Leave those kids alone...
Nick Clegg famously promised that he would not allow tuition fees to rise, in fact he signed a pledge that said he would "fight" for the abolition of tuition fees, so what changed? Ballot Box UK explains...At the time of the last General Election in 2010, a pandemic dubbed "Cleggmania" had swept the nation. Nick Clegg had managed to trick the nation into thinking that he was a safe pair of hands to lead the country, little did they know that Clegg had other ideas. Anyway, back to Cleggmania, for the first time in years, Clegg offered an alternative to the two other main parties. His manifesto looked strong, he was saying the right things. He eventually gained power, but under the undesirable at best tory leader David Cameron. To the Clegg supporters and liberals anywhere this is the point that Clegg lost his appeal, he sold his soul. But hey, he'd managed something that no Liberal Democrat had managed before him, infiltrated Downing Street, and not just for dinner, he could stay for breakfast and a cabinet meeting too.
In short Nick Clegg walks where no Liberal Democrat has walked before...
Tuition fees was one of the main policy ideas that made Clegg incredibly popular in the lead up to the general election, this is because his constituency is in Sheffield Hallam, a defiant and proud student area. With this in mind Clegg did something that was extremely devious or incredibly naive. He gave the promise that he would work towards: "Scrapping university tuition fees during first degrees" Would this have ever been possible? I'm not convinced. I would love to think that the government could afford free tuition fees. It is also a massive kick in the teeth for todays students that the people whom are given the power to decide our future did not have to pay to study towards a degree.
Long-legged Cleggy-Weggy buckled under the pressure from the other part of the coalition. The Liberal Democrats gave into the promise of something they had never had before, power. The main thing that they had to compromise on was tuition fees. He gave in, he not only compromised, he threw it out the window.
The financial implications of attending university are now at an extreme level. They are a barrier to many being unable to attend university. Many middle income families struggle to afford to support their offspring through their degree as student finance does not often cover the cost of accommodation, never mind the living costs. It is fundamentally wrong that some families are held to ransom by the cost of university accommodation. Even worse that politicians think that it is right that they should hold young people back from studying at university level because of a money saving exercise that comes under the disguise of Fiscal Policy.
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