Quite what Business Secretary Vince Cable’s stance over tuition fees is, is anyone’s guess.
The 67 year-old Liberal Democrat minister has said in a number of recent media interviews, he firstly may abstain from the higher education fee hike vote due to take place in the House of Commons on Thursday, to then a suggestion he will stick to the original coalition government policy, to then the Twickenham based MP saying he will vote with his Liberal Democrat colleagues against the decision to raise fees – a plan at the forefront of Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg’s party political mandate.
Cable’s indecisiveness has left many perplexed and the Liberal Democrats in a state of confusing, political tug-of-war.
Yes, the student riots and protests have created chaos and revolt over the plans to increase tuition fees up to as much as £9,000 per year from 2012 but now is not the time for the coalition to sit on the fence and shove the blame on one another for not knowing what way to turn.
The decision is relatively simple, government ministers (including Cable who was the architect beyond the policy) need to stand firm and hurry through vote to maintain face in the issue, whilst Liberal Democrats MP’s need to make a critical call to vote for the hikes if the Westminster double act are ever to move forward.
Ok, a move such as that would undoubtedly provoke more conflict (it is not hastily mentioned but it is not just students as widely reported who are creating acts of violence but individual groups and organized revellers as well) nonetheless the Liberal Democrats and Cable should not have entwined themselves so deep in the barrels of conservative thinking if they knew it were never viable or feasible to maintain their pre-election pledge.
Why sell many short you could say? When, indeed one of the poignant points to the Liberal Democrat manifesto was flawed and they knew with the bite of heavy cuts soon to kick in, the deal with their Conservative counterparts to form the coalition government would see their policy of saying ‘no’ to the increase in tuition fees potentially become redundant.
Thursdays vote is sure to see students gather in Westminster yet again, in one of many backlashes from young people.
David Cameron’s seven month tenure as Prime Minister has not been the cleanest of sweeps with many questioning his choice to make wholesale cuts all too rapidly giving Labour opposition the opportunity to subject to the majority’s plans, but the tuition fee verdict later this week is set to be a defining marker in his stay at Number 10 thus far and is probably one of the most gripping government controversies of recent times.
Until of course, the reality of public sector job losses cruel fully hits hard. Who would pick now to be in government, eh?
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