Those who wonder whether Ed Miliband displays the clarity and decisiveness that are normally thought essential to winning an election will not find themselves short of evidence from Labour’s current handling of the tuition fees issue. This is, after all, the very same tuition fees issue that poleaxed support among full-time students for the Liberal Democrats after 2010, resulting in a 24-point swing to Labour among students between then and 2014,
according to a recent study. In
a close election contest where every seat matters, therefore, Labour clearly has a vital self-interest in ensuring that it retains its post-2010 gains among student voters. Student votes in a handful of constituencies could decide the 2015 general election.
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