Clegg in fresh appeal to students

The National Union of Students has backed a further day of protests on Tuesday across the country

Nick Clegg has urged students to reflect on the “true picture” about government plans to raise tuition fees.

Ahead of further expected protests on Tuesday, the deputy prime minister said graduates in England on lower incomes would be better off than they are now.

It was “crucial” people realised there will be no upfront fees and repayments will begin at £21,000, he told the National Union of Students.

Meanwhile, fellow Lib Dem Jenny Willott said she would vote against the plans.

Ms Willott, MP for Cardiff Central, said she could not support plans to allow English universities to charge £6,000, almost double the current £3,290 cap, and up to £9,000 under certain conditions.

MPs will debate the student finance proposals and government plans to cut university teaching budgets and support allowances for low-income further education students on Tuesday.

They will do so against a backdrop of further demonstrations, with a march organised by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts – and backed by the NUS – set to take place in central London.

Ahead of the event, Mr Clegg has written to NUS President Aaron Porter to urge people to consider the impact the proposed changes will have on people from poorer families wanting to go to university.

Under plans to raise the threshold at which people start paying contributions from £15,000 to £21,000 and to lower interest rates for low earners, Mr Clegg said someone whose salary started at £21,000 and rose to £27,000 after 20 years would find themselves having to pay an average of £7 a month.

In contrast under the current system, he said they would be paying £45 a month.

“If we are agreed that people should only start to repay after they graduate and that those repayments should be linked to the ability to pay, then the important question is which system offers fairest method of payment,” he wrote.

“While the Liberal Democrats have not been able to keep their pledge on tuition fees, I believe we have played an important role in proposing a new system in line with our fair, progressive values.”

Student groups have said the fear of higher debts will put many people off from applying to university while research by the million+ and London Economics think tanks, published on Tuesday, suggests 60% of students will be worse off under the plans by an average of £5,000.

Mr Clegg said he was not seeking to stop people from campaigning against the changes or continuing protests which have seen thousands of students, lecturers and school children take to streets in cities across England and which led to violent clashes with police in London.

“If the proposals are passed by Parliament, I believe it is crucial that all of us are able to ensure that people know the true picture,” he added.

“I do not expect to change your position… But I do believe the nature of that debate and the language we use, is important if it is not to have consequences that none of us want.”

MPs are set to debate the proposals over the next couple of weeks, starting with an opposition-led debate on Tuesday in which Labour will seek to expose divisions within the coalition and increase pressure on Lib Dems under fire for abandoning a pre-election pledge not to raise fees.

While Lib Dem MPs are able to abstain on votes over tuition fees under the coalition agreement, Lib Dem ministers are under pressure to support the proposals and Mr Clegg has been talking to all his MPs amid talk of a compromise agreement.

But Ms Willott, who is parliamentary private secretary to energy secretary Chris Huhne, confirmed on Monday she would vote against the proposals.

The government has insisted its “graduate contribution scheme” is fairer than an alternative graduate tax plan favoured by Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Mr Miliband says such a tax – details of which are yet to be finalised – would be more closely linked to an individual’s ability to pay, but shadow chancellor Alan Johnson is among Labour figures who are sceptical.

The Conservatives say their own research indicates part-time workers and graduates earning up to £25,150 would be worse off under a graduate tax levied at 2% of income.

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