. >> lord adonis said that a pure graduate pact would be unworkable and a catastrophe. would the prime minister take the place of the shuttle counselor who said, for goodness sake, do not pursue a graduate tax. >> she is absolutely right. we looked at this policy carefully of the summer. i'm glad to see the shadow chancellor is laughing. we look at this in detail. the fact is that a pure graduate tax does not work. i recommend to the party opposite why not a pure graduate tax under the last government? there is no guarantee universities would receive the additional funding raised. there's no direct relationship between what the student pays and the value of their course. they would not break even until 2004 to one. it is a completely flawed policy, totally unworkable, and expensive at the same time. as his first choice of a policy to go out on, the graduate tax is a complete disaster. >> can the prime minister confirm -- [scoffing] >> i am extremely sorry. i did not catch the hon. gentleman's question. i am very sorry. short questions are a very good thing, but i am afr