Conservative-DUP pact put to the test over tuition fees

Once again the divisive issue of tuition fees is making waves at Westminster as the Labour Party seeks to embarrass the government.

Labour is to force a vote in parliament on 13 September on the increase in tuition fees that took effect at the end of the last parliament, raising the annual cost for undergraduate degrees in England to £9,250.

Jo Johnson, minister for universities and science, announced the fee uplift in the last days before the general election in June. The inflationary rise was brought in through the use of a statutory instrument that allowed the government to avoid a vote in parliament. The fee increase applies to courses at universities participating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.