Tuesday 12 October 2010

Cornwall's Lib Dems invited to comment on university tuition fees


Remember when Nick Clegg signed a pledge to vote against any increase in university tuition fees? I've searched in vain - newspapers, TV, radio, web sites, blogs, Twitter feeds - for any sign of a Cornish Liberal Democrat rebellion over this issue.


One newspaper said 30 Lib Dem MPs were prepared to vote against the coalition government, but failed to name any from Cornwall. Lib Dem Voice has been full of it all day, but if there was a contribution from Cornwall then I must have missed it.

Business Secretary Vince Cable has accepted a report which recommends abolishing the cap on university tuition fees (currently about £3,300 a year). Cable has suggested £7,000 might become the norm with some universities charging much more. Analysts say the brave new competitive market in higher education means some universities could go out of business.

For what it's worth, the line generally taken in Lib Dem Voice has ranged from "I'll quit if this happens" to "Oh well the price of power....let's just say a big boy made us do it and then he ran away."

Once upon a time Cornwall's Lib Dems would phone me several times a day offering to comment on almost any news story, no matter how trivial. Now that there is something really very important to talk about, they've gone strangely quiet. But the comments section on this blog is still open...



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