Off Topic Starmer/ Reeves: last man standing

Can't blame rising immigration on Brexit, imo it's down to politicians not having the balls to make a real go of stopping the boats.
I have nothing against legals coming over.

 

Number of things mate. It was announced at the 99 party conference as a target. In 2010 applications shot up, we were in recession and there wasnt much on offer, but folk latched onto university. The same year the govt cut funding for university places!

Some of the real problems were around degrees studied. Many universities went down the route of mixed degrees but some werent worth much in employability terms. So students didnt really come out with proper workplace skills.

Then there is the reality that studying at university is hard. It isnt for everyone. It is so different from anything you do at school and so much is self learning. Too many students went who werent ready and too many failed to complete, wasting their own time.

It created an open market to an extent. Universities now chase students to come to them. They grew and grew, increasing cost base to teach more students. The top end universities hoovered up the students with best marks and those universities at the bottom of the ladder had to take in what they could get. Just to survive. This is still going on today. Some students are being accepted on to courses that are probably not able enough, but universities need them to survive.

Thr balance struck was all wrong. We should have gone for apprenticeship based learning much more. The tories introduced degree apprenticeships, which are a fantastic way for young people to go, but it has been to slow to move. It is getting there. That model of access to HE is much better and with less cost to the country.

Our ability as a nation to build stuff, or manufacture, is problematic. Arguably young people going into the apprenticeship route is a much better balance.

Dont get me wrong. We want access to universities to all who will benefit from it. It is vital access is equitable. But that does not equate to half of young folk. They needed a better balance of choices, and the country needed a better balance of economic opportunities.

 

Haven’t we got blue labour now?

 

It’s not balls it’s policies and partnerships that deal with a complicated cause and a complicated system. This isn’t simple and will never be solved by simple thinking and sticking plasters

 

Would give you multiple likes for this if I could, but we seem to have a political elite both sides that have looked down on working type higher education courses. Where i worked lads were doing secondment in office type jobs, when full time positions because available, kids straight out of uni were given jobs as shop floor worker did not have qualifications required.

 

According to the BBC and sky were side event at labour conference

 

Hopefully this better balance is on the cards after starmers speech.

 

Building on Green? I thought labour policy was to build on grey/brown land

 

Where is the spare brown land to build 4 cities, just looking at the building going on around Sunderland yes riverside site is brown but all the houses around doxy on green belt, also Ryhope will soon connect to Seaham and op Penshaw monument, then industrial north of Nissan up to testos will be fully built on. That is just Sunderland, this will be replicated around the country

 

Believe me, if there's is anything I have knowledge of it is the energy industry, and particularly the Nuclear industry. The investment is tiny compared to the subsidies paid to wind. Moreover, one US company, with proven tech on a new SMR was refused permission to go forward with plans to build one here. They required no subsidy.

 

The experts were right and Farage was wrong.

Record immigration and a fooked economy is Brexits legacy. Unfortunately a lot who voted for it want to blame everyone and their dog for its failure. They really need to own it.

 

Well you must be pleased with Starmers speech this week then.

 

So “ your experts “ are still right if Brexit got the nod a second time?

 

Did not listen to it but snippets i has seen yes it was good. Biggest problem for labour to improve the country are the backwards looking cs unions where whatever improvements you carry out they will not back if redundancy required. Would of been more impressed with them last year if they had stood up to the unions and said "you want 22% rise", we want at least 22% productivity improvement, but they bowed down to everything without a challenge.

 

It was the standout for me, and very encouraging. Technical qualifications are going to be where we need our workforce of the future.

I really hope he goes hard on the degree apprenticeships and puts funding squarely behind it. It is without doubt a fantastic route for young people. T levels are new and bedding in but equally need backing. They must be seen as equivalent to A Levels.

Put party politics aside for a moment and those two things introduced recently have the potential to transform education and skills for our kids. They need to be built on by successive governments irrespective of who it is.