Ed makes pitch to students as poll suggests growing support

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By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Ed Miliband has today made an appeal to students, but a poll from YouGov suggests that student support may already be swinging behind Labour. In an article for the Evening Standard today, Ed Miliband accuses the Prime Minister of “playing fast and loose with the facts” over the rise in fees, and targets the 80% cuts in university teaching budgets as the real reason for the fees hike. Miliband said:

“Mr Cameron claims the trebling of fees is unavoidable. That is simply not the case. His Government has chosen to target a huge and disproportionate cut on our universities. Overall government expenditure is being cut by an average of 11 per cent. Yet Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg have chosen to target an 80% cut on the public funding for teaching in our universities.”

“Why? They give no justification other than that the losses universities face can be covered by the huge increase in student fees and student debt which they propose.”

“Mr Cameron claims his plans are necessary to maintain the quality of our world-class university system. However he neglects to mention that under his plans, fees of £7,000-£8,000 a year are needed simply to replace lost income.”

“Far from improving the quality of teaching, as the graduate contribution was intended to do, these proposals will at best leave most universities standing still – despite the huge burdens on our young people.”

Later in the article, Miliband goes on to explain what Labour’s alternative to the current system would be, including a re-iteration of his desire to see a graduate tax implemented:

“We will oppose the Government’s plans and if they are implemented, we will seek to sort out the mess they create. Our long-term aim is a fairer graduate tax system.”

“Higher education should be at the heart of our plans to be competitive in the world and a leading knowledge economy. Our universities, our students, our children deserve better than this shoddy scheme.”

Figures released by YouGov today suggest that students are increasingly supportive of Labour – to the detriment of the Lib Dems – with a remarkable turnaround in their voting intentions since May, when the Lib Dems led by over twenty points among students (LD:45/LAB:24%/CON:21%).

Now the picture is completely different, as support for the Lib Dems from students has collapsed – with Labour ahead, and the Lib Dems in third place with only a third of their support from May intact (LAB:42%/CON:26%/LD:15%).

This will no doubt be heartening for Labour members in university towns across the country, and frightening for Lib Dems who hold seats in those areas.

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