Not making any promises

As the general election looms, people all around the country are looking towards politicians to answer the questions they have about their issues. People are worried about the economy, jobs and the state of public services, and that’s what our politicians are talking about. However, one of the issues that I care about—university funding and student support—is being pushed to the bottom of the agenda by the mainstream parties. There was not one mention of higher education at the first Leader’s Debate.

University funding should be a big issue at this election. Although it is devolved to the Scottish Parliament, the effect of raising tuition fees in England could be devastating for Scottish institutions; with an ongoing review into the level of fees it is a real possibility. More fees in England would mean our universities fall further behind with a massive funding gap and could well lead to the introduction of tuition fees here in Scotland.

However some politicians are breaking ranks and tying their colours to the mast on this issue. Ian Murray, the Labour candidate in Edinburgh South, is the latest local politician to come out against raising the cap on tuition fees in England. I haven’t forgotten that it was the votes of Scottish MP’s that pushed through the last increase of tuition fees. We can’t afford for this to happen again.

Last Tuesday, after months of avoiding talking to the students association about this issue, Neil Hudson, the Conservative candidate in Edinburgh South, revealed in an interview with The Journal that he would not commit to voting against any raise in tuition fees.

This came as a shock to me, despite most Conservative candidates refusing to sign up—only 10 of their candidates in the UK have pledged to vote against fees. Neil Hudson is a well-liked and respected lecturer at The University of Edinburgh. I am sure it will disappoint many of his students at the Vet School that he is being evasive on fees. Neil Hudson’s failure to come clean on this issue is a disgrace; many students will have assumed that a lecturer paid by the University would be on the side of students and want universities to be funded properly.

Why should students vote for candidates when they won't come clean on the issues that matter to students most? To me, the answer is clear: they shouldn’t.

If you would like to question Neil Hudson about this article or any of the other candidates in Edinburgh South why not attend the hustings? It takes place at 6:30pm in George Square Lecture theatre on 26th April.