MP gives away her pay rise to university students in Ashfield

Although all MPs were award a ten per cent salary boost for 2016, Gloria decided to take just a one per cent increase, in line with other public sector workers.

The rest has been donated to students from each school and college in her Ashfield constituency who had accepted a place to study at university and who would previously have been eligible for a maintenance grant.

One such student was 19-year-old Courteney Clark, a former Kirkby College pupil, who called in to Gloria’s constituency office last Friday to receive £800, which represented the final instalment of the Labour MP’s gesture.

Courteney is studying history at the University of Derby and is commuting there from her home in Kirkby. She hopes to be a teacher after completing her degree.

Gloria said: “With £9,000-a-year tuition fees and rising living costs, going to university is becoming more and more expensive for our young people.

“The fact that maintenance grants have been scrapped for families on incomes of below £25,000 is a complete disgrace and will do nothing to encourage youngsters to further their education.

“I promised that I would use the money MPs received as a pay rise to help some deserving local students, and it has been an honour to meet Courteney and give her a helping hand financially when this government has abandoned people like her.”

Courteney is the eighth student to have received money from Gloria this year.