UKIP's Gawain Towler talks exclusively to Left Foot Forward about his party's position on tuition fees.
On the day of the government’s controversial tuition fees vote there are huge protests uniting people of all political persuasions in Westminster and throughout the country. Whilst the parliamentary opposition is coming from the Labour benches, Nationalists and a handful of coalition rebels, they may have some unexpected political bedfellows in the shape of UKIP, the United Kingdom Independence Party.
Whilst UKIP have had no sitting MPs in Parliament since 2008 and therefore no way to influence the vote directly today, they have a number of elected MEPs.
Talking exclusively to Left Foot Forward, Gawain Towler, a spokesman for UKIP in the European Parliament, outlined the party’s unequivocal opposition to the coalition’s reforms.
Despite having criticised past policies of both Conservative efforts in “screwing over polytechnics” and Labour policies “designed to hide unemployment”, Towler announced that if UKIP were to have representatives in the House of Commons they would definitely oppose the legislation:
“We would be against rises, without a doubt, wholeheartedly….. whacking great fees on them (students) doesn’t get you very far…. we don’t think education is just there to tick an economic box”
While UKIP’s official position is that too many people currently attend university, the widely criticised Government legislation has managed to unite everyone from the left-wing of Labour to the Eurosceptic, right-wing party. Perhaps some issues transcend the ideological divide?
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24 Responses to “Tuition fees backlash gains momentum on the right”
David Hatton
While it is bad that the government lied to us, it is despicable that people brought violence into what could of been a peaceful protest. Throwing stones at policemen? setting fire to public property? Disgusting. Isn’t it time we had a little perspective? http://davidhatton1987.blogspot.com/2010/11/little-perspective.html
david
RT @leftfootfwd: Tuition fees backlash gains momentum on the right http://bit.ly/hAQpU2
Anon E Mouse
It won’t be long before some Labour MP says he sympathises with the protesters – you can just feel it coming. Won’t be the dithering Ed Miliband who couldn’t make a decision if his life depended on it.
The Labour leadership must be wincing as they watch these middle class selfish little wusses protesting because they think working class people should pay for them to be advantaged in life.
Just watch. Labour is somehow going to get embroiled in this. Where is the hapless Labour leader’s criticism of the wanton violent behaviour from these little pricks? Where is the NUS apology for the outrageous actions in our capital?
This behaviour is a disgrace and that hopeless union stooge, Ed Miliband, needs to start condemning the actions of those little jerkoffs ASAP. He cannot hide away living his millionaire lifestyle forever…
13eastie
Tonight’s vote should be celebrated by all “progressives” and others in favour of universal access to higher education.
For the first time, an answer to the funding question has been provided and a sustainable means has been found to enable large numbers of ordinary students to go to university, paying no fees up-front, making no demands of parents, and incorporating a progressive system of payment in arrears for those that benefit. More yet, the poor will be shielded from meeting the cost of higher education.
Aaron Porter should be strung up. He has delivered nothing but disgrace to students, while failing to achieve any objective. The desecration of Churchill’s monument? Why? Because the Nazis didn’t have tuition fees?
Porter has also failed his supporters massively: he will never manage to atone for the young people whose prospects he has damaged irreparably by dissuading them from applying to study for a degree, and, in some cases, condemned with the stigma of a criminal record.
THE REAL VICTIMS IN THIS EPISODE ARE THOSE THAT THE NUS AND LABOUR HAVE DECEIVED INTO DECLINING THE OFFER OF A ONE-WAY BET ON THEIR OWN SUCCESS AT UNIVERSITY.
Chris
@mousey
Yawn, do you post on the Daily Mail website as well?
“It won’t be long before some Labour MP says he sympathises with the protesters – you can just feel it coming”
Ermmmm, John McDonnell already has.
“The Labour leadership must be wincing as they watch these middle class selfish little wusses protesting because they think working class people should pay for them to be advantaged in life.”
Wusses? I’d like to see you taking on the billy club wielding TSG thugs. Say what you like about the students but wusses they ain’t.
And why are you posting in company time, slacker!
@13eastie
WTF? What planet have you been living on? Mousey, put this sock puppet away you aren’t fooling anybody.