Green Party

The City Council has this evening resolved to support the Union of UEA Students’ Higher Education funding campaign and write to the Government opposing an increase in tuition fees.

Green Party Councillors asked the Council to call for fees to be abolished altogether, but this proposal was voted down by Labour and Conservative councillors, who supported retaining the current fees of up to £3,000 per year for students.

Lord Browne, the former boss of BP, is chairing an inquiry into the effectiveness of the current fees system which Norwich South MP Charles Clarke introduced in 2004. Many fear it will result in fees being raised again, discouraging young people from poorer backgrounds from going to university and saddling those who do with even bigger debts after graduation. Tonight Norwich City Council backed the campaign against fees being increased.

Councillor Ramsay, who will be making a submission to the Browne Inquiry on behalf of the Green Party, commented: “I am pleased to be joining the student demonstration against tuition fees. If I replace Charles Clarke as MP I will fight for tuition fees to be replaced by a fairer funding system involving a return to grants for students so that talented young people can go to university regardless of their background.

“Norwich already has a lower proportion of students going to university than most UK cities and I'm concerned that tuition fees are putting them off. The only fair way for students to pay towards their education is through income tax after they enter employment. To invest in a fair future, where universities nurture the talent of young people from all backgrounds for the benefit of society, we need to abolish tuition fees.

“I’m pleased that Norwich City Council is supporting the campaign against increasing tuition fees. It was just disappointing that Labour and Conservative councillors were unwilling to join our call for fees to be abolished entirely.”

Other key highlights at tonight’s City Council meeting were:

• The Council passed the Joint Core Strategy, agreeing plans for over 20,000 new homes to be built in greater Norwich over the next 20 years – but Green Party Councillors opposed the strategy, arguing that it did not do enough to ensure that new developments are adequately served by local infrastructure such as schools and public transport; and highlighting the concerns of Natural England that it will result in a deterioration in the local water supply.
• The Council passed a Green Party motion calling for the County Council to provide funding for additional grit boxes in the city so residents can more easily make pavements safe during snowy and icy weather.
• Green Party Councillor Adrian Ramsay pressed the Council to approve proposals from a private company for new city centre recycling banks for batteries, CDs, mobile phones and ink cartridges. Brian Morrey, the Council’s Executive member in charge of recycling, said that he was working with council officers on how the council could pursue the proposals.

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