Sir Keir Starmer has now been UK Prime Minister for a full calendar month and will soon be overtaking Liz Truss’s record-breaking 45-day stint in Number 10.
During this time, he has been busy laying the groundwork with his new cabinet for how Labour intends to govern when parliament returns after recess.
Laying the foundations
On 17 July, the King’s Speech introduced the government’s intention to establish a new Skills England body to align education and training provision more closely with regional skills needs across England. An English Devolution Bill is also on the cards under this parliament in a bid to give more powers to metro mayors to boost regional growth and economic development.
In addition to these big-ticket policy items, there have been hints that significant change is on the way for the regulation of higher education in England, with Sir David Behan appointed interim chair of the sector regulator, the Office for Students.
The news of Sir David’s selection was packaged up with the publication of his report concluding the independent review of the regulator, sending a clear signal that the government expects to see action on the report’s list of 32 recommendations soon.
As part of the same news package, education secretary Bridget Phillipson also announced that the free speech duties on English universities have been shelved. These had originally been due to come into force on August 1, despite the regulator failing to issue detailed guidance to both higher education providers and student unions in the run-up to the scheduled implementation.
It wouldn’t be too far wrong to suggest, then, that universities and student union representatives across England are heading into summer feeling they have just dodged a major regulatory bullet.
Notable omissions
While the direction of travel under Labour for England’s higher education sector is becoming clearer, there nevertheless remains some notable omissions from the initial plan.
First, the more positive tone from Labour ministers about the importance of British universities has not yet been accompanied by any resolve to sort out the sector’s increasingly precarious finances. Leaving higher education institutions hanging without a safety net until the end of the summer may well be too late for some, given existing drops in international student applications and pessimistic predictions about the 2024 Clearing process.
Second, Labour’s more lenient stance towards international student migration is not immovable. Although Phillipson has proclaimed that “international students are welcome in the UK” and expressed an intention to maintain the Graduate Route, lessons from recent history tell us that the fate of international students ultimately lies with the Home Secretary and Number 10, irrespective of the preferences of the Department for Education.
Let us not forget so quickly that Phillipson’s predecessor, Gillian Keegan, was also a defender of the Graduate Route, so we shouldn’t rest easy until the great offices of state are all in vocal agreement on the future approach to immigration.
After all, hints have already been dropped about plans to tie immigration to national skills needs, while the education secretary caveated her welcome to international students to those that meet “requirements” yet to be fully defined by the new government.
Looking out for London
Third and finally, there remains a risk that, without more political appreciation of the role of London to UK growth prospects soon, English devolution could well become ‘levelling up’ by another name. Despite being home to around a third of the UK’s world-leading universities and a large share of Labour’s parliamentary majority, London faces a summer without a dedicated minister for London to champion its interests in national debates.
While there should no longer be a political impasse between Westminster and City Hall, given both seats of government are now safely in Labour’s hands, there are no guarantees that love will return for London in national politics anytime soon.
There is also a clear argument that the mayor of London is better placed championing the UK capital overseas and delivering change for the people of London, rather than battling to get London’s voice heard in Whitehall, especially when one of Labour’s many London MPs would be the perfect ally to do so.
To ensure London and its higher education sector continues to power the growth the country needs – and free up the Mayor of London to advocate for the benefits of the UK capital, including through international study opportunities – London Higher is leading the charge to build a coalition of support across the capital for the appointment of a dedicated Minister for London.
Just like our Study London campaign launched just before the general election, this isn’t only about serving the interests of London, but promoting the successes of the entire nation. The more we can boost the London growth engine through talent, investment and opportunity, the more we can grow other regional engines across the country.
And so I remain cautiously optimistic that the new government will return in the autumn with renewed love for higher education, but whether that stretches to the capital city remains to be seen…
