At the General Election, more than a million more people voted for the Liberal Democrats than in 2005.

It would be safe to presume that a large number of those voters were students. Every Lib Dem MP signed a pledge to vote against any rise in tuition fees. Lib Dem MPs understood that forcing the brightest hopes for our future to carry a deadweight of debt around their necks, while opportunities for graduates are scarce, was abhorrent and unfair.

Being in government doesn’t change those views, and it does not change a pledge that was signed. But unlike Labour, which brought in the tuition fee system after promising not to and which also support raising the cap beyond £10,000 per year, the Lib Dems in Brighton will not sit back and watch students become overburdened. We will not accept central government diktat simply because our party shares power and let young people with great minds be put off fulfilling their potential.

We will not cast mature students and disadvantaged households by the wayside.

We will fight back.

We will be proudly marching alongside Liberal Youth, the NUS and UCU on November 10, fighting for the future of higher education funding.

Brighton is a city that relies on its students and graduates to make it the successful, open and vibrant place to live that it is. We have two fantastic universities pulling in the brightest and best people from across the country and the wider world to the city.

We invite anyone who wants to see a better, fairer funding system, and who believes our student and graduation population help make Brighton a world-class city, to join us on this march.

A well-funded higher education sector is vital for our national prosperity. We need to see every person able to fulfil their potential, not dissuade them from attempting to better themselves.

Higher tuition fees are not fair and will disproportionately affect those who would most benefit from a university education. The Liberal Demo-crats in Brighton will not abandon those who are the key to our future.

Mark Collins
Brighton and Hove Lib Dems Hangleton Close, Hove