The range of choice in modules was radically cut and the cost of courses was increased considerably.

You used to be able to get a very interesting degree in maths with chosen specialisms in various pure and applied areas for about £3600. Might have been a bit more for people from outside the UK, but not massively.

There's little choice of courses now.

I did that; finished around 2015, I think. The fees went up while I was there, but I have a half-memory that it went up in steps, or maybe if you were already on it the hike wasn't so extreme.

In retrospect, paying somewhere around 3500 GBP for a masters (even if it was basically "here's the textbook, see you in nine months for the exam!") that I could do in my evenings and weekends was a bargain. I should have done more of them.