UK to hold key student fees vote next week

Britain's parliament plans to vote next Thursday on plans to raise tuition fees for university students, an issue which has split the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in the Conservative-led coalition.

Students and teenage school pupils are expected to hold further protests to coincide with the vote, following three demonstrations which have all ended in violence in recent weeks.

The vote, the date of which was confirmed on Thursday, will be a test of Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg's nerve and authority.

It is unlikely to bring down a coalition which took power seven months ago, but could badly damage Clegg's standing within his own ranks.

The left-leaning party pledged to phase out tuition fees during the campaign for May's election and is divided on how to vote on the issue.

Business Secretary Vince Cable, a Lib Dem and architect of plans to almost triple tuition fees to up to 9,000 pounds ($14,060) a year, has said he could abstain on the vote to maintain party unity.

However, others among the party's 57 members of parliament have said they will oppose the increase. Lib Dems enjoyed strong support from students for their stance on fees and their earlier opposition to the Iraq War.

It would require a rebellion by as many as 40 Lib Dem MPs in the 650-seat parliament to sink the bill.

The fees are part of austerity measures aimed at cutting government spending by 19 percent over the next four years.

The Lib Dem leadership argues that the economy is too weak to maintain their pre-election pledge on tuition fees and that current plans are a good deal.

They point out that there will be no up-front payment of tuition fees and that students will only start to pay them back once they are earning 21,000 pounds — up from a current figure of 15,000.