In a letter to MPs, the business secretary Vince Cable abandons the idea of a pure graduate tax:

“While it is superficially attractive, an additional tax on graduates fails both the tests of fairness and deficit reduction.

“As I have said on previous occasions, I am entirely committed to a progressive system of graduate contributions, the details of which we will be able to confirm shortly.

“And I have been open-minded about the possibility of a pure graduate tax. But it is clearly not the right vehicle. We can do better – and we will.”