Hey, I was thinking on this tack - let's take one thing at a time -

It's clear we both agree that education should be free.

However, I don't think it should be completely free to everyone. Do you?

To me a element of finacing it should be paid by those with the means to do so.
I am unsure what the mechanism should be for that though. I would say :

o No student loans.
o Means tested grants to cover travel and basic cost of living (Accomodation, food, books and materials).
o Means tested fees - paid by those who can, free to those who's parents can't.
o More scholarships like in the US - tax incentives to companies who provide these.

To me, anything radical you'd like to do to make the system farirer involves more tax.
Hmm, how do you make more tax popular? I know, tax things that people agree are for the good -

o Introduce compulsory recycling - Every household gets lockable bins for recycling stuff and one for non-recyclable stuff.
o Tax on amount of non-recyclable rubbish left.
o Same for businesses, with heftier tax based on company profits.
o Tax on packaging based on ratio of weight to item packaged, with exceptions to cover delicate items (Light bulbs etc).

In fact, while we are on tax on company profits - if I was Brown, I'd hire the most skilled tax advisors and auditors and put them
to work in closing down all the dodgy loopholes that let big companies pay less tax.