Lots has been said about the changes to Tuition Fees over the last 6 months. What a raw issue.
I thought it might be useful to remind everyone of the actual facts:
– No student pays anything upfront.
– Increasing the repayment threshold from £15,000 to £21,000.
– Ending upfront fees for part-time students.
– Part-time students become eligible for student loans.
– More generous grants for lowest income students.
– Ensuring all students will repay less per month than they currently pay.
– Under the scheme, any student eligible for free school meals who is accepted for a place at university would have one year’s fees paid by the state.
These concessions are solely due to Lib Dems in government – if we weren’t there, the Tories would have designed a system that was far worse! In 1997 Labour’s manifesto they had “no plans to introduce tuition fees”, but then did so, and promised in 2001 manifesto that they would not introduce, and had outlawed top-up fees, but then introduced them. Their system was incredibly unfair and didn’t work well.
@James
Yawn!!!
“I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and to pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative”
You keep telling yourself how wonderful the new system is and eventually you might believe it. In reality the new system is a total mess, its far too complicated, allows the top earners to pay less than the middle and actively discourages universities from taking “poor” children as they will have to pay their fees for a year.
“Their system was incredibly unfair and didn’t work well.”
This is the biggest lie of all. It wasn’t unfair, it was in fact the most generous student support system in Europe. And if it didn’t work well why aren’t the coaltion making major structural changes to the student loans company? The new system will operate exactly the same as the old except bigger amounts of money will be involved.
You need to wake up and smell what you’re shovelling.
Cat, The new system isn’t wonderful, just better than we would have got if the Tories or Labour had a majority. The Lib Dem’s got 8% of the seats for their 23% of the votes – that’s 88 seats short-changed. Just 20-30 more MPs would have given the Lib Dem’s the balance of power with either combination leading to a majority administration and much more negotiating power.
Only 30% of voting students voted for the Lib Dems; 15% of eligible students. It’s a bit rich expecting a pledge to be kept under such circumstances.
The Lib Dem’s remain the only party wanting to abolish Tuition Fees and Trident too! Make your choice!
If the new system is so great why didn’t you campaign for it? Why, in fact, did you campaign for the exact opposite?
You Lib Dems have got more front than Brighton. You don’t mention that fees are going up to £9,000/year. Kind of an important aspect, don’t you think?
How you guys show your face in public after your about face is beyond me.
Hi Rick,
The new system is significantly better than what the tories would have done left to their own devices.
It’s also much fairer and more progressive than the previous Labour system.
So I am proud we’ve mad ethat difference. And I’m disappointed we didn’t have more influence.