Off Topic Starmer/ Reeves: last man standing

They do it in Switzerland based on worldwide income including stocks and investments. There’s a model to follow

 

We are now spending £100bn on interest payments, far more than is spent on defence and education.

 

I have worked in universities for most of my career. We have ended up with far too much of it. Too many universities. Too many courses. Too many kids who shouldnt go getting in.

We have created a system not fit for purpose. Too many kids have been sold a fantasy not an aspiration. They have gone, accepted some duff course (particularly dual study ones) and come out without employment prospects. It is only recently universities have had to focus on employability stats as part of their reporting to central govt.

Paying for HE is 100% the right model. That is if the service you get is value for money. There was a time a degree led to higher salaries. Why not pay for the privilege (it is a privilege not a right). We dont provide good degree outcomes for a lot of students who are then left with debt and limited career opportunities.

In the sector at the moment job cuts are rife. So are strikes against them. Due to govt policy on immigration (legal not illegal) we have seen overseas students go to more welcoming geographies like Australia. A financial blackhole is now huge. Universities will go bust soon. Labour had the good sense to allow an increase in fees, tiny as it was, then offset that and some with the NI rise. We have left the sector with no fee rises for more than a decade whilst prices soar. £10k p.a. is nowhere near enough to run the services studenta consume.

It is about to get worse. From 2028 demographics mean there are less students in the pool.

We need to be more honest with kids. If you get poor A level results uni isnt for you. You wont cope with it. But that isnt a bad thing. Technical courses and apprenticeships are every bit as valuable to out country. That should be the message. But sadly, due to the way politicians have advocated university, we have left universities needing to recruit kids who arent up to it, and those students being sold the fantasy. That isnt aspiration, it is fundamentally setting young people up to fail.

We need to trim HE by 25%. I have been saying this for 15 years or more. But until we replace with well articulated alternative kids will buy the dream. There is a lot to like about Labours plans for FE education and technical pathways. It needs some serious funding though. May tuituin fees are needed at that level too.

 

That alone should trigger alarm for everyone. Unless we cut our debt, we will never move forward. Ever.