Local LibDem Votes Against Tuition Fee Hike
Local MP for Aberystwyth Mark Williams voted against his own parties plans to raise tuition fees.
Mr Williams was one of only 21 Lib Dems to vote against the plans.
The plans passed a vote in parliament with 326 MPs in favour against 306 Mps opposed to the plans.
Mr Williams expressed his extreme dissapointment at the news, and said that he felt that the rise in fees to £9,000 a year would discriminate against those from poorer households, who may pass up the opportunity of a university place in the future.
Many have already argued that the Lib Dems are in crisis after the party divided into thre groups, those voting for their own policy, those against it and those who abstained from voting altogether. The party had originally promised its election manifesto to oppose any rise in tuition fees, and at one time promised to abolish them in a move many thought to be headline grabbing at best. Much of the students anger has been directed at Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, who rode into shared office on a wave of support from the student vote in particular.
The proposals have sparked waves of protest across the UK, with students demonstrating in towns and cities, and riots breaking out around Westminister. The ensuing chaos was summed up in a single act when the royal car carrying Prince Charles and his wife was attacked late last week.
With many students already saddled with debt from fees at their current level, and unable to find work can universities really justify the charges they will be levying against students in future years?
When I was taking my degree, I worked out that with my two lectures a week I was paying around £62.50 per hour for tuition, and this will in basic terms jump to £187.50 per hour when fees rise. However it is worth remembering that all the extra facilities and resources you use on a daily basis at university are all paid for in part by the fees you pay. In order to continue the improvement and development of these facilities, do we need to pay more in times of economic hardship?
Its always a contentious issue when money is involved, but who is really paying the price?
