It's like the 1970s all over: no one party in overall control, rioting in the streets, shortened weeks approaching (granted that's for Christmas bank holidays but cut me some slack) and the bins weren't collected for a week (again the snow prevented the wagon getting out but I'm not going to let that stop my analogy). So most of the LibDems have decided that they are enjoying their brief moment of power too much and have voted to increase tuition fees. Where this leaves them remains to be seen but we already have two other parties that lie and break election pledges so do we need a third and it aside from the die hard activists it is hard to see who they can win votes from now. This would actually be a shame as I do like the idea of a genuine third party, and not just some fringe group, that can provide balance to Labour and the Conservatives as opposed to the US where the two parties have become so triballised as to waste their energies criticising each other.
   To emphasize the divisions in the party 27 voted for the fees, 21 against and 8 abstained so it could be argued that it is the minority giving the rest a bad name but as all the protesting students are being labelled as rioting insurgents it seems petty to quibble. Besides the abstainers bottled it and wanted it both ways so did not really keep their promise either. Perhaps they won't make such rash election promises in the future, but then that would make them less electable.