The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, has made a last atttempt to avert a defeat on education reform ahead of a week that could determine his future.
The British government offered a fresh concession to Labour rebels likely to oppose its education policy in a vote tomorrow that comes a day before the release of a potentially damaging report into the suicide of a British expert on Iraq's arms.
Locked in battle with Labour rebels, Education Secretary Charles Clarke said on Sunday the education bill would now carry a guarantee that the upper threshold for fees would not rise above £3,000 sterling for two general elections.
"I think we will win the vote on Tuesday but there is certainly a hill to climb," Mr Clarke told BBC television.
The education vote and judge Lord Hutton's report into the death of government scientist David Kelly threaten Mr Blair's authority, which is under attack following the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Asked by the Observernewspaper if he would still be leading the country by the end of the week, Mr Blair said: "I have every intention of doing that, yes."
But defeat over plans to allow universities to charge students more for their education through "top-up" fees would be humiliating for a prime minister with a massive parliamentary majority and could trigger a confidence vote.
Most analysts believe Mr Blair will survive this week, but the dispute over Iraq's weapons shows no sign of abating.