YORK Outer MP Julian Sturdy has defended his decision to vote in favour of increasing student tuition fees to up to £9,000.

The Conservative MP, whose constituency includes the University of York, was the target of student demonstrations and lobbying in the run-up to last Thursday’s vote.

York Central’s Labour MP, Hugh Bayley, voted against the increase. His constituency includes York St John University.

Anne McIntosh, the Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, attacked the Labour proposal to introduce a graduate tax to replace tuition fees during the House of Commons debate on the issue. She also voted for the fees rise.

Mr Sturdy said of the increase: “It is not the ideal option but, given the circumstances, it is the right one, but it is a viable one.”

He has released details of the speech he wanted to give in the debate, but the Speaker did not call on him to speak.

He said: “As well as being a principled low-tax Conservative, I am also a low-debt Conservative.

“Increasing personal debt does not sit easily with me, and I think we have to accept that future generations are already set to be unfairly burdened as a result of the staggering national debt that has been accumulated over the past decade.”

He said responsible governments were those which were capable of looking at the bigger picture with enough courage and conviction to take the right decisions, in the national interest, even when it was not easy to do so. He said: “Increasing the higher amount of tuition fees requires such conviction.” Mr Sturdy claimed the current system of funding universities was unsustainable and Labour’s alternative of a graduate tax would increase Government debt until 2041.

“Given the vast budget deficit already in existence such a policy would be shockingly irresponsible,” he said. “It would be neither feasible nor fair, particularly on those unfortunate future generations.”

Increasing tuition fees was therefore the only realistic option. Miss McIntosh said the graduate tax scheme would reduce social mobility and lead to higher initial repayments by graduates.

The Government restricted the debate to five hours, against strong Labour objections.


Parties’ war of words over rise in fees

RIVAL political parties in York have become embroiled in a war of words over tuition fees.

Both the Liberal Democrat and Labour groups tabled motions at a full meeting of City of York Council calling for increases in the amounts students will have to pay to go to university to be scrapped. The Lib Dem motion, submitted by Coun Keith Aspden, was voted down following opposition from Labour, whose group leader Coun James Alexander’s separate motion was passed.

The House of Commons has agreed plans to raise the basic tuition fee cap from £3,290 to £6,000 and allow English universities to charge as much as £9,000.

Chris Wiggin, Lib Dem candidate for the Heslington ward at next year’s council elections, said: “Labour claim to be opposed to the rise in tuition fees, yet they voted against our motion calling for the rise to be rejected. Clearly Labour don’t feel strongly enough on the issue to be able to bring themselves to vote for another party’s motion. It exposes the hypocrisy behind their position.”

But Coun Alexander said: “I don’t think a previous Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate who stood for a party on a platform of abolishing tuition fees and instead increased them is in any position to lecture on political hypocrisy.

“I thought it was wrong to raise them under a Labour Government and I still think it is wrong under this Government, so at least I can be consistent. His party supported my motion, so I find it odd he is disgruntled.”