Stephen Williams fought his
election campaign in 2005 on two main issues. His opposition
to the war in iraq and his opposition to higher education tuition
fees.
On the first he misrepresented
Labour MP Valerie Davey's voting record. She opposed the war
in Iraq in line with local Labour Party policy and her own
beliefs. Williams had to revise his website during the
election campaign due to inaccuracy about Valerie's voting
record.
Now on the second he has
abandoned the student vote rewriting the the lib dem policy and
dumping the opposition to student fees. We believe that this
shows the level of cynism of Mr Williams. His comment to the
Evening Post
"the policy was not crucial
on a local level, as a lot of students in Bristol West either did
not vote locally or not at all" shows just how cynical and
calculating he is.
Bristol West MP's rival
hits out over tuition fees policy switch
Tuesday, September 30, 2008,
08:00
Paul
Smith, who will fight
Bristol West for Labour in the next general election, has called on
sitting MP Stephen Williams to quit.
He says Mr Williams – who
took the seat for the Liberal
Democrats with a
majority of 5,128 over Labour' MP Valerie Davey in 2005 – won the
election on the basis of opposing student tuition
fees.
Mr Williams, Lib Dem
spokesman on Innovation, Universities and Skills, is working to
change the Lib Dems' policy on top-up fees.
The party is a committed
opponent of the charges – about £3,000 a year – which were
introduced by Labour as a way of funding increased places at
universities.
But, as reported in
Saturday's Bristol Evening Post, the Lib Dems are likely
to abandon the policy.
Mr Smith said: "Stephen
Williams made his opposition to tuition fees a main plank of his
election campaign in 2005, in a seat with 20,000 university
students.
"For the last year he has
been writing plans for a U-turn. This act shows that he is prepared
to make any promise to win the student vote.
"It is unlikely that he would
have won the seat from Mrs Davey without this and he should do the
honourable thing and stand down."
But Mr Williams said it was
no longer sustainable and the party wants to find more immediate
ways to help students.
Options being considered
include non-repayable grants, changes to the bursary system and
offering more money in student loans.
"This is an absurd request,"
he said.
"We are undergoing a policy
review and the results won't be decided until my party's spring
conference in Harrogate next March.
"We are looking to change the
policy because circumstances have changed since 2005.
"Instead of students having
to pay while they are studying, they pay afterwards and we now
effectively have a graduate tax.
"That is broadly acceptable
to people in a way that tuition fees policy, when first introduced,
was not."
Mr Williams said the policy
was not crucial on a local level, as a lot of students in Bristol
West either did not vote locally or not at all.
| 
