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NICK CLEGG is among six Lib Dem MPs who could lose their seats amid a student backlash over tuition fees, according to a poll published today.
The Student Politics survey shows Lib Dem support has fallen by two-thirds since the party’s leaders broke their pledge.
Just 6 per cent of students are planning to vote Lib Dem on May 7, according to a poll of over 13,000 at 30 universities.
That compares to 27 per cent support in 2010, when the same research found they were the second most popular party among students.
The huge slump leaves Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and five more of the party’s MPs, who represent seats with a high number of student voters, vulnerable.
More than 17 per cent of voters in Mr Clegg’s Sheffield Hallam constituency are students, with most studying at University of Sheffield.
Just 5 per cent of the 583 Sheffield students who took part in the poll are planning to vote Lib Dem.
Labour, with 38 per cent support, look set to benefit from Mr Clegg’s betrayal, while the Greens are on 28 per cent.
Labour Sheffield Hallam candidate Oliver Coppard said the results show students will not forget Mr Clegg’s “broken promises” at the ballot box.
He told the Star: “Students and young people have been terribly let down by Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems.
“And it’s not just the U-turn on tuition fees or the steep increase in youth unemployment.
“Fundamentally it’s because of the Lib Dems’ support for a government that has done so much harm to the fabric of our society and the future of our country.”
Lib Dem support among students has also collapsed to single figures in five more university seats held by the party.
Students could unseat Jenny Willot in Cardiff Central, Greg Mulholland in Leeds West, Michael Crockart in Edinburgh West, John Leech in Manchester Withington and Stephen Williams in Bristol West.
Among all students, Labour and Tories are tied on 31 per cent each, while the Green Party is polling 25 per cent.
Support for the Tories is highest among students who attended private schools and plan to work in management, banking, finance and marketing.
Labour are most popular among students from state schools, who expect to earn £3,000 less in their first graduate job compared with Tory supporters.
