The Green Party’s candidate in Lichfield and Burntwood has criticised one of his rivals over the Liberal Democrats’ about-turn on tuition fees.
The build-up to the 2010 general election saw Nick Clegg pledge to abolish university fees. But he was later forced to apologise after the coalition approved a move to raise them to £9,000 a year in England.
Paul Ray will represent the Liberal Democrats in the Lichfield constituency this year.
The 52-year-old graduated from Aston University in 1986 at a time when university education was free. He has since gone on to work in the food sector before becoming a solicitor. He has been a partner in a national law firm since 2005.
But his Green Party counterpart Robert Pass has said Mr Ray represents many of the problems within the Lib Dems.
“Candidates in this election like Paul Ray have had free university education,” he said. “What right did he and others – who took their free university education for granted when they were students – have to impose tuition fees on young people?
“A lot of our party membership is made up of disaffected Liberal Democrat members who felt let down by their decision to abandon their pledge to abolish tuition fees, when in my opinion the Liberal Democrats didn’t have the mandate to go back on their pledge.
“That is why the Green Party believes in free university education. We want to invest the nation’s resources into giving the next generation the best start in life. We believe in equal opportunity for all regardless of wealth.”
But Mr Ray defended his education and said his party had no option but to change their stance on tuition fees.
He said: “Yes, I did go to university without paying any fees. It was the Labour Party who introduced tuition fees in 1998 some time after I went to university.
“It’s true that I and most others of my generation had free university education, but that was many years ago and in government we’ve had to deal with the reality of funding universities in the 21st century. I understand the aspiration for free university education but the Greens’ pledge is unfunded and unrealistic.
“But I’m delighted to say that the Liberal Democrats have ensured that university is far more accessible to young people today than it was when I went to university.
“We didn’t win the election. We couldn’t implement every single policy in our manifesto. But we did stop the Labour Party and Tories from introducing unlimited fees. Despite having only 57 MP’s we helped to introduce a more progressive system.”
Class War candidate Andy Bennetts also waded into the row, insisting Mr Ray’s professional background means he will not be able to connect with local people.
“Paul is a wealthy man,” said Mr Bennetts. “He has a good job as a partner in a law firm. In my opinion, that means he has no understanding of what goes on in the lives of ordinary men and women.”
But the Lib Dem candidate insisted Mr Bennetts was wrong.
“I’m not a wealthy man,” he said. “I’m comfortable and I’ve a good job, but that does not stop me from having compassion for those on low incomes.
The candidates standing in the Lichfield constituency in May are:
- Andy Bennetts – Class War
- Michael Fabricant – Conservatives
- Robert Pass – Green Party
- John Rackham – UKIP
- Paul Ray – Lib Dem
- Chris Worsey – Labour
