Clegg: Policy ‘will stand the test of time’

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg comments on the “difficult” day for the party with the passage of controversial legislation to introduce maximum tuition fees of £9,000:

“This was a very difficult vote, especially for Liberal Democrats, on a highly complex issue. We always knew it was going to be very difficult.

“What I now hope is that in government, and the Liberal Democrats generally, we will now explain to people, especially to students who are wanting to go to university in the future, given the difficult circumstances we find ourselves in, and there is very little money around, given that we are asking millions of other people to make sacrifices, this was the best and fairest possible approach for the future, which I genuinely believe will stand the test of time.”