Labour's John Denham today urged the coalition to delay a controversial vote on raising tuition fees claiming ministers had yet to finalise details of the plan.
Business Secretary Vince Cable issued a statement confirming a package of concessions ahead of tomorrow's crunch vote, including measures to ease the burden on the poorest students.
Mr Denham, MP for Southampton Itchen, seized on that as proof the government was still drawing up the contentious plans that include charging a maximum of £9,000 a year.
He said: "The Government's latest attempts to shore up its plans for a massive hike in tuition fees simply show that their plans are not worked out.
"They have only made these concessions after a series of Labour challenges. We challenged the Government after showing the two-thirds of part time students would face higher fees. We challenged the government to update the threshold for fee repayment.
"But these desperate measures are not good enough. The Government have still not justified cutting higher education teaching by 80%, leading to the highest fees of any pubic university system in the industrialised world.
"The Government have not shown how they will improve access for students from low and middle income households.
"The vote on tuition fees should be delayed until all the Government's plans have been published."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel