Students from less well-off families could be given thousands of pounds to help with living costs, under plans being considered by Keir Starmer.
The Labour leader is looking at restoring maintenance grants that were scrapped by the Tories seven years ago.
Mr Starmer announced this month he was dropping his pledge to scrap university tuition fees. He said he was looking at other ways to make funding fairer.
A government-commissioned report in 2019 recommended bringing back maintenance grants of at least £3,000 for disadvantaged students. But Tory ministers rejected the suggestion.
Mr Starmer signalled he could restore the grants, saying: “We’re working through various options. We need a fairer system.”
Students from families who have an income below £25,000 can get an annual maintenance loan of up to £9,978 to help with living costs, which rises to £13,022 if they are studying in London.
Universities and colleges in England are allowed to charge a maximum tuition fee of £9,250 per year for undergraduate courses.
An average student in England has a student loan debt of around £45,000 when they graduate.
Mr Starmer said he was also worried that many young people are unable to buy homes.
“The Prime Minister killed the dream of homeownership for young people,” he said.
