But Universities Minister David Willetts said Mr Miliband's call for a tuition fee cap made Labour's vote against fee increases last year look "completely cynical".

BBC: Tuition fees: Labour pledges maximum cap of ?6,000

West of Scotland Labour MSP Mary Fee called on the Scottish government and its agencies to work with Renfrewshire Council to minimise the impact of job losses.

BBC: Regenersis employs 130 staff at Inchinnan

Shadow education secretary Tim Yeo told BBC Radio 4's World This Weekend that Labour's top-up fee proposals would damage universities' independence and burden students with debt.

BBC: Some academics have joined students in opposing the plans

Labour did not, fearing that no fee income would mean fewer students.

ECONOMIST: Scotland

However, Mr Miliband refused to guarantee that the tuition fee cap would be in Labour's manifesto for the next general election in 2015.

BBC: Tuition fees: Labour pledges maximum cap of ?6,000

This means that Ms Merkel will struggle to implement the main planks of her proposed reform programme: a flat-fee health-care premium to lower non-wage labour costs, further labour-market reforms, such as loosening Germany's strict protection against dismissal, and radical tax reform.

ECONOMIST: Merkel clinches it, but the price is high | The