Fred Mackintosh makes pledge on tuition fees

12.00.00pm GMT Fri 27th Nov 2009

Lib Dems Back NUS Scotland Student Poverty Campaign

With student poverty and debt levels soaring Edinburgh South Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson Fred Mackintosh has signed a pledge to voters ahead of the forthcoming general election that he will vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament. A review started by the Labour Government in London could mean higher fees for those students at Edinburgh and Napier Universities who hail from England, Wales and Northern Ireland and for young people from Edinburgh who study south of the border.

Fred Mackintosh said, "Students and recent graduates are still suffering the consequences of the decision of Labour MPs - including Edinburgh South's Labour MP Nigel Griffiths - to vote to introduce Top Up Frees in 2004 despite a pledge in the 2001 Labour manifesto not to do so. Unlike my opponent I remain opposed to student tuition fees so I am happy to pledge to oppose plans to increase them if the Labour Government's Review puts such a proposal forward."

"Tuition fees discourage people from entering higher education and in a year when both graduate unemployment and debt has increased it is a sick joke for Labour Ministers to suggest that students can afford to pay even higher fees. The Scottish Liberal Democrats abolished tuition fees for Scottish Students studying in Scotland in order to remove this disincentive to study. We can only hope that enough Liberal Democrat MPs will be elected at the general election to force a similar change of heart at Westminster."

The Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Universities & Skills 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."

Commenting at the lunch of the NUS Campaign NUS President Wes Streeting said: "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 15 November 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.

Related Links:

Visit the NUS Campaign Website.

Liberal Democrat plans to abolish tuition fees for English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying in Edinburgh.