Letter from Britain No. 3. Classics and Cancer.

Images of violent 'students' protest on the streets of London were beamed across the world over the last few days, youths, with faces covered, daubed obscenities on historic monuments, fought the police with sticks & street debris, and a particularly idiotic group attacked the car carrying HRH's Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.

It is easy to portray such, as a small minority that have infiltrated an otherwise peaceful protest, but sadly, it seems that there were considerable numbers involved in appalling behaviour. The protest was called in response to the Government's proposal to increase University fees paid by students from approximately £3,000 pa to £9,000 pa. 

The nature of the protest has obscured discussion of the real issues. Other than the episode involving the Royals, two incidents stand out: the mindless mob setting fire to the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square and a lone moron desecrating the Cenotaph. The Trafalgar Square tree is a gift from the people of Norway, a wonderful annual gesture of thanks to the people of Britain for liberating Norway from Nazi occupation. The second and far more shameful incident was that of a young Cambridge University student, Charlie Gilmour, who climbed onto the Cenotaph and swung wildly from the Union flag affixed to the monument.

The Cenotaph is the nation's second most potent symbol of sacrifice made by millions of British and Commonwealth forces, who died fighting to protect and preserve those rights that Gilmour and his ilk seem so ready to abuse.  The tree can be replaced, I trust the sensible people of Norway understand that millions of normal Brits love the gift and feel terrible at its burning. The Cenotaph was undamaged, but the images remain; if any act was sure to bolster support against the students that was it, shout and scream all you like, but showing disrespect for the war dead is unforgivable and shameful. The damage to property will be repaired, the graffiti removed and no doubt in a few days the area around Parliament will return to normal, but those images of a burning tree, a frightened Royal and a desecrated Cenotaph remain.

The violence and now more importantly the images of violence have defeated the students, their argument is lost amidst a sea of awful media coverage. Hurling well reasoned verbal abuse at politicians is expected and applauded in Britain were politicians are regarded with distain, and the students had a strong case.

The arguments are simple: University education in Britain was, up until recently, free. The last Labour Government promised to increase the numbers of University places and not introduce student fees, they did increase student university places but renegade on their manifesto pledge, and introduced tuition fees of about £3,000 per annum.

The Universities find themselves ever more starved of cash, primarily, but not exclusively, because of having to increase student numbers.

The last Labour Government's appalling mismanagement of the economy has resulted in huge deficits that any new Government would have to reduce and eventually eliminate. Of the many choices open to the new Administration, the accountants at the Treasury would inevitably recommend the restructuring of the funding of Universities.

Prior to the last election, the Liberal Demarcates signed a pledge that they would not increase tuition fees, they spoke earnestly and endlessly of their commitment to education.  The main political parties, (Conservation and Labour) loath the Liberal Democrats, who, as a small party, with no prospect of power are idealists, because in normal circumstances they will never be in power and never have to find solutions to complex problems. Many students perhaps because they are young and idealistic believed the Liberal Democrats and voted for them.

The result of the election and the subsequent Coalition arrangement with the majority Conservative party offered the Liberal Democrats a chance to be a grown up party, the issue unfortunately is that many find it hard to move from a party that more resembles a pressure group, to a  credible party of Government.

One of Britain's finest; Oxford University

University funding, regardless of the country's present economic woes, needed to be addressed. We are incredibly fortunate in Britain to have some fabulous universities, the very best, the twenty Universities that form the "Russell Group", compete with the finest in the world. It is easy to forget that these universities are the seats of some of the greatest minds, attracting students and lecturers from around the world. Even a cursory review of Nobel Prize winners shows the strength of many of these institutions. Despite having a population smaller than Germany and France, Britain has won far more Nobel Prizes than both, indeed only the USA has won more, (but per head of population less). The reason is simple, Britain has fabulous Universities.

Faced with the reality of the economic troubles the Collation Government introduced the bill to dramatically increase student paid fees, many Liberal Democrats ignored their pre-election promise and voted for the increase, some voted against, a few abstained. But the bill was passed.

How pleased must be those Liberal Democrats MPs, that the headlines are the thugs, not their volte-face and internal divisions, but I don't intend to write about the Liberal Democrats, they are politicians and politics is a dirty business. I want to address the real issue: Is Classics more important than cancer.

Is learning for the sake of learning important, to be afforded as a priority, or is it a luxury to be enjoyed when we have taken care of other stuff, like health care?

The Government have declared that health is a top priority, funding in real terms to be maintained if not increased. University education is to be downgraded, no longer funded mainly from central Government, but funded by students. The calculation is simple, close a cancer ward, and defend spending on a bunch of students studying the ancient works in Latin or Greek.

I believe the Government to be wrong; the most important thing after defending the nation is to educate its citizens, to offer the very best in education and to do so from central taxation. For only by increasing the intellectual abilities of the nation will we increase our real wealth. It is about values. But for politicians, it is about elections, and those silly students who took to the streets and wantonly and mindlessly damaged property and induced fear in bystanders, and insulted our Glorious Dead, undermined the argument that they be deserving of hard earned tax payers money.

The students should have spoken, nay they should have shouted and proclaimed, of the great and the good. The great art, the great science, the great humanity that can be inspired and ignited by attending the greatest universities, not education as some commodity to be bought and sold but because it is good, it has value, and not just because it has value to the individual but has value to society as a whole.

As I have said before, sometimes, (perhaps often) I do not reflect the majority and I understand well the Government's arguments and the political necessities. Paying the fees would not disincline me to recommend university, but I fear for many it will disincline them to study those things that have no direct economic worth, but such greatly add to the sum of mankind, for to read Shakespeare, to understand Milton, to appreciate Picasso these things are important.

The students lost because they are too young to know that we stand on the shoulders of others, we stand on the pillars of knowledge accumulated, the accountants speak of money, accountants know the cost of everything, but the value of nothing. The students should have told them!!!!

December 13, 2010  |  Article Posted By: James Hunter , London
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