Published: November 18th 2010 - at 3:20 pm

Kennedy to vote against Coalition on tuition fees


by Sunny Hundal    

Well done to Charles Kennedy for retaining some principles.

In a letter to Libdem activist Sophie Bertrand, Charles Kennedy said he would vote against the rise in tuition fees.

There are long-established reasons as to why I find it impossible to join in both with the direction and thrust of the Coalition’s approach to tuition fees.

As well as the NUS pledge which I signed at the last general election, personally I find it impossible to reconcile what would be a change of stance on my own part and a departure from the approach which I set out as UK party leader in the previous elections of 2001 and 2005.

Accordingly, I shall be voting against the Coalition’s proposals on university tuition fees.

The full letter is here
(via LibdemVoice).


---------------------------
     Share on Tumblr  


About the author
Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
· Other posts by


Story Filed Under: News


Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.


Reader comments


1. Galen10

“It is well said, then, that it is by doing just acts that the just man is produced, and by doing temperate acts the temperate man; without doing these no one would have even a prospect of becoming good. But most people do not do these, but take refuge in theory and think they are being philosophers and will become good in this way, behaving somewhat like patients who listen attentively to their doctors, but do none of the things they are ordered to do. ” (Aristotle)

If only more in the LD’s thought like Charles Kennedy.

2. Gaf the Horse

Good for him. Sadly I don’t think enough of the other LD MPs will have the guts to join him.

3. Galen10

2

I’m sure there will be a “name and shame” list somewhere… it’ll be handy come next election time!

4. Rae Merrill

He’s the only one with principles left in the LibDems.

5. TW

@ 1, 2 and 4

I make that one party president and 2 former party leaders. So far. Most significantly, the recently elected president campaigned on a promise not to support the governent on this issue, and about 2/3 of those party members supported that position.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/11/tuition-fees-poll-tax-our-generation

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1320338/Ming-Campbell-challenges-coalition-joins-Lib-Dem-tuition-fee-rebels.html

Here are one or two more MPs who have promised not to support the government.

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/districts/poole/8669567.MP_won___t_vote_for_tuition_fee_increase/?ref=rss

http://insidethem60.journallocal.co.uk/2010/10/i-will-vote-against-any-tuition-fee-rise-says-leech/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/leeds/2010/oct/13/leeds-students-protest-against-tuition-fees

But never let the facts get in the way of a bit of rightous anger.

6. damon

There’s something quite cynical going on here it seems.
9% over £21,000 is not a lot of money.
What’s going on – politics?

7. Cherub

@1

Indeed. Being in his position could drive a man to drink.

8. Galen10

5

I’ll leave aside the anger when all that principled opposition you point out leads to some concrete results.

If so much of your (?) party opposes the move, then vote it down.

9. margin4error

The government have a big enough majority that David Cameron and Andy Coulson can give a handful of Lib Dems permission to “rebel”.

So they are picking out a handful – if the are smart a handful with universities in their seat – and telling them to help “differentiate” the Lib Dems from the Tories by “rebelling”.

Perfectly sensible ploy and I’m sure any coalition would do likewise.

Obviously though only so many are allowed to “rebel”. The others have to do what they are told and will hapilly take the more public party whip.

10. TW

@ 8

You’ve changed your point. Your original comment was: “If only more in the LD’s thought like Charles Kennedy.” I’ve demonstrated there are more – lots more.

I like the Aristotle btw.

11. Galen10

10

OK, guilty as charged: I accept that many, perhaps even most agree with Charles Kennedy.

It doesn’t look like it’s going to change the outcome though does it, despite the much vaunted difference between the LD’s and other parties in terms of policy making?

It doesn’t take the brain of Aristotle to see that the LD’s have lost their way, if not their soul.

12. TW

“It doesn’t take the brain of Aristotle to see that the LD’s have lost their way, if not their soul.”

We shall see whether the party has lost its way. There is certainly a long term bet on the table.

As to soul, don’t forget that the Lib Dems (and the Liberal Party before it) are not and never were socialist, democratic socialist or social democrat. Some may have confused the party’s policy with its philosophy. Others have not been (eg “yellow Tory” jibes from Labour in Camden, Liverpool and elsewhere long before May 2010); but those jibes are/were just as inaccurate as “yellow socialist” jibes from the Tories before May 2010. We didn’t hear so much of them when Lib Dem councillors were in coalition with Labour in councils up and down the country, in Scotland etc.

13. Galen10

12

I take your point, as a social democrat myself that’s probably why I could never bring myself to join the LD’s; I was never convinced about the bolting together of the old Liberal party and the SDP, and I wasn’t about to join the Labour Party either, lol!

I do think however that the LD’s are guilty of supporting regressive policies, and ditching much of their platform, to the extent that they could indeed be described as having lost their soul. Time will tell whether it cost them even more dearly than just losing power come the next election.


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Political Scrapbook

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  2. Paul Smith Bristol

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  3. David Glass

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  4. Andrew Beckett

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv <<and increase in alcohol duty

  5. Duncan Chapple

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  6. jennifer roberts

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  7. Red Rambler

    Charles Kennedy retains his principles and will vote in line with his pledge to students. http://bit.ly/aQeKns

  8. Laurence Turner

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  9. Wes Streeting

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  10. Wonko Le Sane

    RT @red_rambler_: Charles Kennedy retains his principles and will vote in line with his pledge to students. http://bit.ly/aQeKns

  11. Maizey R.

    RT @red_rambler_: Charles Kennedy retains his principles and will vote in line with his pledge to students. http://bit.ly/aQeKns

  12. Nasim Marie Jafry

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  13. yorkierosie

    RT @red_rambler_: Charles Kennedy retains his principles and will vote in line with his pledge to students. http://bit.ly/aQeKns

  14. Gez Kirby

    Good. He'd make a fine Labour MP .. > RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  15. bill bold

    if only ALL the liberal democrats had the conscience of Charles Kennedy-come back Chuck! http://bit.ly/aLhSNv #charleskennedy #tuitionfees

  16. Kate Sheill

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv << ooh, good.

  17. Susan Nash

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  18. Andrew Kenning

    RT @red_rambler_: Charles Kennedy retains his principles and will vote in line with his pledge to students. http://bit.ly/aQeKns

  19. UWMO

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  20. Linda Gilroy

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  21. Katharine S Russell

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  22. Jonathan Taylor

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  23. Chris Penberthy

    A man of principle – unlike his party leaders RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  24. Neil Wigglesworth

    RT @red_rambler_: Charles Kennedy retains his principles and will vote in line with his pledge to students. http://bit.ly/aQeKns

  25. Andy Farrell

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  26. Vicki Butler

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  27. Joseph Wheatley

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  28. emma dow

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  29. Polly

    RT @calamitykate: RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv (Good!)

  30. Roxanne Ellis

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  31. Susan Simmonds

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  32. Annie B

    Good 4 him RT @red_rambler_: Charles Kennedy retains his principles and will vote in line with his pledge to students. http://bit.ly/aQeKns

  33. steve clarke

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  34. Alan Marshall

    RT @libcon Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  35. Alicia

    RT @red_rambler_: Charles Kennedy retains his principles and will vote in line with his pledge to students. http://bit.ly/aQeKns

  36. Louise Hazan

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  37. Viki

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  38. Matt Senior

    RT @red_rambler_: Charles Kennedy retains his principles and will vote in line with his pledge to students. http://bit.ly/aQeKns

  39. Lee Hyde

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  40. Melissa Nicole Harry

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  41. Jenny Bunker

    RT @red_rambler_: Charles Kennedy retains his principles and will vote in line with his pledge to students. http://bit.ly/aQeKns

  42. Pat Raven

    Kennedy to vote against Coalition on tuition fees | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/RmPuHI5 via @libcon

  43. Kennedy to vote against Coalition on tuition fees | Liberal Conspiracy « March The Fury

    [...] the vote on tuition fees. It emerged today that former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy is going to vote against the fee rise. He said he found it ‘impossible to reconcile’ pledging to campaign against fees and [...]

  44. Wendy Maddox

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv

  45. Top Politics Tweets

    RT @libcon: Charles Kennedy to oppose Coalition on tuition fees http://bit.ly/aLhSNv





Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

 
Liberal Conspiracy is the UK's most popular left-of-centre politics blog. Our aim is to re-vitalise the liberal-left through discussion and action. More about us here.

You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or RSS feed. You can also get them by email and through our Facebook group.
LATEST COMMENT PIECES
» Criticism of Obama for its own sake: a reply to Mehdi Hasan
» Do older people really need more NHS healthcare?
» There are alternatives to the reckless ‘Plan A’
» On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people
» Why Cameron’s claim of 600,000 jobs created is plainly wrong
» By using age to allocate NHS funding, Lansley rewards Tory voters
» The rise in domestic violence deaths is not an “isolated” problem
» Adrian Beecroft highlights mindset of Tory right
» The US is now a model for the Eurozone to save itself
» The IMF plan to revive the economy doesn’t go far enough
» The Boris brand is weaker than his friends think
» Nine things you can do to halt Lansley’s destruction of our NHS






’43% of young women sexually harassed’
46 Comments



How Newsnight demonised a single mother
92 Comments



UKIP higher than Libdems over May
23 Comments



Red Tory Blond: gay marriage “homophobic”
50 Comments



Nick Cleg u-turns on economy too
10 Comments



Funny bits of TPA report you probably missed
26 Comments



Poll: banks not paying fair share for crisis
23 Comments



Frank Field wrong on workless households
69 Comments



TPA report quotes Bible to preach low taxation
44 Comments



Ed M disliked Byrne’s hard line on welfare
25 Comments



 LATEST COMMENTS
» Robin Hood: backed by the rich, backed by the rest, says new poll | ToUChstone blog: A public policy blog from the TUC posted on Poll: banks not paying fair share for crisis

» Colin Hall posted on Adrian Beecroft highlights mindset of Tory right

» re posted on '43% of young women sexually harassed'

» steveb posted on Do older people really need more NHS healthcare?

» So Much For Subtlety posted on '43% of young women sexually harassed'

» Paul posted on Criticism of Obama for its own sake: a reply to Mehdi Hasan

» Conby posted on '43% of young women sexually harassed'

» Jim posted on How Newsnight demonised a single mother

» So Much For Subtlety posted on Do older people really need more NHS healthcare?

» JC posted on Why Cameron's claim of 600,000 jobs created is plainly wrong

» pagar posted on '43% of young women sexually harassed'

» So Much For Subtlety posted on '43% of young women sexually harassed'

» D.O posted on How Newsnight demonised a single mother

» So Much For Subtlety posted on Criticism of Obama for its own sake: a reply to Mehdi Hasan

» Briar posted on Do older people really need more NHS healthcare?