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Monday 19 March 2012

Boris stands up for students - Ken doesn't turn up!

Recently during a visit to Barking with Jon Cruddas, Ken Livingstone stated that he had "voted against tuition fees when they had first been proposed whilst he was still an MP" now this claim simply isn't true. In the time Ken Livingstone was MP for Brent East and tuition fees came up for a vote, in the Commons, and it did on three occasions. It did so once on an opposition motion and twice in government bills.
When these votes happened I don't know where Ken was but he was not voting against the government. As shown on they work for you he was "absent" every single time. Now he does have the defence he didn't vote for tuition fees but he simply using mendacious language by saying he "voted against tuition fees" because as the record shows - he didn't.

As Ken can't be trusted on tuition fees and as Channel 4's Fact Check team have shown his pledge on EMA is simply "fiction" how can Ken Livingstone be trusted by students. They've been let down by Nick Clegg over tuition fees by his pledge at the last election. Ken's EMA pledge would be a double whammy really as he can't keep it as he wouldn't have the legal powers to do it.

As for Boris he opposes tuition fees, like Ken claims he does, but Boris as shown on they work for you has voted against tuition fees no fewer than five times. Boris opposes tuition fees and votes against them. Ken opposes tuition fees but doesn't vote against them. It is clear that students have been let down in the past by Ken but Boris had a chance to stand up for students and that is what he did.