The following motion was passed at Merton Liberal Democrats' annual meeting on 19th November.

Education Funding

Merton Liberal Democrats note:

• The 2010 Liberal Democrat election manifesto, which said that a Liberal Democrat majority Government would phase out university tuition fees over six years;
• That a number of Liberal Democrat MPs and candidates signed the NUS pledge to vote against increases in tuition fees in this Parliament;
• The Browne Review on Higher Education Funding, set up by Gordon Brown's Government;
• The current financial situation;
• That the 2010 manifestos for Labour and the Conservative Party made no specific mention of tuition fees (although Labour refers to the Browne Review and increasing the number of people who go to university);
• That we have a coalition Government; and that Labour's Shadow Chancellor, Alan Johnson recently wrote that: "We should be proud of our brave and correct decision to introduce tuition fees";
• The coalition agreement, which provides: "If the response of the Government to Lord Browne’s report is one that Liberal Democrats cannot accept, then arrangements will be made to enable Liberal Democrat MPs to abstain in any vote."
• The coalition Government plan for higher education funding, which includes: the abolition of up-front fees for part-time students; the raising the threshold at which loans covering fees and maintenance have to be repayed to £21,000; the increase in the tuition fee cap to £6000 per year, with up to £9000 if universities make concessions on plans to improve access; a "real" rate of inflation on loans but with a system that ensures that the poorest 30% of graduates will pay less for university; and a form of “student premium” for the least advantaged students; and
• The protests on 10 November in central London, which were largely peaceful, except for a small minority who were involved in violence and criminal damage.

Merton Liberal Democrats believe that:

• Everyone deserves the chance to develop the skills and knowledge that will give them the best opportunities throughout life - firstly through good primary and secondary schooling, and then through degrees or other forms of higher education and apprenticeships;
• Coalition and compromise are not always easy;
• The right to protest is a fundamental one in a free society but that violent protests and criminal damage undermine legitimate concerns and the points of view that the vast majority of protesters wanted to express;
• The worst aspects of the tuition fees policy, first introduced in 1998, are: the potential it has to discourage people from attending university on the basis of affordability, and the increasing commercialisation of higher education, making the link between choice of degree and earning potential much more important; and
• Policies which encourage personal debt should be kept to the minimum possible.

Merton Liberal Democrats therefore resolve to:

• Write to Nick Clegg MP and Vince Cable MP, to express the above beliefs, and to call on them to explain (a) why the new system will not discourage potential students from going to university, and (b) what work is being done to promote and secure other types of (non-degree) further and higher education;
• Call on Liberal Democrat MPs to vote according to their consciences, mindful of our 2010 election manifesto, whether they signed the NUS pledge and the coalition agreement which allows for them to abstain if they do not accept the Browne Review;
• Call on Merton Liberal Democrats' conference representatives to bear the above beliefs in mind when voting in regional or national conferences;
• Support and encourage our councillors and campaigns group in the struggle to ensure that long-term plans are put in place to secure good primary and secondary schools in Merton (see http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/merton_primary_shortage).