In this GW4 opinion piece Billy Davis, Public Affairs Lead at GW4 Alliance and Western Gateway, reflects on attending the Universities UK “Public Affairs in Higher Education” Conference. This blog post was originally published on the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN) website.
Happening exactly one week before the UK went to the polls, the atmosphere at University UK (UUK)’s “Public Affairs in Higher Education 2024” Conference was febrile, with public affairs and policy colleagues from across the sector gathering to discuss the current challenges facing higher education, and what the outcome of the forthcoming election could mean.
In their keynote speeches, Vivienne Stern and The Guardian journalist Pippa Crerar painted a rather gloomy picture, with Conservative Government policies around funding, student debt and visas all taking their toll on the countries’ universities. Both were keen to highlight that this would be a “change election”, with Vivienne arguing that now was the time for universities to “push issues up the political agenda” and present “realistic but clear” messages to the incoming Government. Pippa noted that, while Labour’s manifesto was “light on detail”, many in the room would welcome its manifesto commitments to deliver a “fairer way” of funding universities, even if they were yet to “commit to what that model would look like”. She also warned that, unlike 1997, Starmer’s Labour would be working in a different economic and political environment to Blair, with less public money for investment than when New Labour first came into power.
Next, James Frayne from Public First discussed the results of some polling commissioned exclusively for the UUK Conference. Looking at the headline findings, he summarised that the results were a bit of a mixed bag for higher education – explaining that, while the public recognised the importance of higher education to deliver economic growth, it was generally “a low priority for most voters”. This is, perhaps in part, due to a “general disconnect” amongst voters in recognising that higher numbers of graduates typically leads to better economic growth.
James said that voters overwhelmingly felt that the top priority for government should be to “ensure universities are well-funded”. However, he explained that voters’ solutions to this varied across parties, with Labour and Liberal Democrat supporters saying government should “prioritise extra funding for universities”, whereas Conservative voters were more likely to prioritise “cutting courses that offer poor value for money”.
Worryingly, James ended his presentation with a rather chilling warning, noting that there were signs that USA-style “culture wars” were increasingly creeping in to the UK’s political discourse. He predicted that such issues would become “far more prominent” over the course of the next Parliament, with higher education “at the vanguard”.
Delegates were then invited to go off into breakout sessions. I chose to attend a session with UUK’s Harriet Jones and Greg Wade, who discussed “Making The Case For Universities In The Growth Agenda”. Harriet and Greg first set out the challenges facing the UK, with historically low levels of productivity, one of the most regionally imbalanced economies in the developed world and an ageing population all hindering economic growth.
However, looking at the Conservative and Labour manifestos, Greg argued that many of the policy solutions – whether it is reskilling, supporting innovative SMEs to grow or to adopt regional approaches to economic growth – had a role for universities to play, even if the manifestos did not explicitly mention them in the delivery of those policies. This, Greg said, provided an excellent opportunity for universities to engage. He argued that we must be proactive in providing “clear and sharp” stories on contributing to the growth narrative, especially “locally relevant” examples for individual constituency MPs, encouraging them to make the case for secure investments.
The next breakout session that I attended, hosted by Dods Training’s Mike Watts, provided a useful primer and refresher to those in the room about how the legislative procedure works in the Houses of Parliament, and the best times to engage MPs and Peers to influence legislative change.
Finally, all delegates regrouped in the main hall to discuss what the different parties’ manifestos had to say about higher education, and what this may mean for the sector post-election. Former Labour Minister Rt Hon Jim Murphy noted there was some “welcome mood music” from Labour leadership on commitment to partnership, which the sector should use as an opportunity to “fill in the gaps” of Labour’s manifesto proposals, providing solutions to challenges, rather than “just highlighting the problems of lack of funding”. Dr Chris Adams, Liberal Democrat PPC for Keighley and Ilkley said the Liberal Democrats were “unapologetically pro-European” in their approach to many issues, including Higher Education, and would welcome closer alignment on research, and commit to rejoining the Erasmus scheme. Guy Miscampbell, former Special Adviser to Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan, pushed back against the idea that Conservatives “hate” universities, arguing that most saw them as a “force for good” but, with the Conservative drive for delivering better value for money, a focus on more technical education and debates around immigration, many felt there were better ways to fund higher education than the current model.
With the polling pretty unanimous in its predictions of a Labour victory, Jim’s advice largely focused on how Labour may act in government. He explained that universities need to move “from the problems box to the solutions box”, with academics providing proposals to challenges raised in Labour’s Missions, and suggest “photo friendly” opportunities for Ministerial visits. Guy and Chris, however, also spoke of what their parties may do in opposition, and the importance that people still engage with them. Chris said he believed that the Liberal Democrats would be an engagement point for those who “felt Labour weren’t being radical enough”. Guy argued that, with the UK’s predominantly right-wing-leaning media ecosystem, and with Reform UK’s potential presence in Parliament having an as yet unknown impact on the Conservatives, the party’s views on policy issues will “not become irrelevant” any time soon.
Looking back to Vivienne’s opening remarks – particularly now that the “mother of all battles” general election she looked forward to has resulted in a change of government – I am left agreeing that this is, indeed, a pivotal moment for the higher education sector. While the challenges ahead are great, a change in government and a high influx of new MPs from across the political spectrum means that there is a real opportunity for universities to demonstrate that they can be the source of innovative policy solutions and drivers of regional growth, which need to be properly funded in order to flourish.
Public Affairs and Policy teams will have a particularly important role in building those connections with parliamentarians and policymakers, and helping demonstrate how universities and other HE bodies can be a force for delivering positive policy change. The GW4 Alliance is ready to do its part. Drawing together the research excellence of the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, and with a focus on collaboration and embedding research and innovation into policy, society and business, we are able to act as an anchor institution and take the lead on key issues for the sector – for example our Childcare campaign calling on government to improve childcare support for postgraduate students.
