According to this morning’s Daily Mirror, Labour’s new Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Tristram Hunt MP, has strongly hinted that if Labour are elected in the 2015 General Election he “wants” to Save EMA, and reverse the Coalition Government’s decision to abolish the scheme.

In the interview in today’s paper, the Daily Mirror’s Political Editor Jason Beattie, suggests that this is what Mr Hunt “wants”; read the section below for yourselves or click here:

Mr Hunt also wants to bring back the Education Maintenance ­Allowance to help teenagers from the poorest backgrounds stay in education.

This could be paid for by stripping the wealthiest pensioners of the winter fuel allowance.

Mr Hunt says: “A bit of rebalancing towards young people wouldn’t go amiss.”

Although this is not the first time that the Labour party has hinted that it will bring back the education maintenance allowance, our campaign which is supported by Labour Leader Ed Miliband MP, who has himself hinted at it back in December 2011. And of course, Labour’s London Mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone made it one of his key pledges in March 2012 due to the lobbying of Save EMA.

However, this is the strongest hint yet that the Labour party are seriously planning on reintroducing EMA if elected. The fact that they are trailing this story in a Labour supporting paper like the Daily Mirror, and that it has been reported by the political editor, suggests that this is as close as the Labour party has come to a full out commitment like Ken Livingstone did.