Before the election, a ministerial post must have seemed a distant pipe dream to Clare Fellow Julian Huppert. Now, a few dramatic weeks later, it still is, but the pipe is considerably shorter.

19 Liberal Democrats have jobs in David Cameron’s government. As the new Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge (and one of four Clareites in the new parliament), Huppert can dare to hope that a chance to grab a rein of power will eventually come his way. But there may be a slight hitch.

Later this year, Lord Browne’s review of Higher Education funding will make recommendations on the future of tuition fees. Universities are pressing for a whopping increase, and today the Universities Minister, David Willetts, has strongly hinted that the government will happily oblige.

During the election campaign, Nick Clegg rallied the student vote with dire warnings of the consequences of an increase. “The Liberal Democrats are different,” he pledged. “Not only will we oppose any raising of the cap, we will scrap tuition fees for good, including for part-time students.” It’s not unreasonable to infer that this was key to his party’s success in student-heavy areas. Yet, in cosying up to their new Tory allies, the Lib Dems discarded this suddenly inexpedient commitment. The coalition agreement only makes provision for Lib Dems to abstain from a vote on raising fees. To oppose such a rise would require an MP to go against the party whip.

Huppert’s website leaves little room for doubt regarding his opposition to tuition fees. He also pulls no punches on the subject of MPs who duck out of controversial votes by abstaining:

I remember Anne Campbell as Cambridge’s MP promising to oppose tuition fees, and then voting for them. I remember her saying she meant she would oppose top up fees - which she then abstained on. As Cambridge’s MP, I would vote to scrap student fees, whatever they may then be called.

For many Lib Dems, Huppert included, a clash between principle and pragmatism now seems inevitable.

Filed under: jonathanbirch, libdems, ukpolitics on June 10th, 2010