Watching proceedings from the House of Commons this evening, I find myself cheering on the Members of Parliament from the Labour benches. They certainly are giving Vince Cable a hard time on tuition fees as Vince tries to defend the undefendable.
As one Labour MP pointed out, the Liberal Democrats fought the election with a clear plan to abolish tuition fees. Yes, the Lib Dems did not win an outright majority, but supporting a rise is a major u-turn that shouldn't be accepted. Our MPs have got to have some backbone and vote against it, not to abstain.
As Vince sat down he was patted on the back by a number of Conservative MPs. Our ministers must remember that they are Lib Dems in a coalition government not a Conservative in a Conservative government.
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The problem is that the Lib Dems should never have signed up to the elimination of university fees for all, including the children of wealthy families.
The latest proposals are more progressive for children from poorer families and way better for part time students (40% of the total).
Abstention is a fair compromise given the contradiction between
a) the fact that a pledge was made and
b) the latest proposals are better thought out than the pledge
Who led the campaign for the Lib Dems to make the pledge? Who made dozens of YouTube videos stating his clear opposition to any increase an outlining how fees would be abolished over a six year period? It was Nick Clegg, the man who is now favouring a complete reversal of policy in defiance of the membership, of Lib Dem voters and of a large part of the parliamentary party. If the policy was ill-thought out then he needs to take responsibility for it and resign. No, abstention is not a good compromise, it is just giving in to the policies of a rival party. MPs should vote with their conscience and according to the pledges they made at the election. I applaud Menzies Campbell for saying he'll do just this.
This is not a progressive proposal. It is a poll tax with some modest exclusions. It is already difficult for young people who are not living life on welfare to get a mortgage for a decent property and start a family. Now the government is proposing heaping £27,000 of tuition fees plus debts relating to living costs on their heads. If you believe university is some personal hobby or luxury hotel rather than a place to advance knowledge and improve workforce skills, then come out and say so.
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