Nick Clegg Apologises for Tuition Fee Pledge

Quote:
Nick Clegg has apologised for the Lib Dems breaking their pledge to oppose an increase in student tuition fees.

In a party political broadcast to be aired next week, the Lib Dem leader says he is sorry the party "did not stick" to its pre-election promise. The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said Mr Clegg had resisted making such a "clear and direct" apology for nearly two years.

Mr Clegg believed the decision to break his word by first signing then breaking a pledge to vote against fee rises had become a weight around his and his party's ankles, Nick Robinson added.

However, Mr Clegg does not apologise for backing the decision to raise fees.

He continues to argue it was the right move in the circumstances and the package offered by the coalition - in which no fees are paid upfront - was fairer for students than the previous system of university finance.