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?
24 Responses to “Tuition fees backlash gains momentum on the right”
Chris
@mousey
“You don’t know what view I take on higher education or my opinion on tuition fees”
You stated previously that you supported them on the grounds that a cleaner shouldn’t pay for a lawyer, etc. And that is the argument inferred by your ranting above.
Caught out again, mousey, as has been said before your opinions seem to change with the wind.
Mr. Sensible
Mouse what polls? The last ones I have seen show Labour in the lead.
And Liz I completely agree. Is it not the case that what the government is doing could disadvantage the country not just in terms of skills, but in terms of pressure on the public finances as I have previously stated/
Anon E Mouse
Mr.Sensible – You should know by now I never post without checking my facts (unlike that lunatic Chris above who just makes things up – the lickspittle!)
YouGov had the Tories back in the lead earlier in the week, no honeymoon period for the useless Ed Miliband, even the cartoonists have a field day with him (empty chair in the Times) and if you don’t realise how the PLP regard him then you’re I’ll informed or being dishonest like young Chris.
YouGov today have only 27% saying he’s up to the job. Only 12% saying he’d make a better leader than his brother, who got over three times Ed Miliband’s vote.
He’s a useless, dithering dud and everybody knows it Mr.Sensible and can we please not have posts on this blog going to la la land and saying people like me and all Labour MP’s are wrong about him.
We’re right and you’re wrong. Ed Miliband cheated with union help to get his position and will only serve to keep Labour in opposition. He is simply the best asset the government has….
Chris
@mousey
Why are you coming back to a thread 2 days after the last post?
“You should know by now I never post without checking my facts”
Are you trying to be funny? When you used to bother writing anything with facts in it they invariably turned out to be wrong or taken from highly partisan sources. Like when I caught you copy and pasting a strangely worded paragraph straight from a tory HQ press release. It seems you’ve now given up almost entirely on facts and just repeat the same generic rant about Ed, its rather sad and boring really.
“can we please not have posts on this blog going to la la land”
All your posts are in a strange la la land.
“We’re right and you’re wrong.”
Who is we? How many people wrote your comments?
“Ed Miliband cheated with union help”
Can we please not have posts on this blog going to la la land?
Mouse, why don’t you fuck off back to whatever shithole you’ve oozed out. And stop posting in company time you pathetic slacker.