Two Penn’orth: Tuition fees and the democratic deficit

If tuition fees go up to £7000 a year it won’t just be a sad day for education, but also for democracy. The whole policy process has been a conspiracy against the public. The last Labour government commissioned a report which would not conclude until after the election… how convenient. No politicians in Labour would talk about it except to say “I think we should wait for the conclusion of the Browne report.”

Gordon Brown must wish he had organised a review into how to deal with the deficit now as well. How better to kick an issue into the long grass. Except that, who did they think they were kidding? Then you could enact the policy midterm when the public couldn’t stop you. Everyone knew it was going to recommend putting up tuition fees, but they could pretend to be open-minded about the issue. We could have an election about Cleggomania and Jillian Duffy instead.

I remember watching TV debates with other students and everyone cheering whenever Nick Clegg spoke. The Liberal Democrats were the only party which pledged not to support an increase in fees. As recently as April Clegg said, “The Liberal Democrats are different. We will oppose any lifting of the cap.” Now that picture of him with his signed pledge to end tuition fees has come back to haunt him, even on the Liberal Democrat website. Vote Clegg get Cameron cuts and betrayal.

We have had an election in which the parties refused to talk about the Browne report and many students supported a party which had pledged to defend their interests. The public has either been ignored and treated as idiots or betrayed when it has come to this issue. If some anarchists want to do something equally undemocratic in response, like occupy some lecture theatres, have some rent strikes or clamp our chancellor Richard Lambert’s Jaguar with a £7000 parking ticket then I think I will have to support them.