SE23.com - The Official Forum for Forest Hill & Honor Oak, London SE23
Online since 2002   11,000+ members   72,000+ posts

Home | SE23 Topics | Businesses & Services | Wider Topics | Offered/Wanted/Lost/Found | About SE23.com | Advertising | Contact | |
 Armstrong & Co Solicitors



Post Reply  Post Topic 
If you voted LibDem, do you sleep at night?
Author Message
michael


Posts: 3,255
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #1
09-12-2010 10:04 PM

nutfield,
You are absolutely right that the minority of LibDem MPs who voted for the tuition fee changes should be ashamed of themselves for breaking their pledge and for voting for a policy that is detrimental to university education in England.
Had the 28 Lib Dems who voted in favour kept their pledge, or even the abstention they were allowed in the coalition agreement, the government proposal would have been defeated.

I felt very similar when the Labour Party brought in the tuition fees in the first place, and then (contrary to a manifesto commitment) introduced top up fees on the day of the Hutton report grabbing all the headlines (see http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2004...s.students for details of the Labour history on tuition fees).

There is also the odd situation where the Lib Dem election policy of a graduation tax (a stupid idea that leaves graduates paying a higher rate of tax for the rest of their lives) is suddenly the policy of the Labour Party. My suspicion is that had we had a LibLab coalition the Lib Dems would have found themselves in exactly the same position, only with both Labour and Conservatives supporting higher tuition fees recommended by the Browne report.

But everybody in Lewisham West can sleep easy knowing that the did not elect somebody who voted for fees. Labour won here, votes for other parties have no impact under FPTP or AV, and we will never know how Alex Feakes would have voted if elected.

Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply

Friends of Blythe Hill Fields


Messages In This Topic
RE: If you voted LibDem, do you sleep at night? - michael - 09-12-2010 10:04 PM