---

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

That is absolute, undiluted nonsense. Let us consider what the hon. Gentleman had to say about the issue. He said that the Conservatives did not support the Government’s target for expansion, which was crucial to expand our higher education, and that, as fees are necessary to finance the expansion, if we did not have the expansion, we did not need the fees. I know that the Conservatives flip-flopped on this issue. The right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) said that fees should be scrapped—that is clear and precise. They flip-flop on the issue, but we cannot allow them to escape. When they had to make a difficult judgment on a difficult policy issue, they chose the route that would have damaged our economy and our country. We should heed the wise words of a distinguished Conservative former higher education Minister—Robert Jackson, the then Member for Wantage—who said on Second Reading of the Higher Education Bill:"““I will go into the Lobby with the Government with my head held high. The time will soon come when the electorate will ask whether the Conservative party is once again a serious party of government…I believe that the way they have chosen to handle this issue will be remembered and will be held against them.””—[Official Report, 27 January 2004; Vol. 417, c. 231.]" Certainly, as long as we have breath to breathe, that will be our approach.