Thousands of students are protesting against increases in tuition fees and education cuts across the country. Follow the latest here. Send us your news:
@peterwalker99
peter.walker@guardian.co.uk
@peterwalker99
peter.walker@guardian.co.uk
10.32am: Prick up your ears and listen carefully. That distant sound you can hear from Westminister is the sound of ministers scrabbling furiously to make sure the tuition fees bill gets through the Commons. Vince Cable has just announced some new (if failrly minor) concessions, clearly aimed at wavering MPs.
Education corresondent Jessica Shepherd has this:
Education corresondent Jessica Shepherd has this:
The salary threshold at which graduates start paying back the cost of their degrees is to rise every year, the government said today.
At the moment, graduates begin to pay back the money loaned to them for their degrees when they start earning £15,000. The government plans to raise this to £21,000 as part of a package of changes that would see university fees go up to a maximum of £9,000 a year from the current £3,225.
Vince Cable said the new £21,000 threshold will rise annually, rather than every five years, as had been planned. The £15,000 earnings threshold that currently applies will go up every year in line with inflation from 2012, Cable added.
Part-time undergraduates will be eligible to qualify for full loan assistance to cover the cost of their tuition if they are studying for 25% of the time required for a full-time course, rather than the 33% that had previously been planned.
Cable said: "These reforms will introduce a significantly fairer and more progressive new system in which no eligible student has to pay upfront fees. There is a better deal for students while they are studying and a fairer system of repayments for those who have completed their studies and are realising the benefits of a university education. When we announced the reforms last month, we said we would welcome further discussion about the proposals. We have been listening to concerns from universities, students, parents and parliament; and in light of those discussions, I am today announcing further enhancements to the package."
10.24am: As I was saying: not a good time to be a Lib Dem MP. Sky News has some fascinating footage of one of their TV crews pursuing Sarah Teather, the junior education minister. Why, they ask, are you supporting the high tuition fees when you used your maiden speech in the Commons to oppose such charges? Her response: "Go away."
Two things occur to me watching it. Firstly, it doesn't seem long ago that the Liberal Democrats complained they never got their share of media attention. Secondly – and I apologise in advance – for the Commons' shortest MP she can't half walk quickly when the mood takes her.
10.14am: The Guardian's regular protest live-blogger, Adam Gabbatt, has just turned up in the office dressed snugly for a day out on the streets. He's wearing a thermal vest and long johns - what a sensible boy.
Anyhow, he came in clutching a SOAS leaflet about today's "teach out", a series of public lectures around London. The biggest is planned for Euston station at 5pm.
10.07am: The next few days are going to be exceedingly tricky if you're a Lib Dem MP. Among yet more protests planned today are marches on the constituency offices of party deputy leader Simon Hughes (in Bermondesy, south London) and Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green, north London).
Meanwhile, Twitter is ablaze with the news that their boss, Nick Clegg, will be braving a BBC Radio 5 Live phone in from 11am. You can only presume it will be broadcast with a delay. Otherwise, Monday's Hunt-gate incident will surely seem tame by comparison.
9.57am: Below the line, as the unsightly phrase goes, Hamewella has pointed out that today's protests spread beyond England:
There's a big demonstration in Edinburgh, marching down to the parliament, at midday today. We've got coaches coming through from Glasgow (if they can get here...)
9.50am: The Guardian's indefatigable Steven Morris emails in with an update on yet another occupation:
It's becoming hard to avoid student sit-ins. At Bath University campus on other business this morning I followed a trail of home-made notices calling on Lib Dem local MP Dan Foster to stand by his pre-election pledge to scrap tuition fees.
The trail ended outside the vice chancellor's office where a hardy group of students spent the night. They are planning to stay there until tomorrow's vote. Being sustained by cups of coffee and tins of chocolates. A member of staff asks them to remove notices stuck to the "expensive" office doors with sticky tape. They say they'll pay if the notice does damage the doors.
This a polite kind of demonstration.
9.40am: An email reminds me that Manchester University has also seen a week-and-a-half long occupation of a lecture theatre. Sorry for forgetting you. Action planned today includes a visit to a lecture given by an academic arrested at last week's march, to give him a supportive cheer. There's also suggestions of a carol singing visit to some local Lib Dems. "Obviously, the carols may not have their traditional lyrics," I'm told.
9.28am: Perhaps unhelpfully, London's Metropolitan Police have already raised the prospect of violence during this weeks protests in the capital. Some people were, warned Commander Bob Broadhurst, turning up jiust for a bit of trouble:
We have seen groups of youths descending on the last few student protests as the day progresses, purely with the aim of using the event as a venue for violence and to attack police. It has been obvious that these particular elements are not genuine protesters. They have no intention of protesting about cuts to tuition fees or any other issue. They have turned up purely to take part in violence and disorder.Jenny Jones, a Green member of the London Assembly who has previously expressed worries about Met police tactics, is not impressed:
9.25am: A few more details about what's being planned today, according to the NUS – as well as the usual marches and protests, students in Bournemouth are planning a "mass Christmas card and letter writing session". I'm guessing a few Lib Dem MPs might be the recipients. Meanwhile, those at London's Kings College are holding an intriguing-sounding "animal fancy dress tube petition gathering". I'm guessing it's students dressed as animals rather than this sort of thing.
It's also worth recalling that a few long-running occupations are still taking place. Noam Chomsky's favourite London students, those at UCL, are still fighting off the court injunctions to remain in place. A group at Leeds University are still occupying a lecture theatre, although univesity bosses gave them a deadline of 8am to get out.
9.10am: If the government – and particularly its Liberal Democrats members – hoped the wave of student protests over higher tuition fees and wider education cuts would fizzle out the moment the weather turned a bit parky they've had a rude surprise. Today sees the fourth day of national student protests – marches, walk-outs, sit-ins, even hopefully a bunch of people dressed up in animal costumes.
It's also the first of two planned days of action ahead of tomorrow's eagerly-anticipated House of Commons vote on proposals to charge up to £9,000 a year for tuition fees. Then, the focus will be in London, with a planned rally from 1pm to 3pm.
But today it's nationwide, or rather England-wide. The National Union of Students, which admittedly has been somewhat behind the curve in planning previous protests, is predicting action in (deep breath): Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cheltenham, Coventry, Exeter, London, Plymouth, Sheffield, Staffordshire, Wolverhampton, Worcester and Warwick.This is, of course, far too much for one live blogger to keep up with, especially as there's bound to me more going on. So if you're out there and protesting, a/ wrap up warm and b/ let me know what's going on. My email and Twitter details are at the top of the page.
If you've got pictures, tweet them to @gspix and our lovely picture desk will hopefully (I've not asked them yet) compile a gallery later in the day.
Oh really. Met police write media script for next demo to frighten off peaceful protesters & their parents: http://bbc.in/eL20XY #demo2010
Jenny Jones
GreenJennyJones
Jenny JonesGreenJennyJones
