I wonder what Pendle's Conservative MP, Andrew Stephenson, makes of the new replacement for the Education Maintenance Allowance, unveiled today?

In November last year he told us: 

I am a fan of EMA; 65% of students in my constituency going to Nelson and Colne College receive EMA. The Government are not scrapping EMA; they are simply replacing it with more targeted support.

The College will have to decide who gets help and who doesn’t.

The Association of Colleges is putting on a brave face, hoping the “finer details of funding and administration” can be settled before it all goes live.

The £575m spent on the EMA is to shrink to £180m.

Under the new scheme, dubbed “a shadow of the EMA” by the NUS, 12,000 young people will get help to continue their education. But many more will lose out – including a fair number at Nelson and Colne College.

And what about Stephenson’s next door neighbour and coalition partner, the blustering Lib Dem for Burnley, Gordon Birtwistle?

Back in January, readers of the local press were told that the old hot air balloon was

“Fighting for support for students after EMA”

Birtwistle boasted

Throughout last week I was in dialogue with ministers about the future of the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA). A number of young people have raised their worries with me about this issue, discussions are still ongoing and I have pressed ministers to ensure support remains available for young people who need it. Please be assured I will fight hard for a fair deal for the young people of Burnley and will update you as soon as the finalised proposals are announced.

Seems to me an update would be helpful.

No need to rush, of course. Things have got to be finalised.

But in the meantime, what about a best guess on how many students in Pendle and Burnley are likely to lose out?