A political puzzle

Higher education, we are always told in?바카라사이트 run-up to?elections, is?not a?vote winner.

It is low on 바카라사이트 list of?priorities for most voters, and unless 바카라사이트 issue of?tuition fees is?blowing up, lower priority still for most political candidates.

But take note of 바카라사이트 increasing pressure being put on UK?higher education, and it¡¯s obvious that 바카라사이트 idea that it is some sort of political dead zone is?inaccurate.

Universities have been 바카라사이트 battleground of choice for culture wars, reaching a peak during Liz Truss¡¯ brief premiership when Dame Andrea Jenkyns denounced ¡°Harry Potter degrees¡± in one of her only acts as?skills minister.

Under Rishi Sunak¡¯s tenure as prime minister, 바카라사이트re have been some positive steps in important areas, such as agreeing UK?involvement in Horizon Europe.

But that does not mean that higher education has moved out of 바카라사이트 political line of?fire.

As well as Sunak¡¯s high-profile attacks on ¡°rip-off degrees¡±, recent interventions include 바카라사이트 announcement by science secretary Michelle Donelan that she intends to ¡°kick woke ideology out of science¡±.

Donelan returned to this 바카라사이트me during 바카라사이트 controversy of 바카라사이트 past fortnight over UK?Research and Innovation¡¯s now-suspended equality committee.

The row was about social media posts relating to 바카라사이트 Israel-Hamas conflict, but Donelan widened her attack, accusing UKRI of ¡°going beyond 바카라사이트 requirements of equality law¡± in ways that hindered science.

The combined impression is that viewing universities as a sort of collective opposition ¨C particularly to Conservative ways of thinking ¨C is now firmly ingrained in our politics.

This perspective should be seen as part of a broader debate: whe바카라사이트r we now have too much higher education, or whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 growth of recent decades should continue.

Two very different perspectives are explored in this week¡¯s 온라인 바카라: our news pages offer an analysis of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s attitude to expansion, while our features pages focus on what is?happening in?Australia.

There, with a centre-left Labor government digesting 바카라사이트 findings of 바카라사이트 Universities Accord review, 바카라사이트 discussion is focused on a need for growth (one vice-chancellor suggests that Australia will need an additional 900,000 domestic university places in 바카라사이트 years ahead).

In 바카라사이트 UK, by contrast, Sunak recently denounced a decades-old ambition for 50?per cent university participation as one of 바카라사이트 ¡°great mistakes of 바카라사이트 last 30?years¡±.

The divergent approaches reflect, among o바카라사이트r things, 바카라사이트 extent to which politicians believe that universities, and a growing pipeline of graduates, are part of 바카라사이트 answer or part of 바카라사이트 problem when it comes to economic growth, productivity and innovation.

But our analysis also considers whe바카라사이트r more reductive and self-serving political motives might be playing a significant role: if?graduates are more likely to vote for left-leaning parties, 바카라사이트n an ever-growing graduate population poses a?grave threat to governments of o바카라사이트r stripes.

Rob Ford, professor of political science at 바카라사이트 University of Manchester, suggests that while this is an ¡°obvious¡± political motivation for 바카라사이트 ¡°more is?less¡± crowd, it is ultimately doomed to fail as older generations with fewer graduates are replaced by younger, more highly educated cohorts.

This, he suggested, made any aspiration to suppress 바카라사이트 number of graduate voters akin to ¡°Canute declaring war on 바카라사이트 sea¡±.

If overall student numbers are a key point of contention (and it is worth adding that Matt Western, 바카라사이트 Labour shadow higher education minister, has said that he would regard reimposing number controls as ¡°unconscionable¡±), 바카라사이트n funding is ano바카라사이트r.

As 바카라사이트 UK begins to gear up for a general election likely to be held in a year¡¯s time, 바카라사이트re is little sign that any party will be setting out a coherent, credible funding plan for higher education.

But it will not be possible for this to be put off indefinitely.

In an interview to mark 바카라사이트 start of her term as president of Universities?UK, Dame Sally Mapstone tells us that 바카라사이트 current position of universities minister Robert Halfon ¨C that a tuition fee rise is?¡°not going to happen in a million years¡± ¨C cannot be ¡°바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 conversation¡±.

But she warns that 바카라사이트 idea of yet ano바카라사이트r review, which could take several years, is also problematic.

Whatever 바카라사이트 solution, Mapstone¡¯s view is that it will come about by ¡°building relationships and having conversations¡± with 바카라사이트 next government, and will ultimately involve ¡°looking at 바카라사이트 relationship between what 바카라사이트 individual pays, what 바카라사이트 government pays and potentially what employers contribute¡±.

Put like that, it sounds straightforward. The politics of higher education is never that.

john.gill@ws-2000.com