Students Say “No Confidence”

Academics might not have been able to make up their minds about Universities Minister David Willetts, but students have.

76% of students who took our poll last week said they had no confidence in Willetts’ university policies, which include raising the cap on fees to £9,000. Meanwhile just 24% of you said they had confidence in the Minister.

A breakdown of our results

Our poll comes just weeks after the vote of no confidence by Cambridge academics ended in a dead heat. Universities up and down the country, including Oxford and Leeds, have passed votes of no confidence in Willetts.

In a statement CUSU Pres Gerard Tully said: “Students, both in Cambridge and across the country, have had no confidence in this government’s approach to higher education since day one: the reality of £9,000 tuition fees is simply that students from the least advantaged backgrounds will be deterred from applying to university by fear of debt.”

Willetts under pressure?

But Cambridge University Conservative Association dismissed the result, saying they still stood by their minister.

CUCA Chairman-elect Edward Turnham said: “The recent failure of anti-government academics to pass a motion of no confidence in David Willetts at the Regent House demonstrates that the case in favour of these reforms is increasing being understood by those who bother to study the details.”