Thursday, October 02, 2008

Leech-Watch: Background on Shredding of Clegg


The Labour North West Press Release:

"Students will never trust a Lib Dem candidate again" - Denham

NICK Clegg spoke to the Manchester University Students' Union this lunchtime, two weeks after his party ditched its opposition to tuition fees.

MP John Denham, Labour's Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said:

"The Liberal Democrats made fees their big issue and they used this issue above all to win a number of student seats. Students will never trust a Lib Dem candidate again.

"Labour MPs and candidates were straight with students. We said variable fees were needed to ensure that more students could study and the quality of education was protected."

Labour’s Manchester Withington PPC Lucy Powell added:

“Nick Clegg’s got a cheek coming to talk to students only two weeks after his big u-turn on student finance.

“One of the reasons MP John Leech won the Manchester Withington seat in 2005 was that he promised students his party would abolish tuition fees. Where does he stand now?

“The key question now is how much financial support would the Lib Dems offer students while studying at University?

“So far they’ve stayed strangely quite on this subject while the Government has brought back grants that mean more people than ever before can enjoy a higher education.”

Ends

Editors' notes:

1. The Liberal Democrat 2005 manifesto says "Liberal Democrats will abolish all tuition fees" p 6.

2. The Liberal Democrat spokesman for Innovation Universities and Skills, Stephen Williams, revealed his leader's plans in an interview with The Times on September 18:

3. From this year, Labour has ensured that more students than ever before have financial support they need to go to university. One third of students will receive a full grant, and a further one third will receive a partial grant."

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your logic is formidable, Chris.

Chris Paul said...

This is a LP press release "Tim". It sasy so clearly at the top. Any formidable logic here is not my work.

Anonymous said...

Have you ever seen Lazy Glover and Tim Kinsella in the same room Chris? He's a canny lad that Glover as I said on his leaflet before he failed in Failsworth.

Anonymous said...

Haha! If only I were as dastardly as my hero Cllr Glover. I can only hope to reach those heights of deviousness and mischievery.

I know it was a Labour press release but I assume you concur with its sentiments judging by your post on Thursday. What with the writer of that press release and your good self on board, Labour are sure to go down fighting with your barbs of rationality.

Chris Paul said...

Then he choked in Chorlton. And do you know what then he finally won in Gorton. And every last time he was a yucking local!!

Chris Paul said...

Sorry Tim, that's your "hero" lazy Glover. You might now explain the logic that you sarcastically suggest is not formidable?

The Lib Dem have U-Turned at least once on most things ... most things that they don't keep to themselves to facilitate different answers on every doorstep that is.

Anonymous said...

The formidable logic (and irony) being that you (and the NW Labour Party) are slating the Lib Dems for proposing dropping their opposition to student fees. However, as I recall, this was the exact same manifesto commitment upon which Labour performed a u-turn in order to introduce top-up fees in the first place - 'We will not introduce 'top-up' fees and have legislated to prevent them.' Personally, I think it would be a mistake for the Lib Dems to do so but for the Labour Party to criticise the Lib Dems for not criticising a Labour policy actually does make me lol for its sheer absurdity. Kudos for your chutzpah I suppose. Does that mean students can only trust the Tories and the Greens now? If not, then please explain how Labour's u-turn is just as bad if not worse than the Lib Dem's.

P.S. Tell Lucy to get rid of that hideous leopard-print handbag for me - it makes her look like one of The Witches.

Anonymous said...

*is not just as bad

Anonymous said...

May I assume by your lack of reply that you're struggling to deny the equivalence of these two policy shifts, Chris?