Lib Dem Hughes promotes coalition tuition plans

Senior Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes, who abstained in the Commons vote earlier this month to increase tuition fees, has been recruited by the Government to lead efforts to persuade young people they can afford to go university.

Mr Hughes, who is the Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader, has agreed to become the Government’s Advocate for Access to Education.

In a letter to Mr Hughes announcing his appointment, which is unpaid, Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg, renewed complaints that the true impact of the plan to nearly treble the maximum amount that universities can charge had been obscured by the row over the Lib Dems breaking a promise to oppose any rise in tuition fees.

Mr Hughes’s role will be to visit schools and canvas the opinions of less affluent pupils as to how they can be persuaded to consider the option of higher education.

But Shadow Business Secretary John Denham criticised Mr Hughes’s appointment, telling BBC Radio: “He should apologise for not voting against this policy.”

Mr Denham continued: “This is a terribly cynical piece of wonder-dressing. This is all about trying to prop up a Tory government.”

Better inside the tent than out
Simon Hughes's decision to take the unpaid post as Advocate for Access to Education has surprised some onlookers, writes Channel 4 News Social Affairs Correspondent Victoria Macdonald.

His justification, however, could best be described as "better inside the tent than out". In an interview with Channel 4 News he said he did not agree with tuition fees, he had signed the pledge for them to be abolished, but that the policy had been set now and as a member of the Coalition Government he has to work with that.

One of his first tasks in the six months he has in the job will be to deal with the Education Maintenance Allowance, which has been abolished. EMAs were introduced under the Labour Government to encourage young people from poorer backgrounds to stay on in education.

A recent report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies said it had largely been a success and that it had done what was intended by helping 16- to 19-year-olds not only stay in education but to go into employment.

Mr Hughes said: "We now all have one job which is to make sure that not a single youngster is put off from going into higher education by wrong facts, wrong information or by noise, hype or political posturing and I have as much of a responsibility to do that as anyone."

A Channel 4 News poll published two weeks ago revealed that students had turned against the Liberal Democrats for their support of the coalition’s plan to increase tuition fees.

Just 11 per cent of those questioned said they would back the party in a general election. 40 per cent said they would support Labour and 15 per cent the Conservatives.

On 9 December MPs voted by 323 votes to 302 in favour of raising fees from £3,290 a year to a maximum of £9,000 – a government majority of 21. 21 Liberal Democrats and six Conservatives voted against the government.