That is a myth. The conservatives always believed in higher tuition fees for universities regardless of the nation's economy, and if you go through their rationale, it makes more sense to me that the previous labour govt. Their rationale is: those who go for education is automatically qualified as middle class as they are more likely to get jobs when they graduate. They pay their tuition fees after they are done with education (in instalments)and also given the fact that they earn a certain amount of money. When there is lower tuition fees, what normally happens is, the lower middle class who cannot afford/choose education ends up paying for that middle class, who can take care of themselves.