Tuition fees vote rests on knife edge

Labour rebels held firm over university tuition fees today and warned ministers they risked a humiliating defeat in a crunch Commons vote tomorrow.

As Government sources admitted the result would be "extremely tight", backbenchers who came within five votes of victory two months ago said they would not back down. The Evening Standard canvassed the 69 Labour MPs who voted against the Government in January. More than a third - 25 - responded, all saying they would vote against the bill again, or for an amendment denying universities the power to charge variable fees.

If passed, the amendment would rip the heart out of the Higher Education Bill, sparking the abandonment of Tony Blair's flagship education reforms. As the wrangling-continued, leading academics from 15 universities and colleges launched a last-ditch bid to get ministers to back down. The rebel group of vice-chancellors claim they are "deeply concerned" about the impact on students of variable fees of up to £3,000 a year.

Today there were reports Education Secretary Charles Clarke is ready to offer a new concession: an amendment that would force ministers to stop universities charging more than £3,000 a year.

Under the original bill the Government had the power to do so but was not under any obligation to use it. In the Standard survey, those who failed to respond included some said by colleagues to be "wavering". But leading Labour rebels made clear their determination to fight the bill.

Backbencher Helen Clark, MP for Peterborough, said: "I am not wimping out. My daughter, who is at university in London, can stay with me in the capital but otherwise couldn't afford to be a student - let alone if fees went up even higher. If you have lots of money it's fine but if not you can just go whistle."

Former Health Secretary Frank Dobson said: "I will always be against raising fees. The Government says it is thinking about dropping fees for physics students because we need more of them. If they're going to drop fees for them, they should do it for all students."

Jim Dobbin, MP for Heywood and Middleton, said: "I know would-be medical students who have been advised by the BMA they could be landed with debts in excess of £40,000 under the Government's plans. It will create a market in education and I am against that. What's the point of landing key workers with huge debts in a place like London where they are already struggling to get a mortgage?"

Sources close to Mr Clarke said: "We expect it to be a really tight vote; we aren't out of the woods. We believe we will win. But if we don't, the bill will be withdrawn."

Today's move by the heads of "new" universities and former polytechnics - including Kingston University and the University of East London - added to pressure on ministers. Their view is also at variance with the leaders of Universities UK, the sector's umbrella group, who back the fees plan.

In a letter to the Guardian the rebel vice-chancellors wrote: "We believe variable fees will further widen the differences in resources for universities and disadvantage the majority of students."

One signatory, Professor Gillian Slater of Bournemouth University, said the group had no faith that the "cap" of £3,000 would not be raised "very quickly indeed".