Access pimps

Tuition fees, you'll remember, were introduced by the Blair administration in order to increase access to higher education in England. Every single Liberal Democrat MP signed a pledge not to put them up, a promise that Nick Clegg broke once he'd hopped into bed with the Tories, clearing the way for students in England to be saddled with a crippling burden of debt.

Well, there's now some convincing evidence of access being widened. Specifically, enabling rich, dirty old men to access nubile students who wish to be relieved of the financial burden of student debt. In return for sexual favours, a "sugar daddy" can relieve that burden, via a convenient web site called seekingarrangement.com:

Students at Cambridge are fourth most likely in the country to turn to “sugar daddies” to fund their university degrees.

According to seekingarrangement.com, a dating website with one million subscribers, 166 students claiming to study at the University of Cambridge have signed up for support from wealthy men.

In 2013 Cambridge was responsible for the most new sign-ups in the country making first in a national league table listing the fastest growing “sugar baby” schools.

A sugar daddy is a “rich and usually older man who buys presents for or gives money to a young person, especially a woman, usually in order to spend time with them or have a sexual relationship with them”, according to Cambridge Dictionaries Online.

The Cambridge Student

Is everyone in the three main political parties now cool with idea of young women selling themselves for the sake of a debt-free education?  It's a question I'll be asking when their people come knocking at election time.