Lib Dem tuition fee pledge good news for Edinburgh - Mackintosh

6.44.34pm GMT Fri 18th Dec 2009

The Lib Dem Challenger in Edinburgh South - Fred Mackintosh - has welcomed the decision of his party's policy committee to renew the Liberal Democrat pledge to abolish all remaining tuition fees. Many students in Edinburgh from south of the border and Scottish students studying in England and Wales still pay the top up fees introduced by Labour in 2004. The proposal sets out a clear costed path that is affordable even in the midst of Labour's recession.

Edinburgh South Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Fred Mackintosh said, "I have always believed that the best way for Scotland and the UK to compete on the world stage was to remove obstacles to higher education. The Liberal Democrats are the only major party committed to higher education free to students. This decision is great news for Edinburgh South and confirms that the Liberal Democrats are the only party committed to finishing the task of abolishing fees started by the Liberal Democrats in Scotland in 2000."

In 2000 the Scottish Liberal Democrat Higher Education Minister Nicol Stephen MSP abolished all tuition fees for Scottish students studying in Scotland. Despite a pledge in their 2001 Manifesto Labour then went ahead and introduced top up fees for all other students.

Setting out a timetable to scrap the remaining fees, including those for part-time courses, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg announced that scrapping tuition fees would remain one of the party's most important policies. He said: "This is good news for students and for everyone who wants a fairer Britain. Students want to be treated like grown ups. They know money doesn't grow on trees and that big spending commitments like this are only affordable over time.

"We've developed a plan to phase out tuition fees over the course of the next six years, to ensure this vital policy is affordable even during this time of economic crisis. You should decide whether going to university makes sense for you and you shouldn't have to make the decision based on your bank balance. Labour and the Conservatives refuse to address the issue of fees and there is a real danger that both of them would lift the cap on fees which could mean even more debt for students when they leave university."

In Edinburgh South the choice for students and their families is between on one side a Labour MP committed to tuition fees and local Liberal Democrat challenger Fred Mackintosh who is pledged to abolish the remaining fees.

Related Link:

Follow this link for full details of the Liberal Democrat policy on tuition fees.