Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on Labour forcing a binding Commons vote on Monday over the establishment of the Office for Students, said:

“Instead of addressing students’ real concerns about the cost of living and soaring debt, Ministers have sought to turn the so-called independent regulator into their puppet, pursuing their obsession with free markets and political pet projects instead of the sector’s best interests.

“There are still serious unanswered questions about the shambolic process of appointment to the Board, with the Prime Minister turning a blind eye to clear breaches of the Ministerial Code. The choice of student representative was blatantly politicised while university staff and the entire FE sector have been left unrepresented entirely.

“When even the Tory chair of the Education Select Committee is calling for the government to re-think, it is time for Ministers to listen, or for MPs to send them back to the drawing board.”