The Liberal Democrats merit marks of ¡°8 out of 10 for the policy but 2 out of 10 for the politics¡± on tuition fees, according to former business secretary Vince Cable.

Dr Cable spoke to ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ after taking up an honorary professorship at the University of Nottingham. He also said the UK had ended up with a damaging policy on overseas students because senior Conservatives are ¡°frightened¡± of criticism on immigration from the Daily Mail and even David Cameron is unwilling to challenge the ¡°formidable¡± Theresa May.

The veteran politician, who started his working life as an economics lecturer at the University of Glasgow in 1968, has a longstanding relationship with Nottingham, having previously been a special professor there.

And as business secretary, he had ¡°done some collaborative work¡± with Nottingham¡¯s vice-chancellor, Sir David Greenaway, whom he described as ¡°a very good vice-chancellor ¨C very active and entrepreneurial¡±.

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As honorary professor, Dr Cable hopes to lecture occasionally as well as having involvement with students and the university¡¯s overseas activities.

Nottingham has branch campuses in China and Malaysia and Dr Cable said the institution ¡°seems keen to expand that range of activities ¨C it was precisely that kind of work that I was trying to encourage when I was secretary of state¡±.

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He added: ¡°In order to safeguard their long-term future I think it¡¯s very important [universities] are plugged into global networks, that they have a base in the big emerging markets ¨C and Nottingham have actually led the way.¡±

Asked about the Lib Dems¡¯ traumas on fees, Dr Cable said: ¡°It was politically very traumatic, but it was actually good policy. One of my colleagues, I think, came up with the phrase that we got 8 out of 10 for the policy but 2 out of 10 for the politics.

¡°The problem was that we made this pledge about not increasing student tuition fees ¨C it was disastrous, it was not deliverable.¡±

He continued: ¡°We got hammered for it ¨C loss of trust, all those things. But it wasn¡¯t deliverable in the financial climate of the coalition.

¡°My job was to try to make the best of a bad job and produce a system which was genuinely progressive. It is. Nobody pays fees; they pay a form of graduate tax when they leave, depending on their income.

¡°The universities as a consequence are now quite well funded, unlike most other bits of what you could broadly call the public sector.¡±

From his experience in government, does he believe that some senior Tories would like to see the cap on fees raised significantly or removed?

¡°I think there undoubtedly are people who would like to go in that direction,¡± Dr Cable replied.

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As business secretary, he frequently spoke in favour of a more welcoming policy on overseas students.

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¡°We had a constant battle with the ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ Office ¨C Theresa May and her colleagues ¨C over that,¡± he said.

¡°The excessive restrictions on overseas students, particularly on post-study work, are quite damaging to the country and unnecessary.¡±

Dr Cable, like many, advocates removing students from immigration statistics.

¡°The top of the Tory party, they are genuinely frightened about this issue,¡± he said. ¡°They are frightened of being criticised by Migration Watch, criticised by the Daily Mail ¨C anything that makes them look, quote, ¡®weak¡¯ on immigration is difficult for the Tory leadership.

¡°The impression I had when I was in government was that apart from the ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ Office and apart from the home secretary and the Prime Minister, nobody really believed in this policy.¡±

On Ms May, Dr Cable added: ¡°She¡¯s quite formidable. My impression was¡­that none of the other senior Tories, including the prime minister, were ever willing to take her on.¡±

What would he pick out as the key successes and regrets in higher education policy from his time as business secretary?

¡°What I was essentially trying to do was to try to maintain a proper balance between the different elements in higher and further education that we were responsible for,¡± Dr Cable said.

He added that ¡°we could probably have got away actually with a lower level than ?9,000 had I been willing to take money from further education and apprenticeships and things of that kind. By going for the bigger numbers [on fees] I was able to some extent to protect those areas and do something positive there¡±.

Although he said that ¡°in general we¡¯ve got quite a lot to be proud of¡±, he picked out one key regret.

¡°The area that in retrospect has not been a success is part-time higher and further education,¡± Dr Cable said.

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¡°We¡¯ve lost a lot of people there. This idea of continuing education ¨C which I believe in very strongly ¨C we¡¯ve gone backwards on that.¡±

john.morgan@tesglobal.com