Students choose the ‘real alternative’
Since the last general election life on a university or college campus must have been anything but dull. In between study, lectures, the exams many of you are revising for now – and I’m sure the odd night out – our student population has been at the forefront of the major political campaigns of the last few years. Many of you marched against the war in Iraq. Many of you have been out campaigning against Labour’s top-up fees policy.
And of course the threat of climate change and environmental issues requires constant attention if we are to keep green issues near the top of the international agenda. All this activity is no surprise. Students are among the most politically aware people in our country. But what has surprised many political commentators has been the way that students have turned their back on Labour. In 2001 over 40 per cent of students said they were voting Labour.
But in a poll carried out by The Oxford Student, only 19 per cent of Oxford students now intend to vote Labour. Now, almost 40 per cent intend to vote Liberal Democrat. Why has this happened? And what will this mean at the election? Liberal Democrat opposition to top-up fees and tuition fees has been clear and consistent. I was fortunate – from a modest income background – to get the opportunity of a full student grant; to emerge from university with a degree, without debt round my neck.
And that university opportunity led to every other opportunity that has come my way. The Liberal Democrats don’t just oppose top-up and student tuition fees because we disagree with the policy. I personally oppose them because I think there is no more nauseating sight than politicians pulling up the ladder of opportunity behind them. With the addition of topup fees, students may now face debts of up to £30,000 on some measures by graduation.
These huge debts will discourage young people from choosing university, especially those from poorer backgrounds. We believe university education should be based on the ability to learn not the ability to pay. The mark of a good society is creating opportunity for young people, security for older people and a fair tax system that caters for it.
That is why we say that the top earners in the country – the wealthiest one per cent who earn over £100,000 a year – should pay new top rate of tax of 50 per cent on every pound earned over that £100,000. It would raise enough to get rid of top-up and tuition fees across the whole of the UK, as well as allowing free care for the elderly – help with washing and dressing for people with long-term illnesses – to be introduced. This is fair and it is affordable.
Under Margaret Thatcher the top tax rate was even higher and funnily enough the world didn’t stop turning and the economy didn’t collapse. If you factor in repayments of student debt, some ex-students will be paying a 50 per cent marginal rate on their earnings. It is hardly fair that students pay a higher rate of tax than the highest earners in our country. Of course the war in Iraq has been a big factor too. Tony Blair and George Bush led us to war on a totally false premise.
And the Conservatives were their principal cheerleaders. But there were no weapons of mass destruction, there was no serious and current threat, thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians have died, and it has cost Britain over £3.5 billion. Lib Dems were consistent and principled in opposition to the war. Today, we continue to ask the critical questions. We want to know the exit strategy. We are urging the Government to set a date to bring our troops home.
So what does the rise in Lib Dem support amongst students and across the country mean at this election? Well, there are 14 Labour and 13 Conservative seats around the country where the number of students exceeds the gap between the sitting MP and the Liberal Democrat candidate. Over half of Oxford students are intending to vote in Oxford rather than in their home towns. The students in Oxford represent a powerful body of opinion that cannot be ignored by Oxford MPs.
We Liberal Democrats will be campaigning for every vote in every constituency. We want a fairer, safer, greener Britain that acts responsibly on the international stage. Exercise your democratic right and make a difference.
28th Apr 2005