ed980326.qxd 21/04/98 15:10 Page 1 (1,1) Issue 934 - Weekly Thursday 26th March 1998 Millbank tapes: now the Tories step in Bare Facts story revealed Labours disgraceful act of deception says Shadow Education Secretary before the last election in order to secure MattPannell their electoral support.” Editor Mr Dorrell then headed for the House of Senior Conservative MP’s last Commons. Quoting the report in his speech week seized on a recent Bare during the debate on the Teaching and Facts report as evidence that the Higher Education Bill, which contains the Labour Party committed a controversial fees proposal, he clashed with ‘disgraceful act of deception’ Margaret Hodge, Labour MP for Barking, in before last year’s general elec- an exchange documented in Hansard, the record of all parliamentary debates. The tion. spokesman quoted in Bare Facts had, argued Dorrell, “made it crystal clear at that official Two weeks ago, Bare Facts exposed Labour briefing that the Government did not intend party spokesmen as having briefed student to introduce tuition fees”. “That is not so”, journalists, immediately before last year’s interjected Hodge. “I shall read it again as general election, that students would not the honourable lady appears to have missed have to pay tuition fees. In a briefing espe- it” replied Dorrell, adding that the evidence cially for student newspapers at the party’s merely “confirms what we all know to be Millbank headquarters, a spokesman had true, which is that, ahead of the election, said that “our proposals only relate to main- Labour had decided to abolish the mainte- tenance support....the public purse should nance grant. Now, the Government like to support tuition fees.” The party announced claim that the passage in the manifesto its decision to impose fees just months later, made that explicit and clear, but it was care- with Labour MP’s claiming that their policy fully worded to obscure the Labour party’s had not changed, pointing out that the policy.” Party’s manifesto was unclear on the issue. The Conservatives, whose own track record Stephen Dorrell MP, the Shadow Secretary on managing higher education funding of State for Education & Training, received could hardly be called squeaky clean, went Bare Facts on Friday 13th March, after it on to attack David Blunkett, the Secretary of was passed to him by staff working for the State for Education accusing him of ‘being National Union of Students. Dorrell then hit in a mess’ with the current plans. out at Peter Mandelson the following Monday, in a press release issued from NUS staff were pleased with the Tories’ Conservative Central Office. Commenting swift response, and went on this week to on the report, he said “It is now clear that claim that if parents assessed to make a con- before the last election the Labour Party tribution under the new fees system fail to War of words - deliberately misled students over their poli- do so at the same rate as current defaults on cy for the reform of higher education fund- assessed maintenance contributions, the Top: the original story, published on ing...Peter Mandelson manipulated his audi- 12th March. shortfall faced by universities could total ence into believing that students would not £31 million. According to NUS President Middle: the response from the pay tuition fees under Labour. Four months Douglas Trainer, universities may end up Conservative Party spin doctors. later, Labour cynically broke this using selective recruitment, only taking on pledge...Students up and down the country Bottom: an extract from Hansard, the students whose parents will pay. now know that Labour deceived them record of parliamentary debates, from March 16th. News 1 n Features 3 n Letters 4 n Music 6 n Entertainments Guide 7 . Cinema and Arts 8 n Union News 9 n Notices & Personals 9 n Sport 12 . ed980326.qxd 21/04/98 15:11 Page 2 (1,1) 2 News Thursday 26th March 1998 n News in Brief James Buller’s Yeltsin sacks Russian NHS chiefs get ultimatum governement NHS managers will face chop if they do not fail Health Secretary, Frank Dobson has cut their waiting lists for treatments. The promised advice from those successful man- government is anxious to meet its flagship agers but said they could ultimately be Chernomyrdin’s successor, a 35 year old manifesto promise to remove 100,000 sacked if they do not deliver. Tracy Griffiths “technocrat” from the Ministry Of Energy. patients from hospital waiting lists. If they Sergei Kiriyenko is now a hair’s breadth Consumer goods prices to come down o once again the Russian President away from the Presidency of Russia, Boris Yeltsin is making headlines all because if Yeltsin does die (which seems fairly likely despite the constant denials One week after the price hikes of the tive has the aim of cutting the cost of food, Sover world. This time, however, his from the Kremlin) he will become the acting Budget, the Chancellor and his EU counter- CD’s, sports goods and cars to match US health is not in speculation. He has sacked President. parts have announced plans to cut the prices prices. It is hoped this will help ease the fig- the whole of his government, for lacking of many products. Gordon Brown’s initia- ure of 18 million out-of-work Europeans. “the dynamism required for the necessary reforms.” He has confounded his critics, So who are the losers in this sweeping Art for every body who only one week ago were complaining change? The main loser seems to be Viktor that he was incapable of decisive action. Chernomyrdin, the former Prime Minister, A sculptor has appeared in court accused of allegedly paid for an inside source to smug- How they have been proved wrong! He had who had been a devoted and respected stealing human remains from the Royal gle out body parts, including a head to make indicated that he was unhappy with his gov- member of Yeltsins’ government. Another College Of Surgeons. The macabre artist sculptures. He is pleading not guilty. ernment when he bounced back from his loser is the unpopular Anatoly Chubais, who health scare in September and chastised had been the Chief of Staff before being them for infighting. demoted late last year to First Deputy Prime A table for 15,000 please, waiter Minister. Anatoly Chubais had been consid- ered an excellent economist but his reforms 15,000 Portuguese ate themselves into the table ever laid. They ate on what is now the When he decided to sack Prime Minister proved deeply unpopular and ineffective. record books last week. They devoured the longest bridge in Europe: the Vasco da Chernomyrdin, who had been widely con- The fact that he is engaged to Yeltsin’s largest lunch ever served-several tones of Gama bridge, and used 200 buses to get to sidered as his successor, he had no choice daughter Tatyana Dyachenko, will make for the traditional dish "feijoada", at the longest their seats. but to sack the whole of the government. The economic and political problems that an interesting wedding! 104 year-old driver causes chaos Russia faces at the moment were, according to Yeltsin, intensified by his ministers’ spo- This is the latest move by an ailing A 104 year old Swedish driver could be the crashing into parked cars. Finally he got radic attempts at reform. Yeltsin now President desperate to maintain a grip on oldest ever to be prosecuted for dangerous stuck while doing a 3 point turn and ended intends to increase the speed of reform of power despite his incredibly fragile health. driving. The old man caused mayhem while up going back and forth smashing into cars the state industries to improve Russia’s ail- However, whether he will live to see the out on his Sunday afternoon spin in his Ford on each side of the street. The man told ing economy. next Presidential elections in the year 2000 Cortina. Police say he ran red lights and police that he drove daily. is anyone’s guess. The Presidential race is Who will assist him in this pace of change? now thrown wide open and there are so He has chosen a relative unknown to be many contenders, will Yeltsin have the Titanic rstrengthem to fenda themi off?ns unsinkable screen sitcoms in the states. Bruce Chapman Good Will Hunting was the other winner of inning 11 Oscars in Monday the evening with Matt Damon and Ben night’s 70th Academy Award Affleck taking the award for Best Original WCeremony, Titanic has equalled Screenplay and Robin Williams winning Ben Hur as the most celebrated film of all Best Supporting Actor. Two nods of agree- time. ment from this critic for one of the best films to hit the big screen in a long time. Winning the Best Picture award is justified for this epic tale and the most expensive The losers? Well, The Full Monty was pret- film ever made. However, James Cameron ty much overlooked, only taking one of the as Best Director? Was this just the Musical awards. This goes against popular Academy steaming along on the wave of opinion, but in the fact of fierce competition public opinion? Titanic is more of an exer- from Titanic, it only ever stood an outside cise in good administration in comparison to chance. L.A. Confidential, Curtis Hanson’s direc- Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was toral masterpiece. This was slightly offset Boogie Nights and Burt Reynolds leaving by Kim Bassinger deservedly winning Best the ceremony empty-handed.