Crunch time: Tuition fees vote

MPs have voted this afternoon to pass perhaps the most controversial legislation so far in this parliament.

The issue is a tortuous one for the Lib Dems mindful of the chants of student protestors gathering outside parliament during the vote.

Both votes passed with an identical majority of 21, far narrower than the government might have hoped.

Today's events represented one of the first serious tests of the coalition's coherence - with Nick Clegg's party split three ways as they agonised over an ill-fated election pledge to vote against any increase in fees.

With the legislation passed, then the cap on fees will increase to £9,000 per year from 2012.

But the government did receive a ringing endorsement from the IFS yesterday, echoing its insistence that the plans are actually more progressive than the current system, due to a higher threshold for graduate repayments, now set to rise annually with inflation after concessions made yesterday.