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Thursday 9 December 2010

Thousands To March Against Fees

Thousand of students are set to march again against fees changes

By Ben Aulakh

Tens of thousands of students are expected to converge on Westminster hoping to convince MP’s to vote down controversial changes to university fees.

The Commons vote on trebling yearly fees to £9000 is taking place today; undergraduates from around the country will be voicing their opposition to the plans outside Parliament.

National Union of Students president Aaron Porter said, “MPs can be left in no doubt as to the widespread public opposition to these plans, or of the consequences of steamrolling them through parliament.

“For the third time in less than a month thousands of students have taken to the streets to protest against the government's attacks on further and higher education.”

The vote on increasing university fees comes amid severe criticism of the Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, Nick Clegg.

Mr Clegg along with the rest of his party signed a pledge before the general election that they would abolish tuition fees altogether.

Today it is expected that his party will be split three ways over the vote, with minster’s voting in favour of the changes, a number of backbench MP’s abstaining, and more than a dozen set to vote against.

Today’s protest could be larger than the previous demonstration held on November 10, which saw more than 52, 000 students marching from Horseguards Parade to Tory Party headquarters at Millbank.

Mr Porter added, “Despite repeated dismissals by Nick Clegg that these are uninformed protesters, students are intelligent, articulate people who are not being listened to by those in whom they placed their hope for a different politics.”

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