Nick Clegg has told the Daily Telegraph that it is right English students should have to pay up to £9k per year to go to university while Scottish students should study for free.
He said that under devolution it is right that there should be differences in the two nations and he’s absolutely right – the whole point of devolution is that we have different needs and priorities but the problem is that we don’t have devolution, Scotland does. The master of hypocrisy said:
There’s no point in having devolution if you don’t have devolved and different policy outcomes and that’s precisely what we have in higher education.
You either believe in the Scottish nation, as I do, and that you have Scottish solutions to Scottish issues or you don’t.
We believe that it is quite right, as longstanding supporters of proper devolution and indeed further devolution, that you have different solutions in different parts of the country.
Interesting choice of words from Cleggover – he believes in the Scottish nation and Scottish solutions to Scottish issues but he believes in the break-up of the English nation and British solutions for English issues.
I’ve sent the following email to his office:
In yesterday’s Daily Telegraph you are quoted as saying “You either believe in the Scottish nation, as I do, and that you have Scottish solutions to Scottish issues or you don’t”.
Do you believe in the English nation? Why do you campaign for the break-up of England into regions we don’t want?
Why do you believe that you should have Scottish solutions to Scottish issues but British solutions to English issues? Why do you believe that British MPs elected in Scotland, Wales & NI should vote for increased tuition fees in England but tuition fees in Scotland should be decided by members of the Scottish Parliament?
7 out of 10 people want to either stop MPs not elected in England from meddling in English affairs or a devolved English Parliament. Why do you believe they shouldn’t have what they want but the Scots, Welsh & Northern Irish should have just that? It seems to me the Liberal Democrats should be renamed the Illiberal Hypocrites because you are neither liberal nor democrats.
I wouldn’t worry about it too much Wonko, it was Nick Clegg who said it so he probably doesn’t mean it.
‘break up of the english nation’, explain that bit?
clegg is going to get a serious shock here on thursday, folk are even talking about voting Tory and up here, that shows how bad it is
Good Luck! Hope you get an answer although if you do, he will probably manage to avoid the word England. I sent a similar letter to David Cameron’s office asking why English students were being discriminated against in this way and why he was not addressing the skewed Barnett formula or the WLQ or the EQ. His office did eventually send a reply, two pages long, all about tuition fees and the need to increase them and disgracefully the word England was not mentioned once.
The Lib Dems actively pursue a policy of breaking England up into the euroregions.
Not to mention that English sudents who elect to study in Scottish Universities have to pay. Conversely, Scottish students who elect to study in English Universities do not!