Tuition fees: the battle begins

The government's plans may be defeated, says one rebel MP

Breakfast's main story this morning is the gathering storm over student tuition fees.

One hundred and twenty five Labour MPs - that's more than half the party's back-benchers - have signed up to a commons motion asking for a re-think.

Five former cabinet ministers - including Robin Cook and Frank Dobson - have also expressed their opposition to the new system.

Proposals to introduce top-up fees of up to £3,000 a year were one of main planks of yesterday's Queen's Speech.

The government says they're an improvement on the current system because fees won't need to be paid up-front - and graduates won't need to repay their loans until they earn at least £15,000 a year.

But many Labour MPs are unconvinced.

Breakfast talked to one of the leading rebels, Dr Ian Gibson

He told us the vote on tuition fees will be very close - and the government could lose, despite its massive Commons majority.

He believes higher education needs more money from the government - and it's time businesses put their hands in their pockets too

"I agree that universities need more money, " he told Breakfast. "The government's contribution has been going down over recent years - we need to look at general taxation.

"In addition, industry gets great benefit from the poeple who come through university but it contributes very little.

"In America, businesses put millions into their local universites."

And - we want to know what you think. Will tuition fees put off bright students from poor families who want to go to college - or were student grants only ever a middle class perk?