After tuition fees vote, students will ensure politicians are the biggest losers
The electorate will not forgive or forget the betrayal by Vince Cable and others who broke their pledge to oppose higher fees
an article by Aaron Porter
The last 30 days have shaken the coalition. Together with UCU, the lecturers' union, we brought 50,000 to the streets of London on 10 November for the biggest student demonstration in a generation. It has sparked a new wave of activism that has involved tens of thousands of students, parents, pupils and teachers in creative, nonviolent protests and direct action.
By piling pressure on MPs with dozens of spontaneous demonstrations, scores of occupations and hundreds of thousands taking action around the country, we have come together to defend education and fight for our future. A generation has found its voice.
We won the arguments and the battle for public opinion and, even in parliament, MPs admitted they agreed with us that the government's proposals were unfair, unnecessary and wrong before trailing through the lobbies to vote for them. There are no winners from Thursday's vote, but we will ensure that the biggest losers will be politicians.
We lost the vote in the House of Commons because MPs broke the promises they made to voters. We knew that had their pledges been honoured, we would have won the day.
Twenty-one Liberal Democrat MPs kept their promises and they deserve our praise. I will write to each of them individually to thank them for standing up for students and their families. It was great to see them join Conservative, Labour, Green, SNP, Plaid Cymru, DUP, SDLP and independent MPs as a rainbow coalition to vote down the government's proposals. It is a democratic disgrace that their motion was not considered and that the people were not heard.
The responsibility for the outcome lies on the shoulders of those MPs who have broken their promises to voters. Those who broke their pledge and voted for the government have lied, and those who abstained have not only lied, but they are also cowards. As a result of that vote, students will pay a big price but many politicians cost themselves their integrity and their seats. They dishonoured themselves in the lobbies.
MPs in seats such as Bath, Burnley, Bradford East, Bristol West and Brent Central are a busted flush. The claim from Simon Hughes that he abstained in the vote "on principle" is a joke and Nick Clegg has lost all integrity. As he has spun on his heels in ill-advised U-turn after U-turn, Vince Cable's credibility has been shot to pieces. This may impress Strictly Come Dancing judges, but voters will take a very dim view. The electorate will not forgive or forget this betrayal.
We intend to hold politicians to account for what they have already done and in time we will do so.
But we have urgent battles to fight. The proposals to triple fees will go the House of Lords on Tuesday and we will be urging peers to vote them down. On Monday we will join forces with teachers and lecturers for a day of action to save the education maintenance allowance. The EMA transforms lives and supports the poorest college learners to stay in education. We will fight to defend it as the government looks to pull up the drawbridge on the next generation and price out the poorest learners.
If universities are to be allowed to charge up to £9,000 then promoting, defending and extending the rights of students will become even more crucial than it is already.
Our fight is not just an issue of policy, but one of principle. The government has blamed the financial crisis and told us there is no alternative. The first people who will pay these astronomical fees were aged just 13 when the banks fell. They didn't cause the crisis but they are becoming its victims.
There is still much to be done to build on what we have done together. The student movement has a strong future but we are in the fight of our lives to defend ourselves and each other. Our fight goes on.
