Over the past 14 years, the Conservative dream of a free market in higher education has collided with the harsh reality of austerity and the cultural resentment of the radical right – driving some institutions close to bankruptcy
However, the experience of university has become a less happy and rewarding one for many – students and teachers alike. More students are having to take paid work to support themselves while they study, while lecturers are now confronted with a crisis of attendance, which began with the “pivot” to online teaching during the pandemic. Online engagement has become the default for many students. The campus and lecture hall are no longer seen as indispensable.
For many, the beginning of the Tory era is associated with those famous scenes of young people being kettled on Westminster Bridge, storming Milbank Tower and barracking a limousine containing the now king and queen. The protests in December 2010 against the trebling of tuition fees, from £3,000 to £9,000, were a formative political moment for what would later become the beating heart of Corbynism.
For those who insist that higher education is a public good in an ethical sense, the original Willetts plan was always an abomination. But to see why it has led to disaster – even on many of its own terms – one has to look beyond the realms of higher education policy, towards the wider political and economic landscape. No sooner had the new tuition fee regime come into effect than a succession of decisions and crises occurred that altered the landscape, often without warning.