Why it's time for the Lib Dems to remind us what they're about

The Liberal Democrats pre-election position on tuition fees doesn't just clash slightly with what is being proposed by Lord Browne, it is as far removed as any possible policy can be from the promises made by the Lib Dems in their manifesto.

While it's proved possible - if not so in a convincing way - to fudge the Lib Dem manifesto promise of 'rebalancing the economy' into the Tories' slash-and-burn quick economic policy, the same can't be said of tuition fees.

The promise on tuition fees was very simple. It was written on large placards and appearances placed on YouTube.

That promise was to remove tuition fees over six years. Endorsing Lord Browne's plans to remove any cap on what universities can charge isn't just a climbdown, it's a humiliating, reputation-destroying decision which could have been so easily avoided - if the Lib Dems had decided to play the same get-out-of-jail card which Cameron used over the alternative vote referendum.

It would be easy to argue that the alternative vote referendum is an issue over which the coalition can fall out - after all, it's not one on which billions of pounds hang. But Clegg and the Lib Dems talk about it in terms of being fundamental to our democracy, so clearly it is a very big deal for them.

If that is the case, surely the Lib Dems could say 'We understand how Lord Browne reached his conclusions, but we are opposed to them.' Having Vince Cable stand up and defend the plans before trying to pass the blame on to Labour was humiliating for the party. Cable isn't a stupid man, he will know what this is doing for his political reputation and the regard he is held with in the country.

Once again, it was a Lib Dem, not a Tory, who delivered the bad news to the Commons - think Danny Alexander on public sector cuts which the Lib Dems had previously opposed - which in the process puts the political blood on the hands of the Lib Dems as well as the Tories.

There surely comes a point where Clegg needs to think about the future of his party. The short-termism of the coalition government will only be of any benefit to him at the polls if everyone forgets the huge sacrifices the Lib Dems are making at the moment - and given the typical Lib Dem voter, that's unlikely.

The pupil premium - aka more money for schools in poorer areas - is a good win for the Lib Dems but not quite victory some are keen to make it out to be - after all, it was in the Tory manifesto too.

But perhaps most worrying for the Lib Dems is that the person Clegg had to fight the most to get extra money to fund the pupil premium wasn't a Tory, but Alexander - one of the supposed bright lights of the Lib Dems. To quote the Guardian:

In particular, the people Clegg and others have been fighting in the Treasury include Clegg's former chief of staff, Danny Alexander. He has surprised people by being a deficit hawk and has consistently argued against Clegg and on behalf of Treasury officials who believed the pupil premium should be paid for from the existing schools budget.

Had David Laws still been chief secretary to the Treasury, they might have secured a larger settlement since he was the author of the policy when the Lib Dems were in opposition.

And that's the real danger for the Lib Dems - that they become, in the public mind, just a part of the Tory Party.

Much as he is to be applauded for trying to put party politics to one side, there are occasions when Clegg needs to remind the public why the country needs the Lib Dems, and that the Lib Dems can be a force for good within a coalition government.

Making 'the tough decision' to rip up his party's promise on tuition fees makes that reminder so much harder to deliver in the future.