Yesterday I voted against the Government's proposals to treble fees for university students.

As students gathered in the streets of Westminster ahead of the vote last night, it was clear that the level of public feeling against these plans had reached fever pitch. 

It is incredibly unfair that our young people will be amongst those hardest hit by the Coalition's devastating cuts to public spending, with the Educational Maintenance Allowance being scrapped, college funding slashed and the huge hikes in university fees.

Many people here in Brighton may be priced out of going to university altogether - and those who do go are likely to be saddled with massive debt.

This is unacceptable for a society which values social mobility and inclusiveness.

No one should be made to feel excluded from education by prohibitively high costs.

If only the Government had considered alternative ways to fund education, like a more progressive taxation system.

For example, a business education tax levied on the top 4% of UK companies, as proposed by the University and Colleges Union, would require business to pay its fair share for the substantial benefits it receives from higher education.

Raising corporation tax to the G7 average would generate enough annually to abolish tuition fees, and increase UK investment in higher education to the average for other comparable countries, while leaving 96% of companies in the UK unaffected by the change - and still leaving the UK's main corporation tax below that of France, Japan and the US.

Unfortunately, such alternatives remain unexplored.

Sadly the majority of MPs vote with the Government and pushed its ill-considered and hasty proposals through.

A dark day for the future of our higher education system.