NUS has warned that students and their families will not be prepared to pay more for less or vote for candidates who do not come clean on fees.
The campaign includes a new student vote website- www.voteforstudents.co.uk - which will offer students information about those standing for election in their local area, and highlight whether those standing for election have signed up to the NUS Funding our Future Pledge: “I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and to pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative”
More than 200 MPs and parliamentary candidates have signed the pledge, including ex-Health Secretary Frank Dobson, leading backbencher Jon Cruddas, ex-Treasury minister Andrew Smith, former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable and ex-President of the Liberal Democrats Simon Hughes. Green Party leader Caroline Lucas who is standing in Brighton Pavilion constituency and Respect leader Salma Yaqoob who is standing in Birmingham Hall Green constituency have also signed up.
NUS has identified a hot list of 20 key student areas where the powerful student vote could make a decisive difference to the result. This follows the 2005 General Election, where many seats with high concentrations of students were widely recognised to have been swayed by the student vote.
Those under pressure this time include Communities Secretary John Denham MP (Southampton Itchen), Chief Whip Nick Brown MP (Newcastle Upon Tyne East), Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw MP (Exeter), former Education Secretary Charles Clarke MP (Norwich South), and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn MP (Leeds Central).
Wes Streeting, NUS President said:
“In many seats up and down the country the student vote can make a decisive difference. Through this campaign we hope to remind students of the power they hold and remind candidates of the danger of not taking our votes seriously. Our message to candidates is simple, vote for us or pay the price."
“Our list of key student seats should make the point particularly clearly. Elections have been won and lost by the votes of students before and it will happen again.
"It is clear that a rise in fees would be deeply unpopular across the country. Only 12 per cent of the public think rasing fees should even be on the table. As no mainstream political party has a clear policy on fees, it is down to individual candidates to take a stand and sign our pledge."
“Our pledge will highlight to students in a straightforward fashion which candidates plan to defend student interests. In many seats, signing the pledge could be the easiest way that a candidate can get themselves on their way to Westminster. But if they do not vote for us, we will not vote for them.”
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