Both the National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland and Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA) have voiced their support for the SNP government after last week’s landslide election victory. The leaders of the NUS and EUSA have said they are “confident that the SNP will honour its commitment to students” whilst remaining aware of the need to hold to account the new majority government at Holyrood.

NUS Scotland President Liam Burns, who is also the president-elect of the UK-wide NUS organisation, told The Student that, “because of campaigning by students across Scotland, we now have over 85 per cent of the parliament and an unprecedented SNP majority government committed to improving student financial support and protecting the number of graduates and college places in Scotland, without introducing tuition fees. On paper, these elections are good news for students.

"But we've been here before and warm words before an election can turn into votes of betrayal after our ballots have been cast. We need urgent action from across the parliament to lift the poorest students out from below the poverty line.

“Ruling out tuition fees is right and proper, but unless the new Parliament puts improving student support at the top of their agenda, 'free' education will be little more than a middle-class subsidy with the poorest continuing to be priced out of education."

EUSA President Liz Rawlings was encouraged at the result, and told The Student: “All of the new Edinburgh MSPs signed up to NUS Scotland's Reclaim Your Voice campaign before the election in which they promised not to introduce fees in Scotland, to protect graduate numbers and college places and improve student support. These three commitments are vital to ensure that higher education is accessible to all students, regardless of their background.

“I'm confident that the SNP will honour its commitment to keep education free for students born in Scotland. However, it is unclear at the moment how much they'll charge students from the rest of the UK. Tuition fees will deter students from poorer backgrounds from applying to university and EUSA will be lobbying the Scottish Government to protect the principle of widening access and making education affordable to all, regardless of the country of your birth.”

The Scottish elections on May 5 delivered the largest majority a government has held since the devolved parliament at Holyrood was created in 1999.