Sadik Al-Hassan, the Labour MP for North Somerset, coordinated the cross-party letter alongside the campaign group Rethink Repayment. "This is no longer a loan system, it’s a tax on aspiration. It argues that the existing student loan repayment system places an "unsustainable and unfair financial burden on millions of graduates". Signatories include Conservative MP Laura Trott, Labour MP Jas Athwal, Conservative MP David Reed, and Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson. The letter was published just one week after education secretary Lucy Powell said that student loan reform is "at the top of my in-tray".