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Why do you think he was hard done by on the student fee issue? * In his manifesto he said he'd scrap tuition fees. * He signed a _personal_ pledge against vot
by mijoharas 4y ago
Why do you think he was hard done by on the student fee issue?
* In his manifesto he said he'd scrap tuition fees.
* He signed a _personal_ pledge against voting to raise them.[0]
* People voted for him with this information.
* He was able to gain power through a coalition government.
* He voted to _raise_ tuition fees.
You can see how people could feel betrayed by him[1]. I wouldn't say he was hard done by, and I think condemnation of that behaviour is a rational response.
[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote_for_Students_pledge https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote_for_Students_pledge
[1] ...the percentage of students supporting the Liberal Democrats had fallen from 42% at the last general election to 11% just after the vote on fees. 83% of students said they felt let down by the Lib Dem leadership's decision
- hardlianotion 4y agoThey were in coalition, so I think most of the anger is just misplaced. Could he have been more savvy? Probably.
- mijoharas 4y agoThat's fair enough, and if he'd said "we can't stop this, I'm sorry" and _not_ voted for it himself, it would have been fine. That's not what happened, he personally voted to raise the fees, and he instituted a 3 line whip for his party to do the same. I think it's fair to condemn him for that.
- shapefrog 4y ago> * People voted for him with this information. His party, and that manifesto came 3rd in the election.
- mijoharas 4y agoYep, people voted him into 3rd place in the election. Then he was able to gain power by forming a coalition government. The people who voted for him expected him to do the things he promised he would do, rather than the exact opposite.