Let's get political, political

So, the UK Government has succeeded in its plans to raise the price of University education from £3300 to £6000-£9000, depending on what the University plans to charge. This is a tragedy for social equality in the UK and is being passed off as a necessity in these straitened economic times, despite this being clearly an ideological attack on the idea of universal free education.

Firstly, the raising of tuition fees is, of course, a way for the Government to raise funds to pay (one hopes) for educating the future workforce of our economy. In itself, the raising of tuition fees is not strictly an horrific idea, given the fact that all departments of the UK government are making large cuts with the exception of the Sacred Cow, the NHS.  However, a rise of 200%, coupled with a cut in the Universities teaching budget of 80% is not comparable with any cut being made elsewhere in British society. Thus, one can only deduce that the Government has pursued this change for ideological reasons. The shift from the burden being on the taxpayer to being on the individual involved is a clear conservative (small 'c') belief translated into law: the "Why should the taxpayer pay for a student to go to university when the student gets all the benefit" argument. This argument is often spouted by the right-wing media (of which there is a depressing amount in the UK, thanks Murdoch!) and seen in the comments posts of online articles. However, we do not question our universal healthcare system, so much so that it has become a sacred object, a no go area even for the Conservative party, despite many of their members no doubt wishing to abolish it; we do not question paying for other people's children to go to school; we do not question paying for aircraft carriers or tanks; nor do we question paying pensioners to heat their homes.

Now the UK has a very well developed welfare state, one which I am proud of. I firmly believe that it is the roll of the state to provide for its citizens from "cradle to grave" (thank you Sir William Beveridge), as it is the most efficient and fairest way to ensure social equality and progress; however, we can no longer include tertiary education in our Welfare State. The 80% teaching budget cut has virtually wiped out funding for teaching in the Arts and Humanities, in fact the only area that has been ring-fenced is Science funding, seen as an "economically-crucial subject". If we take a look at the areas of the British economy pouring money into HM Treasury, we do not just find science, we find a broad range of fields, not least Arts and Humanities, yet these are deemed economically-worthless. Universities are not merely training grounds for the next batch of employees for the private sector, every graduate enriches societies in ways unknown to previous generations. There are those who question the value of a "History of Art" degree, or of a philosophy degree, yet the Art graduate and the Philosophy graduate is able to think in ways the finger-pointer cannot even comprehend. The fabric of our society is not shaped merely by mathematics, or by science, or by engineering, we are the children of our history, our our politics, our culture, our music. Who dares say what is valid in a modern society and what is not? If something is valid to but one person then it is valid.

We now have the highest public university fees in the developed world (Harvard etc. are private), coupled with minimal Government funding: so the Government still runs the universities, it just refuses to pay for them. This marketisation (sometimes called the Americanisation) of our education is something that must be resisted. Why should every part of our lives be driven by the desire to make a profit? Are there not some things that deserve to be showered with money, to get the result we really need and most importantly that our country deserves? I believe education is one of these areas, it is the future of our nation at stake and whilst every other EU country (bar Romania) is increasing funding for education, the UK government is cutting it. We cannot get out of this recession without the skills and intelligence that comes from a well-educated workforce. Sheer manpower is no longer enough, faced with the economic might of India and China, we need to be smarter. So, to look at it from a purely economic view, the Government's policy makes no sense.

But we must not just consider the economic repercussions of the Government's actions, we most also consider the societal. Currently, a degree at a UK university will set you back £9 900 for tuition plus whatever you spend on rent and living costs. This money is loaned to you by the government and then paid back with a small amount of interest. Whilst there are good points in the Government's plans, such as raising the pay-back line to £21 000 and, what they fail to realise is that a debt of £27 000 plus rent and living costs is a huge burden on a young person fresh out of university. What is even more troubling is the effect this burden could have on people's aspirations to go to university. The prospect of £45 000 debt when you leave university will put off people from poorer backgrounds and the argument that it is not a 'real' debt may be economically-sound, but it is totally naïve to think that this argument holds sway amongst young and especially less well-educated people. Social equality is a noble cause, supposedly fought for by all UK parties; however, how can the Government claim to be doing all it can for social equality whilst creating a divisive and unequal system? It's simple look at the rest of Europe where tuition fees are either incredibly low or do not exist and compare the social equality there with that of the UK. Now let's look at America, where tuition fees are astronomical and let's look at the social equality of US society. See a pattern?

I did not want to touch on the involvement of the Liberal Democrats as I really do consider them to be beneath anything. They have betrayed not only the electorate but also their principles. Their presence on the UK political landscape is all but finished. Goodbye Nick and no, I don't agree with you.

Episode 21: In which winter hits

So, we may not have the snow the UK has, looking pretty impressive in Yorkshire and Sheffield particularly (shut up London with your few cms), but we are much colder. My thermometer is currently reading -10°. I don't think I've ever experienced a temperature that cold and yet I need to leave the house. I am thus wearing:

2 pairs of thick socks
2 pairs of long johns (plus trousers on top, of course)
A vest
A t-shirt
A hoody
A ski jacket
A scarf
A hat
3 pairs of gloves (well, 2 pairs of gloves and a pair of mittens)

What's the betting I'm still freezing...