I AM writing to make the people of Lancaster, who don't read the student newspaper, aware of our Labour MP's attitude towards student debt.

A month or two ago I read in your newspaper that Hilton Dawson wanted students to settle in Lancaster after their degrees and he praised the contribution they have made to Lancaster and the local economy.

However, at the recent debate that occurred up at the university on student debt it was revealed he voted in favour of tuition fees and the end of the maintenance grant that has resulted in student debt doubling since 1997.

He offered no solutions and said that it was right to introduce them and he would vote the same way again.

Is this really the same student friendly Hilton I saw in your paper previously?

In contrast the Conservatives, Lib Dems and student representatives were positive and proposed new policies to deal with the problems affecting higher education.

The Conservative on the panel, Steve Barclay, talked about increasing the threshold that students repay their loans from £10,000 to £20,000, giving them a £700 tax break, and promised that a future Conservative government would not introduce top-up-fees.

The Lib Dem, Liz Scott, also promised that they would not introduce top-up-fees and voiced her concern at the high level of student debt under Labour.

With the other two parties offering solutions to help students and enable them to study at Lancaster without the fear of crippling debt, it doesn't appear that Hilton can count on the student vote this time round.

David Dinwoodie, Pendle College, Lancaster University