Further blow to Liberal Democrats’ credibility
N.U.S. threaten ‘Right to Recall’ as revelations question sincerity of Lib Dem pre-election pledge
Student organizations have expressed outrage after it was recently revealed that a group of senior Liberal Democrat figures planned to surrender their policy on removing tuition fees in the case of a possible coalition government – two months before the general election.
In the document unveiled by The Guardian and dated 16th March, Danny Alexander, current Chief Secretary to the Treasury. suggested that: "we should seek agreement on part-time students and leave the rest," pertaining to the raising of the tuition fee cap.
The news is likely to come as a heavy blow to Nick Clegg, after he backtracked on his signing of the pledge organized by the National Union of Students (NUS) to oppose any vote on raising tuition fees and especially after he admitted last week that he "should have been more careful" when making the promise.
In the document [...] Danny Alexander, current Chief Secretary to the Treasury, suggested that [the Lib Dems] "should seek agreement on part-time students and leave the rest".
The document was revealed by Conservative MP Rob Wilson in his new book 'Five Days to Power', detailing the period of coalition negotiations following the general election. It was also revealed that Alexander had not believed that a coalition government with the Conservative Party would have been possible, citing that it would be "extremely difficult to form without splitting [the Liberal Democrats]."
The Liberal Democrats have stood by their decisions, with a spokesman claiming in response that they have fulfilled the "four key priorities which were set out on the front page of [their] manifesto", distinctly laid out as follows: 'fair taxes that put money back in your pocket', 'a fair chance for every child', 'a fair future, creating jobs by making Britain greener' and 'a fair deal for you from politicians'.
Student organizations are likely to disagree with the 'fair deal' aspect of the manifesto, with various anti-Liberal Democrat protests being organized next week. The Education Activist Network calls on its followers to 'target Lib Dems after [their] new betrayal', planning a 'day of mass walkouts to converge on a demonstration outside the Lib Dem HQ'. The NUS has planned a more physically restrained approach, forming their own 'Right to Recall' pledge for students to sign promising that they will vote against any candidate who broke any pledge on university fees or Education Maintenance Allowances.
The initiative is named after a procedure suggested by the Liberal Democrats themselves, involving penalizing MPs who break promises or are found guilty of impropriety by forcing an immediate by-election.
