High noon on tuition fees

Should the dustman pay for the doctor? Watch our report

A day of high political drama is in store as the government battles to save its policy on tuition fees.

Tonight's vote is said to be too close to call.

Rebel Labour MPs will come under renewed pressure to support Tony Blair's flagship policy. At the same time the key players in the Hutton Inquiry will be getting their embargoed copies of the inquiry's findings later today.

This morning, Breakfast asked: has Tony Blair met his Waterloo?

click here to go straight to our Your Comments page

Why should the dustman pay for the doctor?

Breakfast's Graham Satchell brought together the medical student who challenged Tony Blair on Newsnight a couple of weeks ago - with one of the managers of a waste disposal company.

It was high noon, as Julia Prague met John Glover of Bywaters waste management

A question of loyalty - or a question of conscience? We talked to three Labour MPs about their stand on tuition fees.

Allen: rebel has changed his mind

For Jeremy Corbyn, who's on the left of the Labour Party, it's a question of principle: "We'll be creating two classes of university - we already have enough problems with student debt - and this is the wrong direction."

Barry Sheerman has always backed the government's proposals. He believes the proposals - which would reinstate grants for the poorest students - will actually enable more students to get to university.

Graham Allen was originally against tuition fees - but has chaned his mind because - he says - the rebels have got 80% of the changes they wanted.

Will fees put the brightest off going for the best? The BBC's Judith Moritz talked to pupils, parents and teachers at the Roundhay School in Leeds.

Mr Blair desperately needs to win the tuition fees vote to clear the first hurdle, in possibly the most testing week of his premiership.

The second hurdle comes tomorrow when Lord Hutton publishes his report into the death of government scientist Dr David Kelly.

Crucial for Mr Blair, will be whether Lord Hutton finds that it was he who authorised the naming of Dr Kelly in the sexed up dossier affair.

If that is the case, and the vote goes against the government, then the prime minister could face a vote of no confidence which might ultimately cost him the leadership.

Vote

Mr Blair's official spokesman was asked on Monday if the government was confident of winning the vote: "We hope so. But we don't know so."

The Chancellor Gordon Brown urged rebels to back the government after reports that some were using the issue as a way of attacking the prime minister to make way for a leadership challenge.

Support

Mr Blair spent a large part of Monday evening in meetings trying to rally the support of Labour members.

The whips have ensured that no MPs are away on business, so a full turnout is expected in the commons when Education Secretary Charles Clarke opens the debate.

One concession announced over the weekend by Education Secretary Charles Clarke, was that a legal bar on any real-terms increase in the £3,000 cap on tuition fees would be introduced.

It would apply for the life of the next Parliament, is certain to have been approved by the Prime Minister.

The move - writing explicitly into the Bill a Government promise that the cap would not be lifted for two general elections - was coupled with a pledge of an inquiry into the impact of top-up fees three years after their planned introduction in 2006.

Would the new tuition fees proposal put you or your children off getting the best education? Or is it time the majority stopped subsidising the minority?

Tell Breakfast what you think of the government's plans, using this e-mail form

You can watch live coverage of the tuition fees vote tonight at 7pm