Increasing tuition fees might bring in some money short term, but not long term. 

Less people get a good education because they can't afford it. Which means they don't get good jobs. As a result they have a lower income. And therefore tax income will be lower. So in the end no one benefits when tuition fees are being increased.

Education hasn't become less affordable, though. Everything is still paid for after you've finished Uni and you've gone in to the real world - you know, where for 99% of us, it doesn't matter how wealthy your parents were, anymore.

As a student at a UK institution myself I am against the fee rises as the increase to £6000 isnt actually an increase but the government shifting their contribution onto students, so its just another excuse to make cuts (for the record Im not against all cuts, just certain ones in particular). Also, I think the majority of protesters probably didnt realise that only students who enroll in 2012 will pay the increased fees, anyone who is already enrolled doesnt (like me).

Why isn't it less affordable if you have pay more for the same?

I agree some studies aren't "profitable" and too many people attend those courses. But there are also fields where more people are needed.

You do realise how quickly the interest will build up? What if they decide to do a post-grad degree? Or can only get a job that amounts to slightly more than the £21,000?

Already, a lot of graduates on the current system come out with debts of >£15,000 and get jobs paying approx. £22K. Do you know how quickly the payments pay off that amount? They don't. They all go on interest payments. With £40-50,000 debt they'll be losing money on the starting salaries. Most students will be in debt for the majority (if not all) of their professional career.

@ underlined

That's exactly what I'm talking about. You say the interest is the lowest around (true), but that £450 you pay back is still less than the full year of interest in the current system let alone the greater debt students will now find themselves in. You literally end up paying interest for the first few years of of your professional career and that's with the current system. All my mate's have found this when we enter our first jobs. The first few years are spent on interest. 

And just because some universities will keep to only £3000, doesn't mean they all will. My university will almost certainly charge the full £9000 (in fact the provost would love to up it even further). What I also hate is the fact that it's always been done by parental income. A good number of parents are bastards (and won't pay, I say this from numerous fellow students experience) and fees of this amount will force those students to not get a full education.

As for £50K: Avg. course Tuition fee for my university will be £9000 X 3 yrs = £27,000

approx. £15,000 for 3 yrs living expenses loan = £43,000

For a 4 yr undergrad (e.g. undergrad MEng, MSc; the most common types of undergrad degree in my department) the cost of tuition fees alone at my uni will be £36K let alone the medical school (5 yrs).

The interest you pay is based on how much you earn. If you earn 21k you don't pay interest.

This is the full policy from the BBC

The government has pushed through plans to allow universities to charge up to £9,000 per year, raising the cap from its current level of £3,290. Universities wanting to charge more than £6,000 would have to undertake measures, such as offering bursaries, summer schools and outreach programmes, to encourage students from poorer backgrounds to apply.

The government would continue to loan students the money for fees. The threshold at which graduates have to start paying their loans back would be raised from £15,000 to £21,000. On 8 December, the goverment announced this threshold would rise annually with inflation - not just every five years, as had been planned.

Each month graduates would pay back 9% of their income above that threshold.

The subsidised interest rate at which the repayments are made - currently 1.5% - will be raised. Under a "progressive tapering" system, the interest rate will rise from 0 for incomes of £21,000, to 3% plus inflation (RPI) for incomes above £41,000.

If the debt is not cleared 30 years after graduation, it will be wiped out.

You missed my point. If you earn a little over the 21K threshold, like £22-25K, all you'll do is pay off interest and that's with the current levels of debt.

With the debt levels increasing, the interest will also increase and graduates will struggle to pay off the debt due to interest, even when above the threshold.

The interest for someone earning 22k would be tiny though wouldn't it? Tell me if Iv'e misunderstood it. I have not read into it that much.

You edited your post, lol!

OK, fair enough. Now I'm just pissed at the interest my student loan has built up.