I would love to know how Chris Patten defines middle class?

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

As he seems to believe that we can all afford to send our children to private school and therefore will have no problem with paying similar levels of fees for their university education.
Or does he see it as unproblematic that access to good universities should be limited by parental income in the same way that access to private education is?
Or is he just a complete twat who has never knowingly interacted anyone from outside his own privileged background and finds it difficult to comprehend that there are millions of intelligent, hardworking young people in this country whose parents struggle to afford fees at the level they are now?
Answers on a postcard please...

Ah so it's only children who go to private school that go to university nowadays

he is a tory
nuff said

not usually in the business of defending a tory but you've mis-read him. he didn;t say all mc parents have spent thousands of pounds on private schools - he said that those who have ie those who are able to spend that sort of money should pay higher university fees. it specifically refers to higher fees for those that can afford it. fair enough imo.

I actually also have some sympathy for his point about standards. if the govt wants univeristies to increase state school intake then it's largley up to the govt to ensure that state schools get the best grades out of the kids. I think there is scope for schemes from the universities to tackle this (like the one in the article) but get a bit sick of the fact that the govt constantly blames teh universities for this and never looks at iteslf.

he's a twattish tory.
Not sure what is actually middle class though. Income, education or dress?

Problem is that whenever they introduce means-testing (which is what this would be) many families who can in no way afford the fees are deemed to be able to.

He said: 'Can there by a middle-class objection to higher fees'. To me that suggests that he is pretty conclusively conflating the categories 'middle class' and 'privately educated'.
Anyway, who is going to decide who can afford it? Maybe there is a case to be made for a sliding scale of fees based on income, but I think it would inevitably squeeze out many students from families on relatively modest incomes, not to mention those young people (and there are many) whose parents, though they can afford the fees, will not pay them.

It has something to do with Froot Shoots, Riven.

If this ever happened it would be UK universities that would lose out in fee income while there would be an ever bigger stampede to overseas universities.

it sounds like he has seriously thought this through

i am sending my kids to hong kong anyway