Student poll lead for Lib Dems
January 25, 2005 12:00 AM
Lib Dems campaigning against student tuition fees
A new opinion poll puts the Liberal Democrats out in front in the battle for the student vote. The Student Experience study was carried out by MORI. The poll found that students would give the Liberal Democrats 34% of their votes, Labour were on 28% leaving the Conservatives trailing on just 19%.
Some 61% of students believe the government is out of touch with their needs and views. The study shows students have increasingly turned away from Labour and the Conservatives, with the Liberal Democrats gaining an extra 11% of the vote over the last five years.
The poll has been hailed as pointing the way to a Liberal Democrat victory in the ultra marginal Bristol West seat, currently held by Labour. The Lib Dems' Prospective MP Stephen Williams claims, "The student vote will be a critical factor in Bristol West. The small Labour majority last time is easily outweighed by the number of students. Most local families also have children at university in other parts of the country who could choose to vote at home in Bristol. We will be reminding all of them of Labour's dismal record on student issues and that the local Labour MP failed to vote against the plans for top up fees."
The study also found that having too little money and being in debt are students' biggest worries. It found that the average student debt climbed by £525 this year to stand at £5,285. Students expect that they will owe £9,744 at graduation. This level will rocket next year when top up fees of £3,000 a year are charged for the first time.
It is estimated that there are up to 20,000 students at Bristol University and the University of the West of England registered to vote in Bristol West. It is one of the handful of Labour held seats such as Cambridge, Durham, Cardiff Central and Leeds North West expected to fall to the Lib Dems with just a small swing in the student vote.
The Labour majority in Bristol West in 2001 was just 4,426 over Lib Dem Stephen Williams, who holds a history degree from Bristol University. Bristol West is the third most likely seat in the country to switch from Labour to the Lib Dems. Stephen Williams concluded, "The imposition of top up fees and the terrible events in Iraq are a lethal combination for the Labour party in Bristol West. Our opposition to the war and our plans to replace tuition fees are hugely popular and I am relishing the prospect of the election in a few months."
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