Ministers have conceded there are lessons to be learnt from Tuesday's five-vote victory on tuition fees. They accepted mistakes were made in the way the idea for variable fees was introduced, after 72 Labour MPs voted against the government. Some rebel MPs pledged to fight on as the bill goes through Parliament. Ex-Labour Cabinet minister Jack Cunningham compared the Labour splits with the party's fight against the militant tendency during the 1980s. The Higher Education Bill was backed by 316 votes to 311, after days of intense campaigning by both sides. Mr Blair had staked his authority on winning the vote, which saw a sharp reduction in his usual 161 majority. It was widely seen as his biggest test as prime minister and came just hours before Lord Hutton was due to report his findings on events surrounding the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly. It means the bill has passed its first major hurdle, but the plans will still be put to the test in further votes in the Commons and Lords as it goes through the parliamentary process. MPs are now likely to spend two to three months going through the bill line-by-line in its committee stage. Full story over at BBC News