James Forsyth James Forsyth

Hughes pushes Lib Dems into the mix on tuition fees

The first Sunday of the World Cup is predictably quiet on the political front. But Simon Hughes’ comments this morning about tuition fees are worth noting. Hughes said

“So to me the big task is to make sure the moment that Lord Browne publishes his report in the Autumn the Liberal Democrat case is entered into the mix. That we talk to Vince Cable, who’s the minster and my very good friend and colleague, and David Willetts, and we make sure the government understands that there may well be ways of finding the money universities need, and they need it, without penalising students from disadvantaged background. I think that circle can be squared, it will require imagination and ingenuity.”

The Coalition agreement talks about how if Lord Browne’s review recommends something the Lib Dems can’t accept then arrangements will be made to allow them to abstain. But Hughes seems to be suggesting a more pro-active Lib Dem approach. This might well be in response to the fact that all the Labour leadership contenders are now in favour of scrapping tuition fees and replacing them with a graduate tax. The political cost to the Lib Dems of sitting on their hands while the cap on the level of tuition fees is raised has been increased by this shift on the Labour side.

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