The violent student demonstrations in London last week protesting against the increase in university tuition fees, appeared to be aimed less at Labour which had commissioned the Lord Browne report on university funding or the Conservatives in the Coalition government which proposed the increases, than at the Liberal Democrats. The problem for the Liberal Democrats is that before the election they had not only promised the many young people who eventually voted for them, to oppose any increase in student fees, but also had even signed a pledge to do so, despite the opposition at the time of their leader Nick Clegg. On the positive side for them, Nick Clegg has shown himself to be a serious politician within the Coalition cabinet by voting for the successful Commons motion to increase tuition fees; however, with Simon Hughes their deputy leader having chosen to abstain and some 50% of their MPs voting against the increase, the Liberal Democrat party has now found itself essentially split three ways by its unfeasible pledge. The party, therefore, is currently rated at only 9% popularity in one opinion poll and, having lost the moral high ground somewhat, finds itself appearing to be no more trustworthy than Labour or the Conservatives, the harsh reality of their participation in a governing Coalition under severe budget constraints.
Despite the vote in favour of increasing tuition fees up to £9000 per year for the most sought after university places, taxpayers including many on relatively low incomes and with no chance of higher education, will still be subsidising these students. The demonstrators should remember, therefore, that to succeed they need not only a just cause but also public support, the latter likely to be at a rather low level after the uncontrolled behaviour of last week and the disruption to ordinary, working taxpayers in the Oxford Street area, blocked by students chanting about their rights and even aggressive towards the heir to the throne and his wife.
Nick Clegg having fielded a lot of the political pressure leading up to the vote, now is the time for the Prime Minister and his government to stand firm in the face of aggressive demonstrations against measures which, although we are told will still favour students from poorer backgrounds, need to be more convincingly communicated. For this segment of the future student population, increased funding for educational support and keeping tuition fees low address only part of the overall problem. Such students can find it difficult to succeed alone with no help or support or motivation from within the family, particularly those families with no previous experience or history of higher education. Schools also cannot do all the work although they can help to foster or not, ambition and aspiration in their pupils to offset somewhat the lack of support at home. There is an additional cultural aspect it seems with e.g. families with Asian origins much more successful in general at getting their children into top universities such as Oxbridge compared with their black or white working-class equivalents, with the secret here said to lie in sheer hard work and application, rather than funding or entitlement.