> Then they started to plead poverty and demanding a rise in the price cap It would be fair to say that academics demanded increases to their salaries (to limi

> Then they started to plead poverty and demanding a rise in the price cap It would be fair to say that academics demanded increases to their salaries (to limit how far they fell below inflation), but not that they demanded tuition fees be increased to achieve this. See this policy briefing from the UCU on "Tuition fees in higher education" from May 2010 [1]: whilst bodies representing the universities supported increases in fees, the position of the UCU union (representing the academics, rather than the universities) was that tuition fees should be abolished and replaced by a Business Education Tax: > University and College Union has consistently opposed the payment of tuition fees. Rather than charge students for their education, UCU would charge large employers who benefit from the plentiful supply of graduates through a new Business Education Tax (BET). It's really not the case that lecturers wanted to stuff their pockets by price-gouging their students. [1]: https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/4626/Tuition-fees-in-higher-education https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/4626/Tuition-fees-in-higher-e...