University Fees

They have to be mentioned really - tuition fees for students. So much has been written about these, there have been high-profile demonstrations, there is no need for me to write much. I don't know whether the new policy is fairer or not, I'm not an economist.

I do know that the Liberal Democrats campaigned on a ticket of 'We will vote against ANY rise in tuition fees'. They won seats on this basis. Pity Charles Clarke who lost his seat in Norwich South by 310 votes - as a university town seat, this may well have been lost purely on that one issue. As we all know, the LibDems then enabled tuition fees to be trebled. Their reason - 'We didn't win the election, so we couldn't implement the whole of our manifesto'. That reason is flawed - as the pledge they all signed would only be applicable in the event of them losing the election! The manifesto pledge was to ABOLISH tuition fees. Therefore, had they won the election, there would have been no opportunity to vote against a RISE in tuition fees - this opportunity would only arise in the event of them losing the election.

I think some LibDems will have some serious questions to answer next time they face the ballot box.

Today's question then; "Does a political party have a moral duty to honour election promises, when it is clear they have benefited in terms of seats?"