Kingston & Surbiton MP Ed Davey will vote for tuition fee increase

9:35am Wednesday 8th December 2010 in Top Stories By Martin George

BREAKING NEWS: Edward Davey will vote for tuition fee increase BREAKING NEWS: Edward Davey will vote for tuition fee increase

Edward Davey has told the Surrey Comet he will vote in favour of allowing universities to charge up to £9,000 in annual tuition fees.

The vote on the proposals, which have split Liberal Democrat MPs, will take place in the House of Commons tomorrow.

In November 2009, the Kingston and Surbiton MP signed a National Union of Students pledge to “vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and pressure the Government to introduce a fairer alternative.”

Mr Davey said: “As a minister in the government department introducing this reform, working with Vince Cable, I will be supporting this package.

“The measures to support students from low-income backgrounds and to protect low earning graduates together make this a much fairer package than the current arrangements.

“The more time I have to put over and explain the actual proposals, the more you find people think it's not as bad as they had been led to believe.”

Last night 24 Lib Dem councillors supported a motion from council leader Derek Osbourne calling on the borough's MPs not to support the reforms.

Mr Davey said: “Derek is appearing to take a different view on this one. I'm not surprised if many Liberal Democrats see it as a difficult decision for us.”

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Comments(18)

JPR says...
11:20am Wed 8 Dec 10

Then I should reconsider my vote next time.

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ciaran22 says...
11:50am Wed 8 Dec 10

A truely shocking decision Ed, after voting LD for nearly 20 years, never again. You've let your voters down badly.

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clarkboy says...
1:28pm Wed 8 Dec 10

I disagree, at long last the Lib Dems are living in the real world. The reality is that the country is in the midst of a financial crisis and very difficult decisions have to be taken to reduce the deficit. Raising tuition fees for better off students is not unreasonable and they have plenty of spare time so they can always work to pay theit way through university as they do in the States.

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chezpeta says...
1:53pm Wed 8 Dec 10

I have grown up in kingston area all my life and had my first opportunity to vote this year and it will be my last. I am currently at university and from listening to many different people about the rise in tuition fees and cuts to universitys i am leading to belive that this is not due to money, but as a way to control people. the amount of money saved each year from tuiton fees rising is extremly low compared to the debt this country is in, so what the point? higher fees mean less people in uni, it will be only the rich that can go. knowledge and therefore power will be kept for the rich. there will be less jobs for lower clases and due to benifit cuts there will be more people in poverty. which will mean higher crime rates, and due to police cuts there wont be any way to control this. all i want to do is learn and i can hardly afford it now, education should be free. i dont want to be part of a machiene to keep people in their "place"! not only will fees be increased, there will be less staff at universitys and then later less subjects. only those subjects which raise more money for the goverment will be kept going, so how can Mr Davey claim that rises in fees and cuts to education improve universities? everyone move to sweden, education is free and taught in english!

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minky_monkey says...
4:15pm Wed 8 Dec 10

Given how small Ed's majority was, I think it's quite a brave move. Especially considering that the benefit system's getting cut.

See you in the signing on office after the next election Ed.

I've always voted Lib Dem in the past, and always voted for Ed. Sorry pal, don't knock on my door asking for support next time. It's not so much the choice to vote for it, but you showed no backbone. One minute you're against, then you're in favour. I'd rather have someone that sticks by their principles.

Mind you, that's asking something from a politician!

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jjsmithy says...
6:41pm Wed 8 Dec 10

Personally i can see why the tuition fee's need to go up; but i feel like i wasted a vote when i voted for Ed in May, i feel stupid for believing in him and putting a Ed Davey sign in my window; why sign the pledge in the first place if he's not going to keep his word?
Although i suppose thats what all politicians are like...

Good luck in the next election Ed........

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wookie025 says...
7:22pm Wed 8 Dec 10

people fought in the war so you can vote young man! but when you vote for a party that you beleive in they go back on their promises. Youngsters voted for Lib Dem because they wouldn't put up tuition fees, look what's happened now!! This is why young people don't vote, because it's all lies, politicians only want to line their own pockets. I voted for change to get Labour out because they have let the country go doWN the pan, I suppose it's the Coalitions turn now.... Whoop-whoop!! WE ARE ALL DOOMED!!

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Leslie Ian Jones says...
8:07pm Wed 8 Dec 10

If Ed votes to increase the tuition fees then it is a sad day for local politics. We will at the next election lose a good man. But along with others I'm sad he will not honour the signature on the pledge. Yes I've heard the reasons why he cannot do that but even amongst his own Lib Dem Councillors voices oppose his views. So as and when the next election is called how many of them will deliver leaflets supporting what he has done? What interesting times we live in....

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edlewis says...
10:07pm Wed 8 Dec 10

I voted Lib Dems to keep the Torys out. I thought Ed had done some great work for KandS and hoped he could stand up for local people. Kingston has a large university and he probably won off the back of students who turned out to vote. I went to university in Leeds and Greg Mullholland won there (x2) basically due to the massive student vote. He's totally let down the people that voted for him. Let's hope he sticks to his principles when it comes to welfare, trident and

Of course he will vote for an increase. He's a minister in the government! There are just enough LibDem ministers plus Torys to make a majority... funny coincidence? Let's hope there is a backbench rebelion (they are saying 3-4 Torys will vote against), plus Labour plus the non-ministerial Libs to punt this back.

Young people and working class families are losing out in this government. We should be taxing those that have done all right out of the last 20 years, 35-60 year old high income, large home owners... oh but these are the ones that vote conservative. oooops.

I don't think that last comment will go down well in Surrey!

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New Malden Man says...
8:09am Thu 9 Dec 10

Davey is just another Tory Lap Dog. Clegg is an annoying stone in Cameron's Shoe who he can't wait to toss out.

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ciaran22 says...
12:08pm Thu 9 Dec 10

As others have pointed out, in the grand scheme of things this move does not save a lot of money. It feels a lot more like an opportunity for a bit of Tory social engineering, and sorry clarkboy, the reality of it is that only reason the LDs are in power is to take some of the flack off the Tories with these massively unpopular typical Tory polices. Nothing's changed, these are the same Tories with the same right wing policies of the 80s. It won't take too long before a few more of them slip up and show their true colours!

Ed, listen to your voters, we put you there, vote honestly on this, after all 24 LD councillors can't all be wrong!

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1ou1se says...
12:42pm Thu 9 Dec 10

I went to see him before the election about my daughter who was expelled from tolworth girls for refusing to stand out in the rain as they had no shelter he said it was disgusting the way my daughter had been treated and that he would look into it. then he got elected and got into parliment and then he said no its ok everything was done correctly he totally changed his views, i will defineatley not vote for this man again he has no back bone and doesn't stand by what he claimed he believed in to get peoples votes he's either a liar or spineless

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g unit says...
8:39pm Thu 9 Dec 10

What exactly is the LibDem policy on tuition fees? Is it the solemn oath taken before the General Election to do away with them? The strong support given by the turncoat Vince Cable? The abstention of some MPs? The vote against by some MPs? Or the biggest joke of all the Kingston LibDem councillors voting against the hike in tuition fees even though they have no power in this decision but are desperate to hang on to their control of Kingston Council and adopt a populist, opportunistic view in their usual manner.

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Alucard says...
10:22pm Thu 9 Dec 10

Well chezpeta, if the dreadful spelling, grammar and syntax in your post is anything to go by, God help us all if you are off to University

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clarkboy says...
10:14am Fri 10 Dec 10

Nothing wrong with 80s style Tory policies, which set this country on the road to 90s style affluence, which was messed up by Labour's overspending of the noughties. Oh and their social engineering, spending other people's money for students to undertake courses in media studies and surfing. You can criticise the Lib Dems if you like, but any government would have taken a similar line on tuition fees.

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g unit says...
5:41pm Thu 16 Dec 10

LibDems RIP

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Rohan says...
10:03pm Mon 27 Dec 10

oh come on, you cant complain.

you must have known he was a liar from the day you met him.

io'd say dont give anything to these liars, but the problem with that is that the lack of votes for less evil parties means these people get in. We should have learned our lessons from Blair and Thatcher.

I think we have learned our lesson, us abstainers should have voted for someone who isnt LiarDem, and isnt Conartistertives. I'm as guilty of that as anyone.

Its a sad state of affairs when the majority actually let in the biggest con artists into power, next time I'll put in a vote instead of abstaining and letting in these numbskulls.

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Rohan says...
10:08pm Mon 27 Dec 10

i think clarkboy, you wouldnt say that if you were in an area that wass ruined by 80s tory policies.

but yeah i get your thinking, if you can look after the relatively richer people like the tories did in the 80s (when the they planned to make you think like you just did in that post, and ignore your fellow countrymen's plight) then thats definitely good for you. you'd make a fine tory!

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