Brown to unveil plan for student tuition fees

Published on 14/01/2006 01:07

GORDON Brown will give more clues to his prime ministerial agenda today, unveiling plans to pay university tuition fees for students who volunteer for community work.

The Chancellor, more confident than ever of succeeding Tony Blair as Prime Minister later in this parliament, will use a speech to the Fabian Society in London to air some of his ideas about how to lead Britain.

Mr Brown will describe his drive to encourage volunteering as part of a vision of "strong modern patriotism" and "an agreed British national purpose".

He will seek to claim the banner of patriotism for the left, with a call for Labour supporters to "embrace the Union flag".

"Let us remember that when people on the centre-left recoiled from national symbols, the British National Party has tried to steal the flag.

"Once again, a modern view of patriotism means we should embrace the union flag," he will say.

As Prime Minister, Mr Brown would not have control of policy affecting Scottish students. However, a national volunteering scheme would put enormous pressure on the Scottish Executive to fall in line.

Further constitutional reform is high on Mr Brown's agenda. He believes that the government must return to the issue of House of Lords reform in its fourth term, aides said last night.

That could see the removal of the last 92 hereditary peers, and possibly even elections to Westminster's upper chamber.