Leading article: Howard's way

Michael Howard's accession to the Conservative Party throne poses the interesting question of whether he will stick by the policy decisions that have already been advanced by his predecessor, Iain Duncan Smith, on education - notably the decision to abolish all forms of tuition fees. As a former shadow Chancellor, he should realise that this would decimate university funding - particularly if his party is also dedicated to pursuing tax cuts - and lead to thousands of deserving students being denied the chance to go on to higher education. As a result, therefore, he should dispatch this proposal to the dustbin of history.