Ben's Column

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The vote on top up fees on Tuesday night, the publication of Lord Hutton�s report on Wednesday morning. <br> <br> The higher education reforms are about widening access to university, ensuring our universities are adequately funded and can compete with the best in the world and changing support for students. They are a major plank of the Government�s public sector modernisation agenda. If they fall, then it will back to the drawing board.<br> <br> The vote is likely to be very tight and will provide rare parliamentary excitement.<br> <br> The Hutton report is equally eagerly awaited. The Prime Minister was right to set up the independent inquiry given the controversy surrounding the death of David Kelly.<br> <br> But in a way it has prevented a proper examination of the reasons we went to war and whether there are lessons to be learned for the future. <br> <br> Government ministers in particular have been hamstrung in debating those questions for fear of facing the accusation that they might pre-empt what Lord Hutton has to say.<br> <br> So I hope once he reports, the debate can move on. There are important questions about the twin threats of WMD and terrorism and the rights of states acting together or alone to tackle those threats which have still not been resolved. It is vital for the peace and security of the world and for the survival of the United Nations that they are.<br> <br> Immediately after Lord Hutton reports most people I expect will be highlighting those bits of what he says that support their view about the Iraq war. But I hope that can be widened into a proper debate about the 21st Century�s security threats and how best to tackle them. <br> </font></td> </tr><tr> <td height="-7"><a href="#top"><img alt="Back to Top" src="../../graphics/180601_pages/back_top.gif" width="100" height="27" border="0"></a></td> </tr> </table> </body></td></tr></table>