General election 2019: Tories to drop pledge to cut student tuition fees from manifesto Exclusive: PM’s decision to leave out the headline promise comes even after Theresa May urged the Conservatives to lower them to £7,500

Boris Johnson will drop a pledge to cut tuition fees from the Tory manifesto, i understands.

His decision to leave out the headline promise comes even after Theresa May urged the Conservatives to lower them to £7,500.

According to Tory sources, party HQ is eager to keep tuition fees “off the agenda”, believing the anger over student debt has “blown over” in the public eye.

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Student debt became one of the key battlegrounds during the 2017 election, with Jeremy Corbyn’s pledge to scrap university fees attracting thousands of young voters to back Labour.

The move prompted the then prime minister Theresa May to launch a review led by City financier Philip Augur into higher education.

The review led her, in one of her final acts as Tory leader, to recommend a headline cut in tuition fees from £9,250 to £7,500.

Off the agenda

While the Conservatives are still putting the finishing touches on their election manifesto, tuition fees are not expected to feature prominently.

Instead, the focus is expected to be more on increasing funding for primary and secondary schools, another major flashpoint two years ago, and the importance of vocational and technical education.

A senior Conservative told i: “The issue has slid quite sharply down the salience scale. And although the Augar [Review] proposals or any other variation may be good, they are also just as complex as the current system to explain and a general election is not the time to start doing it.”

Mrs May’s proposals to cut tuition fees were widely disliked among the Tory backbenches, and were heavily criticised by the former universities minister Jo Johnson, the Prime Minister’s brother.

Jo Johnson attacked the decision to cut tuition fees, warning it would “destabilise university finances, imperil many courses and reverse progress in widening access”.

And he branded the plans as “bad policy, bad politics”.

“I imagine Jo may have his brother’s ear,” the source added.

Labour has reiterated its promise to scrap tuition fees during this election campaign, in a policy giveaway that is expected to cost the taxpayer around £6bn a year.

The pledge was widely credited as being responsible for the so-called “youthquake” that led to the surge in voters behind Mr Corbyn two years ago.

Skills and technical education

Since being made Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson has made skills and technical education his primary focus, signalling a shift in priorities from the Johnson administration.

The Tory manifesto is expected to be less comprehensive than previous years, and is believed to be half the size of the 2017 document.

CCHQ is keen to avoid the same mistakes as two years ago, which saw the party’s policy pledge to introduce a new social care tax, dubbed the “Dementia Tax” effectively derail the election campaign.

Unlike two years ago, the manifesto will be fully costed and is anticipated to include big giveaways in the shape of extending free childcare and an extra 25,000 police officers.

Campaign promises

Student debt became a totemic issue in the 2017 election campaign. It prompted Labour to promise to scrap fees entirely reversing a decade of policy-making first introduced by the Labour Party under Tony Blair.

The proposals were costed at between £6bn and £11bn a year.

The policy promise completely flat-footed the Conservatives, and led to a jump in support for Labour among students.

Chastened by the poor election result, Theresa May ordered a review into student finances.

The Liberal Democrats refused to be drawn into the student debt debate as it was still paying for its decision to renege on its promise not to increase tuition fees during the Coalition years.