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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/hughes-rejects-fees-hypocrisy-claim.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="Simon Hughes has said it is not hypocritical for him to take up the role of Advocate for Access to Education" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/min-hughes-rejects-fees-hypocrisy-claim.jpg" alt="Simon Hughes has said it is not hypocritical for him to take up the role of Advocate for Access to Education"/></a></p>
<p>Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes has rejected accusations of hypocrisy over tuition fee hikes after accepting a job advising the Government on access to education.</p>
<p>The MP, who abstained in the key Commons vote on the controversial issue, said he still &#8220;regretted&#8221; the decision to treble the maximum charge to £9,000.</p>
<p>But he insisted he wants to help make sure bright students from poorer backgrounds feel able to go to university in spite of the potentially huge bill.</p>
<p>Mr Hughes mounted his defence after being appointed as the Government&#8217;s Advocate for Access to Education by Prime Minister David Cameron and his Lib Dem deputy Nick Clegg.</p>
<p>Labour condemned the move as a sop from the Tories to soothe their coalition allies&#8217; concerns over tuition fees.</p>
<p>But Mr Hughes stressed he would remain an independent voice during the six-month appointment, and is still prepared to criticise the policy. &#8220;I am not there in a way to sell it, I am there to make sure people understand the facts,&#8221; the backbencher told BBC Radio 4&#8217;s World at One.</p>
<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t vote for it because I believed that with the higher rate that could go, in some cases, up to £9,000 a year, that could put people off applying to university. The problem with the system is the perception rather than the reality.&#8221;</p>
<p>He added: &#8220;I am a member of a party that has believed, and still believes, that we should ideally not have tuition fees. That&#8217;s been our view and it remains the Liberal Democrat view. We didn&#8217;t win the election, we had to negotiate a coalition with the Conservatives.</p>
<p>&#8220;Both other parties had actually signed up to tuition fees so it would have been similar if Labour had been the coalition partner.&#8221;</p>
<p>Asked on Sky News whether he was abandoning his principles by taking the job, he said: &#8220;No, it is not hypocritical.&#8221; As part of his unpaid role, Mr Hughes will also contribute to work on replacing the Education Maintenance Allowance &#8211; the axing of which he has criticised.</p>
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