She said this would be a re-prioritisation of existing education money rather than new public spending. - Department for Education figures show 142,780 people started an apprenticeship in the 2025/26 academic year as of October, a 7.7% increase from the previous year. - Mrs Badenoch also pledged to reduce the interest rate charged on certain student loans and said she wants Plan 2 repayments to be inflation-only rather than inflation plus 3%, referring to Chancellor Rachel Reeves's budget decision to freeze the repayment threshold at £29,385 for three years. Summary: The proposal would reallocate existing higher education funding toward expanding apprenticeships and seeks adjustments to student loan terms, which the leader said are affecting young people. Undetermined at this time.