Whoever said coursework is a doss is an utter goon... it's a far fairer way of judging performance than final exams, same principle as to why on applying to university you're judged first on your personal statement and then interviews are sometimes used to separate similar candidates. Believe me, I'm not in favour of no exams at all but coursework IS fairer and more relevant in later life. I'm relatively lucky that I tend to come through in exams as that's what most of my subjects are largely judged on, I fully recognise that my lack of motivation when doing coursework isn't a particularly positive sign for years to come. I have friends who are just as academically able as me who fall to pieces in exams, is it really right that they suffer?

 

On a separate note, who else has noticed that Ethan tends to post once in a thread then run away without bothering to justify his arguments?

The difference is that no politician since WW2 has u-turned on what was their party's most famous flagship policy in so shameless a manner...

 

Also added to the mix is the fact that we had a major political scandal last year, and Clegg made much capital during the election out of how he and his party would restore trust in politics. He drew a lot of young people and first-time voters into political debate who otherwise would've been too disillusioned to vote - and that's what makes this betrayal all the more bitter.

What's with all the hate to Nick Clegg?

 

Gee, I dunno, could've had something to do with the whole "pledge-signing" thing which could actually be interpreted as a legally binding contract in a lot of ways..... Bear in mind that this c'unt only has a 300 majority in his constituency, he is DEFINITELY skating on thin ice....

 

And, as it turns out, Clegg was actually a Conservative Activist when he was at Cambridge... So, there you go, the old saying from the 80s is as true now as it ever was....

 

NEVER TRUST A TORY.....

The difference is that no politician since WW2 has u-turned on what was their party's most famous flagship policy in so shameless a manner...

Not true. To go back to my earlier example, the Tories said in 1992 that they would cut taxes immediately if they won the election. In fact, they put them up massively. At the time they had been in power for 13 years so they couldn't even use the "Things are worse than we thought" line.

Gee, I dunno, could've had something to do with the whole "pledge-signing" thing which could actually be interpreted as a legally binding contract in a lot of ways..... Bear in mind that this c'unt only has a 300 majority in his constituency, he is DEFINITELY skating on thin ice....

 

And, as it turns out, Clegg was actually a Conservative Activist when he was at Cambridge... So, there you go, the old saying from the 80s is as true now as it ever was....

 

NEVER TRUST A TORY.....

Majority of 15,000 actually...

Not true. To go back to my earlier example, the Tories said in 1992 that they would cut taxes immediately if they won the election. In fact, they put them up massively. At the time they had been in power for 13 years so they couldn't even use the "Things are worse than we thought" line.

Well, look what happened to them in the end! In any case, that's hardly as bad - the Lib Dems are almost synonymous in the public mind with abolition of tuition fees (and opposition to the Iraq War, but that's hardly relevant anymore), whereas the Conservatives had various other main policies - it was a main policy but hardly THE policy by which they won the significant majority of their seats!

THE LIB DEM HALL OF SHAME

The 27 Lib Dems who voted in favour of the tuition fees rise:

 

Nick Clegg (Sheffield Hallam)

Vince Cable (Twickenham)

Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathespey)

Michael Moore (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)

Sarah Teather (Brent Central)

Norman Baker (Lewes)

Sir Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed)

Gordon Birtwistle (Burnley)

Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wellington)

Jeremy Browne (Taunton Deane)

Malcolm Bruce (Gordon)

Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam)

Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland)

Edward Davey (Kingston and Surbiton)

Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey and Wood Green)

Don Foster (Bath)

Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay)

Duncan Hames (Chippenham)

Nick Harvey (Devon North)

David Heath (Somerton and Frome)

John Hemming (Birmingham Yardley)

Norman Lamb (Norfolk North)

David Laws (Yeovil)

Andrew Stunnell (Hazel Grove)

Jo Swinson (Dunbartonshire East)

David Ward (Bradford East)

Steve Webb (Thornbury and Yate)

Mark Hunter (Cheadle)

 

The 8 abstainers:

 

Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark)

Lorely Burt (Solihull)

Tessa Munt (Wells)

Sir Robert Smith (Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine)

John Thurso (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)

Stephen Williams (Bristol West)

Chris Huhne (Eastleigh) - *in Mexico; would've voted in favour

Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) - *in Mexico; would've voted against

 

The 21 who honoured their pledge:

 

Charles Kennedy (Ross Skye and Lochaber)

Sir Menzies Campbell (Fife North East)

Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale)

Annette Brooke (Dorset Mid and Poole North)

Michael Crockart (Edinburgh West) - resigned from govt

Andrew George (St Ives)

Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South)

Julian Huppert (Cambridge)

John Leech (Manchester Withington)

Stephen Lloyd (Eastbourne)

Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West)

John Pugh (Southport)

Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute)

Dan Rogerson (Cornwall North)

Bob Russell (Colchester)

Adrian Sanders (Torbay)

Ian Swales (Redcar)

Mark Williams (Ceredigon)

Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire)

Jenny Willott (Cardiff Central) - resigned from govt

Simon Wright (Norwich South)

 

The 6 Tories who rebelled:

 

David Davis (Haltemprice and Howden)

Philip Davies (Shipley)

Julian Lewis (New Forest East)

Jason McCartney (Colne Valley)

Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole)

Mark Reckless (Rochester and Strood)

 

Just to add a perhaps slightly obvious point... every single Labour MP showed up and voted against the fees rise, including Gordon Brown. I'm actually a little surprised at that... I thought there'd be a few uber-Blairites who'd vote in favour.

Well, look what happened to them in the end! In any case, that's hardly as bad - the Lib Dems are almost synonymous in the public mind with abolition of tuition fees (and opposition to the Iraq War, but that's hardly relevant anymore), whereas the Conservatives had various other main policies - it was a main policy but hardly THE policy by which they won the significant majority of their seats!

The main theme of the Tories' campaign in 1992 was their promise to cut taxes. Nationally, the tuition fees issue was not a major part of the Lib Dem campaign. It was a major theme in constituencoes with a lot of students but not in the national campaign. As I've said, the biggest mistake was signing a pledge. Reneging on a manifesto commitment can be explained away on the grounds that the Lib Dems didn't win the election. Going against a signed pledge is rather harder to explain. No doubt that is one of the reasons why most Lib Dem back benchers voted against the increase.

Nationally, the tuition fees issue was not a major part of the Lib Dem campaign.

 

That's simply not true, it featured very heavily in their election campaign, just look at the advert Chris has posted up, tuition fees is the first thing you see... It WAS a flagship policy, they went around unis getting votes out of young people on the strength of it... And them now trying to say it wasn't is utterly dishonest....

That's simply not true, it featured very heavily in their election campaign, just look at the advert Chris has posted up, tuition fees is the first thing you see... It WAS a flagship policy, they went around unis getting votes out of young people on the strength of it... And them now trying to say it wasn't is utterly dishonest....

If you read the whole of my post rather than quoting selectively, you will see that I said it was a major issue in campaigning aimed specifically at students. It just wasn't a majpr part of the national campaign. It wasn't mentioned in any of the constituency-wide leaflets from my candidate.

The difference is that no politician since WW2 has u-turned on what was their party's most famous flagship policy in so shameless a manner...

 

 

Also added to the mix is the fact that we had a major political scandal last year, and Clegg made much capital during the election out of how he and his party would restore trust in politics. He drew a lot of young people and first-time voters into political debate who otherwise would've been too disillusioned to vote - and that's what makes this betrayal all the more bitter.

 

Yes exactly. Young and naive students. He lied to us all just so he could get votes - that is politicians for you. He has and always be a c**t, just because somebody promises something it doesn't mean that it will happen especially if they're a politician. There's barely any difference between the main parties anyway, they're all eld by middle-class, Oxbridge educated students and all come from similar backgrounds.

I'm sick of people just going on about the bloody fees and the whole 'oh you don't pay back that much'. The REAL point is that some unis will go to the wall over this, and it will end up creating a two-tier education system, where only the elite, richer unis will do arts or humanities subjects, and the poorer unis and students will only be ab...le to do vocational degrees. Cuts to education are so severe that raising tuition fees will not cover the shortfall in a lot of cases.

 

At best a lot of unis will be running to stand still. There'll be less choice and less places for people. Unless you can afford to buy your way in. So while the repayment plan may look fairer, the rest certainly isn't.

 

Also the government has failed miserably to get its point across, ironic given that the PM is a former PR man! The best thing to come out of it is that young people are now a bit more politically engaged, it's been so easy for successive governments to dump all over people under 35 because most of them haven't really been interested. Maybe now that'll change. Kiss goodbye to your "safe" seat Cleggers!

And it also should be noted that the Coalition have indirectly made their task of selling the fees rise to the public much harder due to their obsession with slashing the deficit. Their scaremongering nonsense about how we need to make huge cuts immediately because all debt is evil (which the likes of Clegg have joined in with all too willingly) has made it impossible to explain to poor people that the debts they'll incur from uni are to some extent manageable. The Coalition need to realise they can't have their cake and eat it - they can't say debt is evil in some cases but fine in other cases depending on whether it suits their argument.

And it also should be noted that the Coalition have indirectly made their task of selling the fees rise to the public much harder due to their obsession with slashing the deficit. Their scaremongering nonsense about how we need to make huge cuts immediately because all debt is evil (which the likes of Clegg have joined in with all too willingly) has made it impossible to explain to poor people that the debts they'll incur from uni are to some extent manageable. The Coalition need to realise they can't have their cake and eat it - they can't say debt is evil in some cases but fine in other cases depending on whether it suits their argument.

 

Spot on....

 

Frankly, they should be more concerned that the Banks are possibly going the wreck the recovery by their reluctance to extend lines of credit to small businesses.... <_<

 

This is absolutely fukking horrific! :| [Oh yeah and the interviewer is a c**t:|]

The House of Lords has voted in favour, meaning the fees rise will go ahead.

 

This is absolutely fukking horrific! :| [Oh yeah and the interviewer is a c**t:|]

 

Ugh that is vile, and yeah the reporter's a beast :/. But I loved Jody's dig at the BBC at the end! 1-0.

 

This is absolutely fukking horrific! :| [Oh yeah and the interviewer is a c**t:|]

 

What do you expect, the BBC are just a bunch of c**ts these days... Jody McIntyre has Cerebral Palsy, I fail to see how on earth he could present a threat to bloody coppers in full fukkin' riot gear... Oh, hang on, he probably presents an intellectual threat because he actually has a fully functioning brain, which puts him to a distinct advantage compared to coppers and BBC "journalists"..... <_<

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