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| Clegg 'to axe tuition fee pledge' | Clegg 'to axe tuition fee pledge' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg says he may be forced to scrap the party's flagship policy of abolishing university tuition fees in England and Wales. | |
| Mr Clegg will tell his party's annual conference he had to be "realistic" about whether it was affordable given the country's mountain of debt. | Mr Clegg will tell his party's annual conference he had to be "realistic" about whether it was affordable given the country's mountain of debt. |
| But scrapping one of the party's best-known policies could put Mr Clegg on a collision course with activists. | But scrapping one of the party's best-known policies could put Mr Clegg on a collision course with activists. |
| Influential figures on the left of the party want to keep it in the manifesto. | Influential figures on the left of the party want to keep it in the manifesto. |
| The party's Federal Policy Committee, which has the final say on what goes in the manifesto, voted earlier this year to keep the policy. | The party's Federal Policy Committee, which has the final say on what goes in the manifesto, voted earlier this year to keep the policy. |
| But Mr Clegg and Treasury Spokesman Vince Cable say they are determined to show they are serious about slashing spending. | But Mr Clegg and Treasury Spokesman Vince Cable say they are determined to show they are serious about slashing spending. |
| 'Realistic' | 'Realistic' |
| They will spend the week in Bournemouth trying to convince party members to sign up to a cost-cutting manifesto - including a squeeze on public sector pay and pensions. | They will spend the week in Bournemouth trying to convince party members to sign up to a cost-cutting manifesto - including a squeeze on public sector pay and pensions. |
| Ending tuition fees would cost billions of pounds every year. We need to be certain we can afford it before we make any promises. Nick Clegg | |
| And Mr Clegg will insist that nothing is off-limits - including policies such as free university tuition which are popular with grassroots members. | And Mr Clegg will insist that nothing is off-limits - including policies such as free university tuition which are popular with grassroots members. |
| "I believe tuition fees are wrong, I believe they need to be abolished, I want to do it as soon as possible," Mr Clegg will tell a rally of party activists in Bournemouth. | "I believe tuition fees are wrong, I believe they need to be abolished, I want to do it as soon as possible," Mr Clegg will tell a rally of party activists in Bournemouth. |
| "But we need to treat people like grown-ups, and we need to be realistic. | "But we need to treat people like grown-ups, and we need to be realistic. |
| "Ending tuition fees would cost billions of pounds every year. We need to be certain we can afford it before we make any promises." | "Ending tuition fees would cost billions of pounds every year. We need to be certain we can afford it before we make any promises." |
| "But I can make this pledge - at the next election we will have the best, most progressive package for students of any mainstream party." | "But I can make this pledge - at the next election we will have the best, most progressive package for students of any mainstream party." |
| 'Savage cuts' | 'Savage cuts' |
| Mr Clegg also warned of "savage and bold" cuts in spending under a Lib Dem administration - but suggested they would be in areas that allowed vital public services to be protected. | Mr Clegg also warned of "savage and bold" cuts in spending under a Lib Dem administration - but suggested they would be in areas that allowed vital public services to be protected. |
| "Yes I have said there will need to be cuts, cuts that are savage and bold," he said. | "Yes I have said there will need to be cuts, cuts that are savage and bold," he said. |
| "But we will make those cuts so that we can be equally fierce - equally savage - about protecting the services that matter most, just as we put the nation's finances back in order. | "But we will make those cuts so that we can be equally fierce - equally savage - about protecting the services that matter most, just as we put the nation's finances back in order. |
| "So if ending tax credits for high earners is the price we pay for cutting class sizes and investing in disadvantaged pupils, so be it. | "So if ending tax credits for high earners is the price we pay for cutting class sizes and investing in disadvantaged pupils, so be it. |
| "If we need to tell the highest paid public sector staff they won't get an increase in their pensions, so that we can afford to keep teachers, nurses, policemen and women in their jobs, so be it." | "If we need to tell the highest paid public sector staff they won't get an increase in their pensions, so that we can afford to keep teachers, nurses, policemen and women in their jobs, so be it." |
| Mr Clegg went on to attack David Cameron as the "con man of British politics", accusing the Tory leader of saying anything to win the next general election. | Mr Clegg went on to attack David Cameron as the "con man of British politics", accusing the Tory leader of saying anything to win the next general election. |
| He said it was up to the Lib Dems to hold the Conservatives to account because Labour's "time is up". | He said it was up to the Lib Dems to hold the Conservatives to account because Labour's "time is up". |
| The five-day gathering will be the Lib Dems' last annual conference before the next general election, which must be held within the next nine months. | The five-day gathering will be the Lib Dems' last annual conference before the next general election, which must be held within the next nine months. |
| Danny Alexander, who as chair of the party's manifesto group has the job of putting together the party's programme for the next election, said the leadership wanted to convince activists they were serious about cuts. | Danny Alexander, who as chair of the party's manifesto group has the job of putting together the party's programme for the next election, said the leadership wanted to convince activists they were serious about cuts. |
| He told the BBC News Channel: "What we're saying to activists this week in the manifesto debate that we're having is that given the public finances that we face it's simply not going to be possible for us to deliver every single policy that we have. | He told the BBC News Channel: "What we're saying to activists this week in the manifesto debate that we're having is that given the public finances that we face it's simply not going to be possible for us to deliver every single policy that we have. |
| "But tuition fees is very much in our minds as something that we'd like to do. It's not being ruled out. All the policies we have, have the same status. | "But tuition fees is very much in our minds as something that we'd like to do. It's not being ruled out. All the policies we have, have the same status. |
| "They're up for negotiation within our manifesto process." | "They're up for negotiation within our manifesto process." |