Stephen Williams MP gets Higher Education brief

12.04.00pm GMT Mon 20th Mar 2006

Bristol West MP Stephen Williams has been appointed Liberal Democrat Shadow Further and Higher Education Minister by new party leader Sir Menzies Campbell. Up until now Stephen has been Shadow Minister for Public Health and used the role to campaign strongly for a complete ban on smoking. Now he hopes to step up pressure on the government over Tuition Fees, which the Lib Dems believe should be scrapped.

Stephen said "I am delighted to be appointed to the education team for the Lib Dems in the Commons. With over 20,000 university students and 30,000 young people and adults in Further Education in Bristol it is an issue which is highly relevant to many of my constituents. I believe passionately that education should be free at all levels and the fact that the Lib Dems have abolished tuition fees in Scotland shows that it can be done."

On his previous job he commented "It was a long held ambition fulfilled when I helped to play a part in improving the nation's health radically by getting a complete ban on smoking in public places. I have also had some success in highlighting the problems of obesity and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. I hope I will have an equally successful time holding the government to account over education policies."