As it happens: Students protest against fee rise

There's trouble for the Lib Dems ahead of today's big vote (9 December) on how much it costs to go to university in England.

The party's deputy leader Simon Hughes says he won't support the Government by voting for tuition fees to go up.

Thousands of students are protesting ahead of the vote.

Follow the protests through the day with Newsbeat reporters Dave Howard, Amy Gladwell and Jean Mackenzie.

Students gather in Westminster ahead of vote

10:17am (from Dave Howard): Clare Solomon is president of the University of London students union and one of the organisers of today's march.

She says: "If the law passes today all hell's going to break loose.

"Ministers need to think very carefully what sort of unrest they want for the next few years. These are our streets.

"We're allowed to do this."

‎Outside the University of London students union

10:39am (from Dave Howard): Still more than an hour until the latest tuition fees march is set to begin.

They say they're expecting tens of thousands.

Nothing like that number so far but plenty of people ready to hand out whistles and placards.

‎11:06am (from Dave Howard): Gordon and Meg got a 12-hour overnight bus from Aberdeen to join the protests.

‎11:18am (from Dave Howard): with 40 minutes still to go to the official start time, numbers are beginning to swell.

‎11:20am (from Dave Howard): And there's the day's first megaphone blaring.

There'll probably be many more.

He's bellowing "blame the bankers" and "we have to fight for our right to learn".

‎11:40am (from Dave Howard): From left to right, Conrad, Esme and Megan.

They're all 15 years old and taking a day off school.

Conrad says "education is a human right".

‎Not everyone supports the student protests

11:50am (from Dave Howard): Georgie's a painter and decorator watching it all from the sidelines.

He says: "It disrupts the city, and we've got to pay for the damage out of our taxes.

"It all looks a bit childish to me."

13:10pm (from Dave Howard): Michael's a floor layer who says he's "just trying to get some work done around here".

Of the students he says, "it's just tosh. They should go and get jobs."

Student tuition fees demonstration gets underway in London

Exactly 12:00pm (from Dave Howard): And they're off.

Ready or not Parliament, here they come.

(From Jean Mackenzie) Meanwhile, inside the House of Commons MPs have started debating the issue of raising tuition fees in England.

Before the election, the Liberal Democrats signed a pledge, promising to oppose any rise.

But here they are now, part of a government who wants them to put them up.

So they faced a big decision. Do they stick to their pledge but possibly damage the coalition or do they go back on their word but risk alienating the people that voted for them, especially students?

‎12:29pm(from Dave Howard): Hmmm, they've stopped!

There's a podium just down the road from the students union.

Right now, they're listening to union leaders and students making speeches.

There's lots of use of the word "solidarity" and talk of "millionaire Tories".

‎12:52pm (from Dave Howard): They're off again after getting fired up by speakers on a podium.

One got loud cheers for shouting: "Today is day X. Today is the day we bring down the government."

Oliver, 17, is from North London. He says: "These cuts are just unfair on young people."

Kitty on the left, Georgia on the right.

They're both 18. Georgia says it's unfair that she now can't take a gap year and that her little brother won't get EMA for college.

"My mum's working class," she says. "How dare they?"

Samira, 17, on the left, and Iman, 18.

Iman says she's here because "education's a right not a privilege."

‎1.24pm (from Dave Howard): Just about to arrive at Trafalgar Square.

Hard to tell from here in the middle of it all how many there are now, but more students seem to be arriving all the time.

They may get the tens of thousands they promised...

‎1.43pm (from Dave Howard): Thought we'd get stopped at Trafalgar Square but we've been diverted through the Royal Parks instead.

Someone up ahead's pumping out a lot of bass on some speakers rigged up to a bicycle.

The marchers at the front will be at Parliament by now.

(From Jean Mackenzie) Nick Clegg has managed to persuade all his ministers to back the plans but it's thought about half the party's MPs will either abstain from the vote or oppose the plans including the party's deputy leader Simon Hughes.

Also, a high profile Conservative MP, David Davis, has said he'll vote against the rise and it's thought he could be joined by some others.

But the numbers mean it's very likely this vote will go in the government's favour as not enough MPs have said they'll vote against the plans.

But it will be tighter than expected.

‎2.03pm (from Dave Howard): We've spotted the first smoke bomb of the day.

Some have started setting fire to their placards.

Other than that, things have gone quiet.

2.45pm (from Amy Gladwell): Westminster tube station and crowds are gathered chanting and banging drums.

Flares have been fired this afternoon giving off pink smoke and a small fire was started.

Protestors have broken down metal fences sealing off roadworks and have been climbing in a trench of pipes.

Some are throwing bottles too, but the police are standing strong and seem to be controlling them within the designated zone

3.35pm (from Dave Howard): We're being told a police officer has been knocked off his horse and has been injured in the protests around Victoria Street, London.

Students have been trying to break the cordon there but other police horses are pushing the crowd back.

The atmosphere seems to have become more violent.

4.53pm There's a bonfire in the middle of Parliament Square that's rising above protesters' heads. We've heard a few bangs and there's something like an air-raid siren coming from somewhere.

5.58pm (from Dave Howard) The protesters have obviously heard the vote in the Commons didn't go the way they wanted. There's a fresh chant gone up here, of "Tory scum".