'We shouldn't have made fees pledge governing alone'
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Lib Dem Jo Swinson MP. Credit: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
Scottish Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson has responded to an apology made by the Deputy Prime Minister over pledges to scrap tuition fees. Ms Swinson said the party's mistake had been to make a pledge they could only keep if governing alone. She told Sky News:
"The problem with this particular pledge, and what made it different, was it committed us to vote in a particular way regardless of what happened with the election result. That's what we should not have done."
Sheffield Children's Trust thanks Clegg for 'sorry' single
Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust has responded to the Deputy Prime Minister's pledge to donate all proceedings from a spoof single to be released to their charity. Nick Clegg gave permission for a satirical site to release a remix of the apology as a single.
Lots of tweets and media calls today about the @nick_clegg youtube video. Thank you Nick for your continued support of @sheffchildrens
Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland has welcomed an apology from his party leader over his pledge to reduce tuition fees. Mr Mulholland was one of 21 Liberal Democrat MPs who defied party whips to vote against the rise in tuition fees in the Commons. He said:
I welcome Nick's apology for what was a mistake. This took courage and I hope people give him credit for saying that publicly.
Let's be clear that what we now have is basically a capped graduate tax, which is fairer and more progressive than Labour's upfront fees.
The real tragedy was failing to implement this properly, with no fees, which would have meant no breaking of the NUS pledge.
Different versions of Clegg 'sorry' parodies emerge
A number of parodies depicting the Deputy Prime Minister's apology over pledging to reduce tuition fees have emerged on YouTube. Among the videos include:
