Though yesterday’s vote in the Commons did not go the way most students here in Wales wanted it to, Liberal Youth Wales are delighted that all Welsh Liberal Democrat MPs voted against the rising of tuition fees.
Mark Williams, MP for Ceredigion, Roger Williams, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and Jenny Willott, MP for Cardiff Central, who resigned from the Government payroll to vote against, were applauded by Liberal Youth Wales members for their actions.
Commenting, Matt Smith, Chair of Liberal Youth Wales said, “Our members were very vocal about their opposition to these plans, but I hope that they can find some comfort in the fact that all three Welsh Liberal Democrat MPs voted against rising fees.
“Considering that over 100 Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidates have said they oppose a rise in fees since the election, perhaps if more of our Parliamentary Candidates had been elected, the vote could have been closer or even overturned.”
“The battle must now be to ensure that Higher Education becomes as fair as possible so that we can offset the damage that higher Fees can do to encouraging people to go to University. We must raise the repayments threshold as high as possible, and keep the interest rates as low as possible, and I look forward to working with the Liberal Democrats in the Government to achieve the fairest system possible now that fees have risen.”
