A review will also consider more radical changes, such as lowering fees altogether, slashing the interest rate on student debt and even bringing back maintenance grants.

On housing, the Government will attempt to get 135,000 more people on to the property ladder through a £10 billion extension of the Help to Buy loan scheme.

The announcements are designed to appeal to younger voters who voted for Jeremy Corbyn at the last election.

It is also an attempt by Mrs May to end months of leadership speculation and show her party she can reverse its fortunes after losing the Tory majority in June.

Against a backdrop of feuding Cabinet ministers and plotting Conservative rebels, Mrs May uses an interview with this newspaper to:

Face down internal critics demanding she step aside as leader before 2022, saying: “I will fight the next election”

Dismiss concerns about the loyalty of Boris Johnson by insisting his behaviour is little different from past frontbenchers

Apologise to Tory MPs who lost their seats, blaming the poor results on the failure to campaign on the change agenda she originally outlined

Pledge to win back the trust of Tory activists by showing that the Government can “get on with the job” of delivering Brexit.

Mrs May, who celebrates her 61st birthday today, hopes her domestic reform agenda will dominate the Conservatives’ annual conference, which begins on Sunday in Manchester.

However, leadership speculation looks set to loom large, with the Prime Minister’s authority under intense scrutiny as arguments in Cabinet about Brexit continue to rumble on.

Mr Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, went public on Saturday with more Brexit red lines – revealed by this newspaper last week – and separately he was criticised by Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader. Both do well in leadership polls of Tory members.

In an attempt to end the speculation, Mrs May has made her most explicit pledge yet over leading the Tories into the 2022 election.

“I will fight the next election,” she said when pushed on her ambitions. “I’m not a quitter, I’m in it for the long term and I believe there is a long-term job to do.”

The Prime Minister hinted at concerns that the splits are putting off the public.

“What voters want to see are the results of government getting on with the job of delivering for them,” she said.