Johann Lamont hits out at university funding

Lamont faces down a Labour rebellion. Picture: Greg MacVean

SCOTTISH Labour leader Johann Lamont will today claim that the generous funding of universities and free tuition in Scotland is “savaging” further education colleges, in a fresh assault on the SNP government’s priorities.

In her address to the Scottish party conference in Inverness, Mrs Lamont will argue that, if elected as first minister in 2016, a Labour government will “not pay for opportunity for some while denying opportunity for others”. She will say: “The savaging of the college system to fund universities has been a disgrace.”

The speech comes after Mrs Lamont has previously questioned the SNP’s offer of free tuition to all university students in Scotland – which stands in stark contrast to England, where undergraduates will soon be charged up to £9,000 a year.

University funding has been largely protected from cutbacks in the Scottish budget this year with ministers opting to spend more than £1 billion on funding.

With the Scottish budget being squeezed, Labour has claimed it is FE Colleges which are paying the price.