Vince will vote…

Business Secretary Vince Cable will vote for a rise in university tuition fees, he revealed today. The Twickenham MP suggested earlier this week he may abstain in a House of Commons vote next Thursday if his Liberal Democrat colleagues wanted him to. But in an exclusive interview with the Richmond and Twickenham Times today, he said he had reconsidered his decision and had “no doubt” he should support the contoversial policy that will allow some universities to charge up to £9,000 in fees. – The Richmond & Twickenham Times

Vince Cable declared that he faced a “duty” to vote in favour of the rise in university tuition fees next week, guaranteeing a split in Liberal Democrat ranks when grandees oppose the policy. In a move which surprised senior party figures, who had thought Cable was prepared to abstain in the interests of party unity, the business secretary insisted that the rise in fees was the right policy. “Obviously I have a duty as a minister to vote for my own policy – and that is what will happen,” Cable told his local newspaper, the Richmond and Twickenham Times. Cable, who has the right under the coalition agreement as a Lib Dem MP to abstain in next week’s vote, has indicated to fellow ministers that he is minded to vote in favour of the rise on the grounds that he is the responsible minister. He also believes he has introduced fairness to the system by raising the salary level at which the fees are paid back from £15,000 to £21,000. – The Guardian

The party promised in its manifesto to abolish tuition fees, and senior figures including their leader, Nick Clegg, signed a pledge to vote against any increase. The party was yesterday forced to call off its London conference which was due to take place this weekend after students threatened to protest outside. In interviews earlier this week, Mr Cable said his “personal instinct” was to back the fees package in the Commons. But he said he was “happy to go along with” a mass Lib Dem abstention if all the party’s MPs agreed to it. On Friday, he told the Richmond and Twickenham Times he made this offer as an “olive branch” for colleagues who were “finding this difficult”. Mr Cable added: “There is a dilemma.”I’m very clear I regard the policy as right and as a member of the Cabinet I am collectively responsible for the policy. “There is no doubt that is what I should do.” – The Telegraph

Chaytor pleads guilty

David Chaytor became the first former MP to be convicted over the expenses scandal after pleading guilty today to three charges of false accounting, days before he was due to stand trial. The former Labour MP for Bury North had previously denied fraudulently claiming parliamentary expenses. His eleventh-hour change of plea at London’s Old Bailey came as he exhausted legal avenues to stop his case, due to reach trial on Monday, being heard in the criminal courts. The 61-year-old stood in the glass-panelled dock of court 11 as the three charges were read aloud, answering “guilty” to each of them. Afterwards, he was mobbed by photographers as he left court in a black taxi with his legal team, making no comment. – The Guardian Read the rest of this entry »

World Cup heart break

For the last five days in Zurich, Jack Warner’s chauffeur-driven Fifa limousine has nosed its way through the city’s traffic to take the 67-year-old former school teacher to meetings with Prince William, David Cameron and David Beckham, who have treated Warner like a friend and ally. Yesterday, Warner delivered a lesson to Britain’s young Prime Minister and its even fresher-faced heir to the throne that there are no politics in international sport more brutal than those of Fifa – where men will say one thing to your face and do quite another when they approach the ballot box in the boardroom at Fifa House. Cameron was fortunate that he was out of Zurich and away from the television cameras when Warner delivered his stitch-up of the English bid in which neither he nor his Concacaf colleagues, representing North and Central America and the Caribbean, voted for England. In Cameron’s gilded political career it would be difficult to remember a more blatant humiliation than the one dealt him by Warner. – The Independent

The result, worse even than the failed 2006 bid that made it into the second round before being ejected, exposed the confidence engendered by the work of England’s ‘Three Lions’ and an outstanding final presentation as illusory. There was resentment too that the strong technical merits of England’s bid – it was the most highly-rated on technical and economic grounds – had apparently been ignored. Cameron, who spent three days pressing England’s case in Zurich, said Fifa had ignored the bids merits: “According to Fifa we had the best technical bid and the strongest commercial bid and the country is passionate about football. But it turns out that is not enough.” – The Telegraph

Frank Field report published

The biggest transformation of anti-poverty programmes since the war – which will “require a testing of some of the 1940s welfare state’s sacred cows” – is today proposed by Frank Field in a report commissioned by David Cameron. Field, a Labour MP and a long-term anti-poverty campaigner, proposes the government switches focus from Labour’s anti-poverty measure, based on material income, to a set of life chance indicators. He writes: “Poverty is a much more subtle enemy than purely lack of money,” adding he does not believe poverty is the dominant reason why disadvantage is handed down from one generation to another. Parenting was more important than income or schooling to a child’s life chances. The findings will be strongly supported by the Liberal Democrat policy team, as well as by Oliver Letwin, the Conservatives’s chief policy thinker. Cameron and Nick Clegg, in a joint letter to Field, praised the report as “a vital moment in the history of our efforts to tackle poverty and disadvantage”. – The Guardian

Child benefit and child tax credits would be frozen and the money switched to improving the life chances of disadvantaged children before they start school, under plans being considered by the Government. In a report today, Frank Field, the Labour MP and the Government’s anti-poverty tsar, recommends a change away from boosting the incomes of poor families. Instead, his inquiry proposes improving public services and breaking the cycle to “prevent poor children from becoming poor adults”. – The Independent Read the rest of this entry »

Tuition fees vote

MPs are to vote on controversial plans to raise tuition fees in England on 9 December, ministers have confirmed. The vote will be a critical test for the coalition, which has faced mass protests over its plan to nearly double fees to £6,000 and allow charges of up to £9,000 for some courses. The Lib Dems have come under heavy pressure after pledging before the election not to support any fee rise. Ministers insist the proposals are fairer than the current system. But student leaders say the proposals – which followed the independent Browne review of student finance – will deter people from poorer backgrounds from applying to university. – BBC

The National Union of Students has announced plans for further mass student protests on the eve of a crucial Commons vote on university tuition fees. The union has called for students across the country to begin demonstrations on 8 December. A further rally by students and union officials is planned on the day of the vote before the group lobbies MPs inside Westminster in an effort to persuade them against voting for a rise in fees. NUS president Aaron Porter said: “MPs can be left in no doubt as to the widespread public opposition to these plans or of the consequences of steamrollering them through parliament.  “For the third time in less than a month thousands of students have taken to the streets to protest against the government’s attacks on further and higher education. He added: “Despite repeated dismissals by Nick Clegg that these are uninformed protesters, students are intelligent, articulate people who are not being listened to by those in whom they placed their hope for a different politics.” – The Guardian

Cameron U-turn on school sports

David Cameron was in retreat last night over the Government’s plans to cut funding for school sports following protests from top athletes. Ministers were facing a backlash against moves to scrap the £162m fund targeted on boosting sports standards in English schools. Critics warned that the move would threaten after-school clubs and cost the jobs of sport coaches and PE teachers – just as London staged the 2012 Olympics. Mr Cameron signalled a rethink over the plans yesterday, saying he was looking “very carefully” at the issue and planned to make an announcement soon. Downing Street acknowledged that there had been concern “at local level” about the move and said that Mr Cameron had asked the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, to look again at the decision. – The Independent

Calls for King’s head

There were calls last night for Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, to give evidence to a parliamentary inquiry after the Conservatives claimed he sided with them during the talks leading to the formation of the coalition government. Tristam Hunt, a Labour member of the political and constitutional reform select committee, said he had written to Graham Allen, its chairman, to ask King to give evidence. Allen said he would take soundings from committee members tomorrow. Hunt said today: “In light of the revelations in WikiLeaks and the Guardian, I believe King should give evidence to the committtee to clarify what role he believes a governor should play in the formation of coalitions, as well as what specific role he did play in May. This is not a small matter and does deserve some serious analysis by a committee like ours.” Hunt added: “There is a danger that Mervyn King has compromised the independence of the bank in his role in the coalition talks. The whole ideological rationale behind this government is the necessity of cutting the deficit faster than the Labour government. King seems to have encouraged that view and so raised serious questions as to what his role should be as head of the bank”. – The Guardian Read the rest of this entry »