Miliband in tuition fee cut row

London: A pledge by Ed Miliband, which would see the maximum university tuition fee cut by a third to £6,000 (Dh34,240), came under fire from across the political spectrum on the first day of the Labour conference.

Amid confusion over whether the party would still advocate a graduate tax at the next general election, the National Union of Students joined forces with the coalition to warn that the change would do nothing to benefit poorer students.

Miliband received a rough ride after he moved to reach out to disillusioned Liberal Democrat voters by announcing a plan for the cap on student tuition fees to be lowered from £9,000 to £6,000. The £800 million cost of the fees change, outlined by the Labour leader in an Observer interview, would be paid in two ways.

The Labour leader was accused overnight of a U-turn, since he opposed an increase in tuition fees last year and advocated a graduate tax. Coalition ministers pointed out that the new policy was a step back from a graduate tax and would lead to a doubling of fees from the amount bequeathed by Labour when it left office.

David Willetts, the universities minister, said: "Ed Miliband has now accepted that tuition fees should be doubled to £6,000 a year. He has consistently supported a graduate tax and Labour MPs were whipped to vote against higher fees at the end of last year. This monumental U-turn is evidence of weak leadership."

Miliband explained the new policy was designed to form the centrepiece of a manifesto if early elections were held. He indicated that it remained his ambition to move towards endorsing a graduate tax by the time of the next general election if the present parliament lasted until 2015.

"If we can do more by the time of the election [in 2015], we will," he told the BBC. "But this is an important first step."

Willetts questioned whether the cut in the cap would benefit poorer students. In a letter to John Denham, the shadow business secretary, he asked: "Will graduates enjoy lower monthly repayments under your proposals? ...it seems that monthly repayments will remain the same."

— Guardian News and Media Ltd