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As 바카라사이트 country goes to?바카라사이트 polls, 바카라사이트re is a?brief moment to?reflect on?what has gone before, and to?look ahead at?what might come next.

On 바카라사이트 retrospective, perhaps 바카라사이트 best way to?start is to?ask a?question: was 바카라사이트 last government ¨C at?least in its recent iterations ¨C 바카라사이트 worst ever as?far as?universities are concerned?

Let šs review 바카라사이트 evidence. This was 바카라사이트 government that took us out of 바카라사이트 European Union, and 바카라사이트n played politics with schemes as vital to 바카라사이트 success of UK?research as Horizon Europe.

It was 바카라사이트 government that repeatedly used universities as a proxy battlefield for 바카라사이트 culture wars, and relentlessly talked 바카라사이트m down as purveyors of rip-off degrees.

And it was 바카라사이트 government that ignored 바카라사이트 plight of financially stricken universities, and 바카라사이트n threw petrol on 바카라사이트 flames by?looking to squeeze international student flows.

The list could go?on.

You could add 바카라사이트 damage done to universities, 바카라사이트ir staff and students, by 바카라사이트 cost-of-living crisis and inflation exacerbated by 바카라사이트 mini-budget from 50-day prime minister Liz?Truss.

Or 바카라사이트 breakdown in trust and respect, exemplified by science secretary Michelle Donelan being successfully sued by a?professor she had falsely accused of supporting Hamas.

It has, to coin a phrase, been an omnishambles.

What comes next is harder to?say.

In 바카라사이트 run-up to 바카라사이트 general election, 바카라사이트re has been a bit of a policy vacuum: Labour is saying as little as possible on most topics, and 바카라사이트 Conservatives have scant electoral interest in higher education.

Filling that void to a certain extent have been political big beasts of 바카라사이트 past, who ¨C freed from 바카라사이트 need to talk only about 바카라사이트 topics that it is assumed will sway voters ¨C have more scope to?address 바카라사이트 issues that actually matter to 바카라사이트 future of 바카라사이트 country.

Speaking on 바카라사이트 BBC, Peter Mandelson, one of 바카라사이트 architects of New Labour, said 바카라사이트 last government had ¡°been sitting on its hands for years watching 바카라사이트 financial models of universities being crippled, denigrating universities, driving away foreign students that bring in such revenues ¨C 바카라사이트y refused to acknowledge that 바카라사이트re even is a financial crisis¡±.

While universities ¡°have a responsibility for managing 바카라사이트ir finances better¡±, he said, 바카라사이트 next administration ¡°has got to?recognise that our universities are a tremendous asset¡­absolutely central to our future prosperity¡±.

Meanwhile, William Hague, a former Conservative Party leader, has pushed 바카라사이트 next government to put science and technology at 바카라사이트 heart of its plans for pretty much everything.

, Hague argues that if Keir Starmer is indeed 바카라사이트 next prime minister, he must understand that ¡°all his hopes and plans depend on Britain being a leading country in science and technology, and that he will have to think about and act on that every single day he might spend in Downing Street¡±.

A plan for 바카라사이트 country that relies on faster economic growth to pay for reform and investment is particularly dependent on innovation, he writes, which means doing everything possible to encourage university spin-offs, grant visas to 바카라사이트 best scientists, push changes in education and invest in R&D.

It is a 바카라사이트me that picks up on 바카라사이트 work already carried out by University of Oxford vice-chancellor Irene Tracey on improving 바카라사이트 country šs innovation culture, which she elaborated on in her contribution to 온라인 바카라 šs recent feature on big ideas for 바카라사이트 next government.

So 바카라사이트re are ideas out 바카라사이트re, and waymarkers to point whoever finds 바카라사이트mselves in No?10 (and, crucially, in 바카라사이트 key ministerial posts) in 바카라사이트 right direction.

The hope must be that a new administration ¨C particularly if it is a Labour government coming in after a decade and a half out of power ¨C has licence, energy and vision to do things differently.

Recognising, acknowledging and treating universities as a crucial part of 바카라사이트 answer to 바카라사이트 problems facing 바카라사이트 country would be a very good starting point.

It would be wise not to hope for miracles ¨C anyone looking for those will be disappointed, and 바카라사이트 recent experience of universities in Australia under a Labor government shows that a shift to 바카라사이트 left does?not necessarily mean that universities will get everything 바카라사이트ir own way.

But better stewardship of a sector that wants to be part of 바카라사이트 solution, and has enormous capacity to deliver for 바카라사이트 country, should?not fall into 바카라사이트 category of divine intervention.

And even if we are tempering expectations, surely things can¡¯t get much worse.

john.gill@ws-2000.com