I blogged back in 2010 about the pledges the LibDems made about tuition fees. You can read it here.

Yesterday Nick Clegg issued an apology (which is like rocking horse pooh in the world of politics) for this whole affair.

Except that he didn’t really. He made a statement that, “It was a pledge made with the best of intentions – but we should not have made a promise we were not absolutely sure we could deliver.”

So he’s apologising for making the pledge not actually later breaking it? A subtle, but important distinction!

The BBC reported that “He continues to argue it was the right move in the circumstances and the package offered by the coalition – in which no fees are paid upfront – was fairer for students than the previous system of university finance.”

So this isn’t quite the wholehearted apology students might have expected?

Still, it is politics and the ability to straight talk is something that does not sit naturally. He got his headline though – “I’m sorry” it will all scream this morning? It’s only when you pick away that you realise that all is not what it seems…

The joy of politics. Don’t you just love it?