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7 December 2010
Last updated at 09:48 ET
Another Conservative MP will not vote for plans to increase tuition fees in England to up to £9,000 per year.
Lee Scott's office confirmed the Ilford North MP would not support the fee rise in Thursday's vote.
Former Tory leadership candidate, David Davis, has also announced his intention to oppose the coalition government's plans for university charges.
Three more universities have been occupied by students - ahead of protests planned for this week.
Students at Bath, Bradford and Goldsmiths have become the latest to stage occupations.
Protecting access It has also emerged that Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes told students at the weekend he was sympathetic to postponing the vote on fees.
Students from the London School of Economics said that Mr Hughes had also recognised that abstaining on the vote would not represent keeping the pledge given to students during the election campaign.
With the fees vote approaching, the business department has released draft details of how universities will be encouraged to protect access for poorer students.
There will not be quotas or any interference in admissions, but universities will need an annual "access agreement" to be approved by the Office for Fair Access, if they want to charge more than £6,000 per year.
"I'm emphasising to our universities that if they want to charge over £6,000 a year to our undergraduates, then I am looking to them to do everything they can to make sure they are attracting our brightest and best students," says Universities Minister David Willetts.
The National Union of Students' president, Aaron Porter, rejected the proposals on access as "toothless".
Research from Aimhigher, the body which runs schemes to encourage more low-income students to apply to university, claims that less than a third of young people would be willing to pay £9,000 per year in fees.
Aimhigher, which is to have its funding stopped next year, has researched the attitudes of young people in London and Merseyside.
It also found that there was little enthusiasm for a graduate tax - and that shorter or part-time courses were not popular.
The research suggested that there remained unknown consequences from the decisions set to be taken by MPs this week.
Graeme Atherton, executive director of Aimhigher in west, north and central London, warned: "There has been no detailed modelling of the potential impact of fees on young people's decision making."
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Lee Scott's office confirmed the Ilford North MP would not support the fee rise in Thursday's vote.
Former Tory leadership candidate, David Davis, has also announced his intention to oppose the coalition government's plans for university charges.
Three more universities have been occupied by students - ahead of protests planned for this week.
Students at Bath, Bradford and Goldsmiths have become the latest to stage occupations.
Protecting access It has also emerged that Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes told students at the weekend he was sympathetic to postponing the vote on fees.
Students from the London School of Economics said that Mr Hughes had also recognised that abstaining on the vote would not represent keeping the pledge given to students during the election campaign.
With the fees vote approaching, the business department has released draft details of how universities will be encouraged to protect access for poorer students.
There will not be quotas or any interference in admissions, but universities will need an annual "access agreement" to be approved by the Office for Fair Access, if they want to charge more than £6,000 per year.
"I'm emphasising to our universities that if they want to charge over £6,000 a year to our undergraduates, then I am looking to them to do everything they can to make sure they are attracting our brightest and best students," says Universities Minister David Willetts.
The National Union of Students' president, Aaron Porter, rejected the proposals on access as "toothless".
Research from Aimhigher, the body which runs schemes to encourage more low-income students to apply to university, claims that less than a third of young people would be willing to pay £9,000 per year in fees.
Aimhigher, which is to have its funding stopped next year, has researched the attitudes of young people in London and Merseyside.
It also found that there was little enthusiasm for a graduate tax - and that shorter or part-time courses were not popular.
The research suggested that there remained unknown consequences from the decisions set to be taken by MPs this week.
Graeme Atherton, executive director of Aimhigher in west, north and central London, warned: "There has been no detailed modelling of the potential impact of fees on young people's decision making."
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