As soon as Nick Clegg signed the coalition agreement that sent his party into government with the Conservatives, he knew this week was coming.
His decision to back down on a pre-election pledge to abolish tuition fees and support a plan to treble the yearly cap has caused a three-way split in his party and sparked mass demonstrations by students.
Despite a rebellion in the Lib Dem ranks, the government won the day, and students will be charged the higher rates from 2012.
In the studio to discuss the political ramifications are the Observer's Nick Cohen, the Guardian's Martin Kettle and Emily Dyer, a student who was on the demonstration in Parliament Square.
The debate aroused passions on both sides of the house, and Michael White witnessed it all from the press gallery in the Commons. He caught some of the members as they entered, including the Conservative George Eustace, Labour's Chris Leslie, the SNP's Angus McNeil and the Lib Dem president (and rebel) Tom Farron.
Also this week: Kenneth Clarke, the justice secretary, announced new measures aimed at cutting prisoner numbers. It may be a cost-cutting exercise, but it's one that might not have been possible without the Liberal Democrats, our panel says.
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