UK college educations were already practically free vs. that in much of the rest of the world. A 300% increase is a bit tough to absorb in a single year, but the idea that they weren't due for an increase is ludicrous. I was in London in November during the first protest. The sight of obviously quite wealthy (given the clothes) students riding the subway while making signs for the protest induced a laugh.

When a few of the students decided they'd make their point better by kicking in a window at Tory party headquarters, they misplaced their anger. It's the recently-gone Labour government who put them in this hole just as the utterly failed Labour government in the 1970's led directly to the overreaction of Thatcher-ism.