As it was highly unlikely the Lib Dems were going to get an overall majority no one could have imagined a Lib Dem government. That leaves either a Labour majority, another unlikely scenario; a Tory government; or a coalition.
A vote for the LD made options 2 or 3 most likely. Looks as though the whole of Sheffield got what it wanted, if you do indeed speak for them all.
Sheffield is in the same situation as many other regions of the UK who are suffering under this coalition.
There are a lot of people in Sheffield who would never ever want a Tory government - they remember the miner's strike far too well and the devastation of the steel industry to ever want a right wing government in power. I'm sure Nick Clegg will get his punishment at the ballot box - he truly has it coming!
Some on these threads feel it might as well have been written in blood, on copies of all the holy books and sanctified by the sacrifice of a newborn child.
I'm not condoning the action of the LDs (it was a stupid thing to do) but neither am I joining in all the faux melodramatic hyperbolic end-of-the-world-is-nigh outrage on behalf of the students.
There are a lot of people in Sheffield who would never ever want a Tory government - they remember the miner's strike far too well and the devastation of the steel industry to ever want a right wing government in power. I'm sure Nick Clegg will get his punishment at the ballot box - he truly has it coming!
It is my old homeland - if the LDs loose the seat it will go Tory (definitely not Labour)
I also can't quite believe that is the ACTUAL pledge... I would've thought there'd be an official thing, like a real cheque as opposed to the massive oversized joke one. But, if that is indeed the pledge, then, from what I read, I can't quite see what Clegg has done wrong.
Nothing need be written down to make a pledge. They pulled that stunt purely to make political capital out of it. But hey politicians of all flavours lie, twist, squirm and manipulate, always have and always will.
People do get free education, up to 16, and if you want it, 18. If it's so simple that it's laughable, then there wouldn't be genuine political debate from some of the country's finest minds. It's a complicated issue, not fun for all.
People in England only get free education to A'Level standard. People in Scotland receive a full university education for free.
And then on top of that English graduates leave Uni and pay income tax which subsidises the free education of Scottish people which they didn't receive themselves.
I think everybody should have a free education but the way things are at the moment is an utter disgrace.
Could you imagine if, for example, Sweden convinced the EU to levy a tax on English undergraduates to pay for free education in Sweden? There would be a total outcry.
I think it's totally immoral that the Scots take all the advantages they're given but don't give a s*it if people in England are being treated unfairly. If you believe in free education in Scotland why does that not extend to England?
People in England only get free education to A'Level standard. People in Scotland receive a full university education for free.
And then on top of that English graduates leave Uni and pay income tax which subsidises the free education of Scottish people which they didn't receive themselves.
I think everybody should have a free education but the way things are at the moment is an utter disgrace.
Could you imagine if, for example, Sweden convinced the EU to levy a tax on English undergraduates to pay for free education in Sweden? There would be a total outcry.
I think it's totally immoral that the Scots take all the advantages they're given but don't give a s*it if people in England are being treated unfairly. If you believe in free education in Scotland why does that not extend to England?
Nice sentiment - how are you going to PAY for it all?
Nice sentiment - how are you going to PAY for it all?
How did we pay for it all up until a decade ago?
You may well have a point but it's still unfair that the English pay for the Scottish to have free education.
If the Scottish budget allows for free education but the cupboard is empty in England, although we pay more, that means that obviously a disproportionate amount of money is being dished out to Scotland.
Rather than asking how WE will pay for it why aren't we asking why WE pay for the Scottish to have it but not ourselves.
You may well have a point but it's still unfair that the English pay for the Scottish to have free education.
If the Scottish budget allows for free education but the cupboard is empty in England, although we pay more, that means that obviously a disproportionate amount of money is being dished out to Scotland.
Rather than asking how WE will pay for it why aren't we asking why WE pay for the Scottish to have it but not ourselves.
Because Scotland spends less on other things, Scotland spends a lot less on Policing than is spent in England for example (per head of population).
It's a matter of what the Holyrood parliament considers as its priorities compared to Westminster, if you want to argue about total spending per head then various regions of England get more than Scotland.
Free University education may well come to an end North of the Border anyway as budgets are cut.
Some on these threads feel it might as well have been written in blood,.
How flippant... it's a pledge that explicitly states they wouldn't vote for an increase in fees... signed... and held up for the camera... It couldn;t be any more explicit I'm afraid.
How flippant... it's a pledge that explicitly states they wouldn't vote for an increase in fees... signed... and held up for the camera... It couldn;t be any more explicit I'm afraid.
What they are proposing is much more beneficial to poorer students - isn't that better than thundering on in the same (good but misguided) direction and denying the poorer students a university education?
That sort of thinking belongs in the tractor factories of the Soviet Union forty years ago - not in the modern world
............The way it stands students in England will not only be paying their own tuition fees, via taxation they will be paying for the degrees of people in Scotland and Wales. How is that fair? English people pay twice over and the Scottish pay nothing.
As I understand it, students don't pay tuition fees, nor , normally, do they pay tax. Once they get a job, and start earning more than the national average, then they'll start repaying the cost of their tuition.
If they don't get a job appropriate to their degree, and end up with a wage below national average, they repay nothing.
The only thing fairer to the taxpayer would be if university places
were restricted to about 20% of school leavers.
Comments
God, it's hardly contractual is it?:rolleyes:
There are a lot of people in Sheffield who would never ever want a Tory government - they remember the miner's strike far too well and the devastation of the steel industry to ever want a right wing government in power. I'm sure Nick Clegg will get his punishment at the ballot box - he truly has it coming!
It's not signed in blood, no. Interestingly it doesn't mention anything about being in Government either.
Some on these threads feel it might as well have been written in blood, on copies of all the holy books and sanctified by the sacrifice of a newborn child.
I'm not condoning the action of the LDs (it was a stupid thing to do) but neither am I joining in all the faux melodramatic hyperbolic end-of-the-world-is-nigh outrage on behalf of the students.
It is my old homeland - if the LDs loose the seat it will go Tory (definitely not Labour)
I've lived there too - and I totally disagree (although there are small parts of the city which are and always have been of the blue persuasion)
People in England only get free education to A'Level standard. People in Scotland receive a full university education for free.
And then on top of that English graduates leave Uni and pay income tax which subsidises the free education of Scottish people which they didn't receive themselves.
I think everybody should have a free education but the way things are at the moment is an utter disgrace.
Could you imagine if, for example, Sweden convinced the EU to levy a tax on English undergraduates to pay for free education in Sweden? There would be a total outcry.
I think it's totally immoral that the Scots take all the advantages they're given but don't give a s*it if people in England are being treated unfairly. If you believe in free education in Scotland why does that not extend to England?
Nice sentiment - how are you going to PAY for it all?
How did we pay for it all up until a decade ago?
You may well have a point but it's still unfair that the English pay for the Scottish to have free education.
If the Scottish budget allows for free education but the cupboard is empty in England, although we pay more, that means that obviously a disproportionate amount of money is being dished out to Scotland.
Rather than asking how WE will pay for it why aren't we asking why WE pay for the Scottish to have it but not ourselves.
Because Scotland spends less on other things, Scotland spends a lot less on Policing than is spent in England for example (per head of population).
It's a matter of what the Holyrood parliament considers as its priorities compared to Westminster, if you want to argue about total spending per head then various regions of England get more than Scotland.
Free University education may well come to an end North of the Border anyway as budgets are cut.
How flippant... it's a pledge that explicitly states they wouldn't vote for an increase in fees... signed... and held up for the camera... It couldn;t be any more explicit I'm afraid.
Well it is.. it's been signed and held up for the cameras... how much more evidence do you actually need?
What they are proposing is much more beneficial to poorer students - isn't that better than thundering on in the same (good but misguided) direction and denying the poorer students a university education?
That sort of thinking belongs in the tractor factories of the Soviet Union forty years ago - not in the modern world
Just your normal politician, then.
As I understand it, students don't pay tuition fees, nor , normally, do they pay tax. Once they get a job, and start earning more than the national average, then they'll start repaying the cost of their tuition.
If they don't get a job appropriate to their degree, and end up with a wage below national average, they repay nothing.
The only thing fairer to the taxpayer would be if university places
were restricted to about 20% of school leavers.