Blair keeps pressure up on rebels

The fees vote comes a day before the Hutton report

Ministers are "not complacent in any way, shape or form" about the outcome of next week's crucial vote on top-up fees, Downing Street has insisted.

Tony Blair spent two hours with rebel MPs on Tuesday in his drive to win support for the controversial plans.

Meetings were likely to continue until next Tuesday's vote on the Higher Education Bill, his spokesman said.

Tories say ministers will probably win the crunch vote, but rebel Labour MPs say the government still faces defeat.

'Ongoing dialogue'

The Higher Education Bill would allow universities to charge up to £3,000 in fees, payable once graduates earn £15,000.

The success of the government's persuasion campaign will be tested in a Commons vote on fees on 27 January - the day before Lord Hutton reports on the death of government scientist Dr David Kelly.

We realise that there's still a lot of discussion and debate to be had and the government ... will continue to engage in the debate with colleagues Mr Blair's spokesman

The prime minister's spokesman said Mr Blair's meetings with rebels should be seen as "part of the ongoing dialogue and engagement" in the run up to the vote.

"I would not rule out him speaking to other members between now and next Tuesday," he said.

"The government is not complacent in any way, shape or form about next Tuesday's vote.

"We realise that there's still a lot of discussion and debate to be had and the government, from the prime minister down, will continue to engage in the debate with colleagues."

Debt fears

As Mr Blair sought to woo doubters to his cause, the international think tank the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development backed the plans.

It said it would be hard to raise extra funds for universities from general taxes and would be unfair on non-graduates, who received lower salaries.

But the annual Mori poll for student accommodation company UNITE suggests 79% of students would have rethought their choice of university "to some extent" if it had charged fees of £3,000.

The poll suggested debt had risen by 43% in less than four years, with undergraduates now expecting to graduate with debts of £10,025.

But Education Secretary Charles Clarke said the findings should not be "blown out of proportion".

"Around 90% of students in the very same survey say that the money they spend is a good investment in their future," he said.

Concessions

More than 150 Labour MPs have signed a House of Commons motion critical of the plans - although a few have since withdrawn their names.

Concessions on financial help for poorer students have swayed some opponents, such as Labour MPs Peter Bradley and Alan Whitehead, who previously favoured a £2,500 flat rate fee.

Click here to watch Tony Blair's Newsnight fees interview, point-by-point

But Labour rebel Lynne Jones predicted the rebellion was big enough to overturn Mr Blair's massive 161-seat majority and inflict his first Commons defeat since Labour came took office in 1997.

"The people who are saying they are changing their minds are the people who would have been expected to change their minds," she told BBC Radio 4's World At One.

Mr Blair told a televised debate for BBC2's Newsnight on Monday he thought he would survive the vote.

"In the end, there is a choice and I have tried to balance the interests of the general taxpayer with the interests of the student," he said.