Last week in parliament was dominated by the vote on tuition fees and
the student protests in central London. Like many of you I was
appalled at the violent scenes and the behaviour of some of the
protestors. We live in a free and open society and anyone should have
the right to demonstrate, but that should not give people the freedom
to climb on the Cenotaph, defecate on the statue of Winston Churchill,
smash the windows of Government offices, and attack the Prince of
Wales’s car.
These actions also crowded out the very legitimate right that people
have to come and lobby their Member of Parliament over issues being
considered in the House of Commons. Earlier that day I had an
excellent meeting with a group of local students who wanted to know
how I would be voting and why the Government was proposing the changes
to tuition fees.
My vote to support the increase in student tuition fees was one that I
considered very carefully. I was the first member of my family to go
to university. I have always believed that education is the keystone
of a society that wants to promote and support the hopes and
aspirations of all its people. My first concern was to ensure that all
students who have the ability to get to university will be able to
find a place. In addition to this our universities have to have the
resources they need to provide an excellent education to their
students, and remain some of the best in the world.
To meet these growing demands we need to invest a considerable amount
of money and I think it is fair to question whether all tax payers
should pay for that, or whether the greater share should be paid by
those who benefit directly from higher education. This is particularly
the case when the overall public finances are so badly stretched. That
is why the Government has decided to increase tuition fees from £3,000
a year to £6,000 to £9,000 a year depending on the university.
No-one will be required to make repayments until they are earning over
£21,000 a year, instead of £15,000 a year at present, and anything
outstanding after 30 years will be written off altogether. To put this
in context, £21,000 is more that the average salary of the under 30s
in the UK, and just below the average earnings of all working adults
in Shepway, so until someone’s earnings are greater than this they
would not have to pay anything back.
The Government has also announced measures to make things fairer for
part-time students. For the first time they will be eligible for
student loans and people studying for their first degree part time
will not have to pay fees upfront; this will wait until after they
graduate and are in work. There will also be an additional fund of
£150 million to give extra support to students from poorer
backgrounds.