Coaliton agreement does not commit to higher tuition fees

One of the few arguments that Lib Dems members, who are accepting the rise in tuition fees, are making is that this decision is acceptable because we are a (minor) player in a coalition government and not all our policies can be made into law; it's about give and take. Well looking back at the coalition agreement it does not mention anything about increase in tuition fees.

The agreement states:

We will await Lord Browne’s final report into higher education funding, and will judge its proposals against the need to:
– increase social mobility;
– take into account the impact on student debt;
– ensure a properly funded university sector;
– improve the quality of teaching;
– advance scholarship; and
– attract a higher proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

So on receipt of the Browne report Vince Cable and his team could quite easily have looked at the report and drawn up their own proposals. Especially as the recommendations don't take into account the impact on student debt, after all it increases the amount of debt our young will get into.

The proposals also will have an impact on the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and the government must know this. Why else would they rush to announce proposals to give students from poorer backgrounds a year free tuition?

So the coalition did not have to follow the road it has taken. Our MPs should now uphold the pledge they made and vote with a clear conscience against the rise when it is debated on Thursday.