The student loan crisis has finally reached Westminster. The Treasury Committee’s new inquiry into student loans and the taxation of graduates is welcome - and long overdue. But if this debate is going to lead to meaningful change, it must confront a crucial, often overlooked consequence: the impact of student debt on mortgage affordability. Because for millions of aspiring homeowners, student loans aren’t just an abstract policy problem. They are a direct barrier to getting on the housing ladder.

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Over the past decade, the terms of student finance have shifted dramatically. Graduates now routinely leave university with debts exceeding £50,000. They face interest rates above inflation, frozen repayment thresholds, and repayment rates that push marginal tax levels as high as 51% for some earners.

This is no longer a manageable “graduate contribution”. It is a long-term........

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