London, Jan. 8 (Reuters): Britain’s Tony Blair geared up today for a bitter fight with his party which could define his political future at a fraught time in his premiership.

Blair’s government published a controversial higher education bill that has so angered Labour Party MPs that Blair risks his first defeat on a major policy issue. The vote on the Bill, due in the next few weeks, could coincide with the other looming danger for Blair — judge Lord Hutton’s report on the suicide of a British weapons expert, which is likely to apportion some blame to the government.

Blair plans to make students pay more for their studies and allow elite universities to charge higher fees than others. Education secretary Charles Clarke threw down the gauntlet in parliament, saying the Bill would provide colleges with desperately needed resources while abolishing up-front fees for students and re-introducing grants for those from poor families.

“This is a coherent package to be taken as a whole or not at all,” he said. “If not supported by the House, none of these benefits will arise. It is not a pick and mix menu.” More than 150 Labour MPs have signed a motion opposing universities charging variable fees. They say underprivileged students will be priced out of going to the best institutions.

If more than 80 of them join Opposition parties in rejecting the Bill, it will be defeated.