During this year's general election campaign I was very pleased to sign the NUS pledge to oppose any increase in tuition fees should I have been elected.
Every SNP candidate did likewise, as did many Labour ones, and every single Scottish Lib Dem. Lib Dems now appear on the news though and say things like "We didn't make a promise, we made a commitment in our manifesto", as Vince Cable did at the weekend. This pledge though is not a party political issue to hide behind.
This pledge that individual candidates signed with the NUS was a personal promise by would-be MPs to vote against any increase. It said "I pledge..." not "We pledge...", or even "Our manifesto says if there is the miracle of us forming a majority Lib Dem government...".
MPs who want to impose spiralling tuition fees on today's students, after benefitting themselves from free university, should do the decent thing and voluntarily cough up for their degree. Three years at £9,000 from around 325 MPs will add the best part of £9m for public funds. It'll show them putting their money where their mouths are, and for once have MPs doing as they say others should.
The NUS are looking into using powers of recall to force out reneging MPs. They should use all legal means at their disposal. I don't know if signing this pledge constitutes any form of a contract, but morally at least we now know they had no intention of fighting for the policy when it came to negotiations with the Tories. They would secure a deal for part-time students, and "leave the rest", which would maintain "clear yellow water" between them, Labour and the Tories.
The coalition are keen on using household metaphors when it comes to the economy. That as the country is in debt, just like in ordinary homes in such a situation, belts should be tightened and swingeing savage cuts to expenditure should be made.
Except, the state is not subject to the same rules as homes. But let's accept the simile for a moment and turn it on its head. Coalition cuts are like breadwinners not going out to work because they've slashed their bus fare budget. We're not going to send the kids out to get educated now either. This is the harm that the Tories and Lib Dems are doing to us, their supposed family.
And if any Lib Dems are planning on talking about "yellow water" again any time soon, the public will bring to mind the age old advice to never eat yellow snow.
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