News
Labour candidate ahead in Norwich South but facing top-up fee battle
An opinion poll released today by the Union of University of East Anglia (UEA) Students and conducted by Ipsos MORI shows Charles Clarke is ahead in the race to win the Norwich South parliamentary constituency. Norwich South is seen by many as a key marginal that will decide whether the Labour government can remain in power after the General Election.
Among those who are “absolutely certain to vote”, 39% say they would vote for Labour’s Charles Clarke, ahead of the Conservatives (20%), Liberal Democrats (19%) and the Greens (19%). With four weeks left until polling day, only time will tell whether tactical voting will produce a clear single challenger to Charles Clarke.
NORWICH WILL BE STUDENT FUNDING BATTLEGROUND AS 84% OF RESIDENTS FAVOUR OPTIONS OTHER THAN A HIKE IN TOP-UP FEES
- FEWER THAN 1 IN 10 NORWICH SOUTH RESIDENTS SUPPORT A STUDENT FEE INCREASE
- FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY CHARLES CLARKE MP NOT YET IN LINE WITH 84% OF HIS CONSTITUENTS
- CANDIDATES WARNED OF REVENGE OF TOP-UP FEE GENERATION
Former Education Secretary Charles Clarke’s parliamentary seat could be at risk as a new survey of the public in Norwich South shows lack of support for raising university fees beyond their current £3,225 cap.
Less than one in ten of the public (8%) in the Norwich South constituency say universities should be allowed to charge higher student fees, a new Ipsos MORI survey for the Union of UEA Students shows. This comes as students pressure candidates to sign a National Union of Students (NUS) pledge that they will vote against a rise in fees if they are elected to Parliament.
Labour MP Charles Clarke introduced university top-up fees and the constituency is home to the University of East Anglia. These two factors are likely to make university fees a major issue in the Norwich South election.
Two candidates – Simon Wright (Lib Dem) and Adrian Ramsay (Green) – have signed the National Union of Students’ (NUS) pledge to vote against any increase in university fees if elected. Clarke and the Conservative candidate, Antony Little, have so far failed to do so.
Union of UEA Students’ Communications Officer, Natasha Barnes, said:
“We are absolutely delighted that we can count on the support of Norwich South residents when we tell election candidates not to put up university fees. Student debt is at its highest ever level and we want to see a system which is fair to potential students from all backgrounds.
“It’s great to have two candidates signed up to not increase fees, but we want the Labour and Conservative candidates to sign up too. Seeing as only 8% of Norwich South residents think the fee cap should go up, it would make electoral sense for them to join with their constituents and pledge not to increase university fees.”