Further and Higher Education

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 10:19 am on 27 January 2000.

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Photo of David McLetchie David McLetchie Conservative 10:19, 27 January 2000

Who can forget them duetting on that catchy little number,

"tuition fees are dead as of next Friday"?

That was Friday 7 May 1999, lest we forget. Another number was:

"The people of Scotland have made it non-negotiable".

Presiding Officer, we then had your good self taking the lead with words such as:

"tuition fees will go if Labour do not get an overall majority", and, of course, with that much-loved comedy record:

"Mr Dewar has no choice but to accept that tuition fees are effectively dead".

After the election, that happy little duo broke up and went their separate ways. Jim Wallace disowned his earlier compositions and the promises that he made to his fans in his famous election rhetoric piece, and went off to join Donald's rival group, which he had been planning to do all along. Meantime, the Presiding Officer moved on to much higher things, and it was left to a few die-hards to keep the faith alive. Donald Gorrie put out an angry release, calling Wallace's new group

"the biggest bunch of liars you could meet".

Given the events of the past few days, how prescient that remark was. And of course, we had the redoubtable Mr Raffan maintaining that he would

"never, ever compromise on tuition fees".

The Liberal Democrats were given an early opportunity in this Parliament to vote to abolish tuition fees, and to do so with effect from September 1999, because it could be achieved by Executive action, as the minister acknowledged. Instead, most of them meekly followed their leader in voting with Labour to establish the committee of inquiry.