Tuition fees

9th Dec 2010

This evening I will take what is probably the most difficult decision that I will ever have had to take in my political career. Should I vote for, abstain, or vote against the new higher education funding package? All I knew for certain was whichever option I chose, I would feel rotten, and I do. In the end, I have decided to vote for the package, along, I suspect, with almost 100% of the MPs in the south-east.

The pledge each Lib Dem candidate made before the last General Election was genuine, and what we wanted to deliver. The sad fact is, however, that we didn’t win the election. Indeed, we only won 57 out 650 seats. Given that both Labour and the Tories were committed to raising tuition fees, it was simply not possible to reach a post-election agreement that avoided this. I only wish it had been. What we did do, almost uniquely in terms of the Coalition Agreement, was negotiate an opt-out that would allow Lib Dem MPs to abstain.

So we were faced with the position that if we had all voted against the package, as many have been pressing us to do, that would have broken the Coalition Agreement, defeated the government, and quite probably caused a General Election (which by the way the Tories might have won outright). I just don’t think that would have been a responsible course of action.

The other key factor is this: while the final package is not perfect and the headline figure certainly unwelcome, it is the best option that has come forward. There are no upfront fees, including abolishing them for part-time students, the poorest 25% of students will actually pay less than they do now, and repayments will only kick in when an income threshold of £21,000 is reached, compared to £15,000 today. Repayment levels will also be linked to the ability to pay.

The only other serious option that has been put forward, a graduate tax, would see students on incomes of around just £7000 having to start repaying their debt. Indeed, for a significant minority, the amount they pay would be greater than the full cost of their course. That cannot be fair.

In some ways, the easiest option for me would have been to vote against. That would no doubt have given me some kudos and some short-term popularity, but in my heart of hearts I do not think it would have been the right thing to do. Instead, I have taken a decision that I believe is right for the country, right for my party, and indeed right for students. I am sorry if any of my constituents feel that I should have acted differently but I hope at least that they will accept that I have tried to do what I think is right.

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