Is getting more clever teenagers from poor backgrounds into university a worthy goal? Yes. Should Simon Hughes be doing the job for the coalition? No.
Why do I say that? Hughes has just been on Radio 4's World at One explaining that no, he abstained on the vote to raise tuition fees, and yes, he would retain his independence as an MP despite agreeing to promote university access.
I am sure Hughes believes it, just as he believes that the coalition is implementing core Lib Dem policies such as fairness in taxation, constitutional reform and a greener politics.
"I am a member of a political party which still believes in an ideal world there would not be tuition fees," said Hughes. What he is now doing is not to defend his non-vote but to persuade poor smart kids in his Bermondsey and Southwark constituency that some will get a better chance of low fees or no fees under tuition reforms.
Indeed. That is also the case for voting yes and not joining Scots Lib Dems and the SNP in abolishing them, which I think will prove a bad move.
Why I think Hughes made a mistake in saying yes to the offer – and the offer was a mistake too – is that he is a natural opposition MP, and opposition to the coalition is needed from within the tent as well as without.
As Lib Dem deputy leader, Hughes plays an important internal role. As an advocate for a policy he says he does not believe in – though I do – he is compromised. A pity.
