Peter Mandelson, the former Business Secretary who set up the review into higher education funding, hinted in July 2009 at a tuition fee rise stating that excellence in higher education was "not cheap" and that the country "had to face up to the challenge of paying for excellence". The Labour Party manifesto for the 2010 General Election promised extra University places but made no commitment on how much students would have to pay. During the Labour Party leadership election in 2010 following the resignation of Gordon Brown both Ed Balls and the eventual winner Ed Miliband came out in support of a graduate tax as a method of funding universities in the future. David Miliband was the only candidate in the leadership election not to support a graduate tax. The Conservatives have said that they will "consider carefully" the outcome of the review. In June 2010 David Willetts stated that under the current arrangements students were a "burden on the taxpayer that had to be tackled" although he also stated he did not want to pre-empt the findings of Lord Browne. The Liberal Democrats have traditionally supported free higher education but downgraded this pledge because it was seen to be an unaffordable spending commitment. The Liberal Democrats had promised to abolish tuition fees over 6 years. All the elected Liberal Democrat MPs, as well as a number of others, also signed the NUS Vote for Students pledge, promising to vote against any proposed increase in fees. The Liberal Democrats agreed to abstain on a vote to increase fees as part of a Liberal-Conservative coalition government which emerged after the 2010 General Election. This would allow the Conservatives to pass an increase in tuition fees or even the removal of the cap on fees without the Liberal Democrats voting them down. The chief executive of Universities UK, Nicola Dandridge, has stated that senior Liberal Democrats have told them that they consider their election manifesto pledge to be "complete nonsense" and that the "visceral" opposition to fees from the party base was not shared by senior figures. Former Liberal Democrat leader Ming Campbell has said that he is "likely" to honour the pledge he made to his constituents and rebel against his party by voting against a rise in fees and newly elected Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Simon Hughes has stated that the issue of fees could split the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government while reiterating the opposition of the Liberal Democrats to tuition fees. The MP for the student-populated Leeds North West, Greg Mulholland, is considered to be the leader of a backbench rebellion against the review that is indicated to have the support of at least thirty Liberal Democrats. In July 2010 it was reported that a graduate tax was seriously being considered by Vince Cable although a senior Conservative anonymously briefed against Mr Cable stating it was "unlikely" that a graduate tax would be adopted.