Who knows how, and whether, Vince Cable is going to vote in next Thursday’s tuition fee
decider? Not even the man himself, it seems. A few days ago he suggested he might abstain for the sake of party unity. Yesterday, he
told his local paper that “I have a duty as a minister to vote for
my own policy – and that is what will happen.” And yet this morning’s Guardian has a
“party source” saying, “a final decision has not been made. It is still possible Vince could abstain.” At least we haven’t heard that he might vote against the proposal –
although, at this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised.
To my mind, the most likely outcome – and one mooted in the papers today – is a three-way split. That is: Lib Dem ministers voting for the government’s policy; most Lib Dem backbenchers abstaining as per the coalition agreement; and a handful of disgruntled Charles Kennedy types voting against it.
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