Lib Dems may drop commitment to scrap English tuition fees

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Glegg has admitted that the party may be forced to abandon its flagship policy to scrap tuition fees in England as part of "serious and bold" cuts to public spending.

Clegg said that whilst the party was fundamentally opposed to the fees, it would be wrong to promise to abandon the charges in the current economic climate.

Speaking at the party's conference in Bournemouth, Mr Clegg said: “I believe that tuition fees are wrong, I believe they need to be abolished, I want to do it as soon as possible.

“But we need to treat people like grown-ups, and we need to be realistic. Ending tuition fees would cost billions of pounds every year. We need to be certain we can afford it before we make any promises.”

The admission came as part of the Lib Dems annual conference, at which Clegg also said that he would be prepared to drop any policies that proved too expensive in the event that his party are in power after the next election.

Although a pledge to scrap tuition fees is included in the Fresh Start for Britain document ratified by the conference, the report also includes the caveat that any policies which “required public investment will only be introduced as and when resources can be identified by cutting public spending elsewhere”.

The move has provoked debate within the party, with former party leader Charles Kennedy alluding to the problems of dropping flagship policies. Speaking to BBC 1's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Kennedy said that the promises had served the party well, adding: “In terms of parliamentary reality these groups were very important to us at the last election—some of the gains that we made not least against Labour.”

Lib Dem pensions spokesperson, Steve Webb, has also warned against the negative message being portrayed by the party, saying that more hope was needed in their electoral messages.

However, the message has been warmly received by the youth wing of the party. Elaine Bagshaw, chair of Liberal Youth, told The Journal: “The party has no plans to drop its commitment to scrap tuition fees.

“We realise that we're currently in a tough economic climate, and we wouldn't be able to implement all our plans in one go.”

She added: “We must accept the point that Nick Clegg has put across, which is that it is time for the Liberal Democrats to get serious about what we can practically achieve as a Liberal Democrat government in the current economic climate.

“We cannot expect to fulfill every policy commitment that the Liberal Democrats have ever made in one parliamentary term, or possibly even two, given the state of the economy.”