The only way is up

摘要

In 2004, when Labour faced down a coalition of opportunistic Tories and its own backbenchers to force through university fees of up to ￡3,000 a year, it promised to review the impact in 2009, when the first to pay higher fees had graduated. Would higher prices deter school-leavers, particularly poor ones, from further study? That review will now not be published until mid-2010: neither Labour nor the Tories are keen to revisit this politically explosive issue before the next election.