WILLIAMS MAKES PLEDGE ON STUDENT FEES

3.41.05pm GMT Mon 16th Nov 2009

Stephen Williams MP pledges to vote against any increase in fees

Stephen Williams, Liberal Democrat MP for Bristol West, signed a pledge to voters ahead of the forthcoming general election that he will vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament.

Stephen, the Lib Dem Shadow Minister for Universities & Skills, signed the pledge at a National Union of Students (NUS) event in Westminster. Hundreds of students from across the country, including representatives from the University of Bristol, descended on Parliament to argue for a fair alternative to fees which will not price out poorer students.

Last Monday, the Government announced the start of the long-awaited review of university funding, which will look at the impact of 2004's introduction of £3,000 'top-up fees' and will report after the next general election.

Today's NUS pledge reads:

"We will vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament, and we will put pressure on the Government to introduce a fairer alternative to variable top-up fees"

Stephen Williams MP added:

""This review is nothing but a conspiracy between Labour and the Tories designed to keep plans to hike up tuition fees off the agenda until after the General Election. Mandelson has shown he will do whatever it takes to shut out any debate on the future of tuition fees, either in Parliament or the country. The Liberal Democrats want to scrap tuition fees and will fight any attempt to raise the cap."

NUS President Wes Streeting said:

"The vast majority of the general public is against higher fees, and although this review has been set up to report after the general election, voters deserve to know where their MP stands on this highly emotive issue.

"I am delighted that Stephen Williams MP has stood up for students and young people in Bristol West by signing this pledge. He has demonstrated his determination to give every young person in Bristol West a fair chance to go to university.

"NUS believes that a university education should be free at the point of use, with graduates giving back to the system according to how much they earn. This would give universities double the amount of funding they currently receive, while allowing the children of poorer families to go to university without the fear of debt. It would also prevent the emergence of a market in higher education, where only the rich could afford to attend our most prestigious universities."

On Sunday, a YouGov poll commissioned by pressure group Compass revealed that only 12% of the public think the review should even consider increasing fees, while a majority believes that it should look at alternatives to fees.