- Shadow Secretary for Universities and Skills evades debate live on air
- Conservatives distance themselves from CBI
Photo: Nick Bodjo
IN A RADIO 5 Q&A session conducted in front of 200 listeners a University of Manchester Students’ Union Officer had her question dodged by the Shadow Secretary for Innovation, Universities and Skills, David Willetts.
Following a question from UMSU Academic Affairs Officer Kate Little, Willetts gave a vague response, saying: “Well I do want to see more young people going to University. When I look around the western world, more and more want to go to university and it’s a fantastic opportunity that I want them to have.”
Host Victoria Derbyshire said on air that she had already said goodbye to Willetts, but the Shadow Cabinet minister insisted he was enjoying himself so much at the Radio 5 Q&A session that he decided to stay on after his allocated 20-minute timeslot. Given this extra time, Little introduced herself as a UMSU representative and asked about the proposed Conservative policies for higher education, which so far, have not indicated any position on tuition fees – or the cap.
Little asked: “You say you want to increase university places, I was wondering if
you could put your money where you mouth is and say you’ll find a fairer funding system so that you can meet Labour’s target of getting 50 per cent of young people into higher education, or will you follow the recommendation of the fat cats at the CBI, pricing poorer students out of education?”
The Confederation of British Industry, or CBI, issued a press release in September detailing their views on the government asking universities to save $180 million over the next three years. The CBI recommended that students should fund their own learning by acquiring loans at a commercial rate – as opposed to the interest rate currently subsidised by the government.
David Willetts talked about the proposed Government review of higher education. “We didn’t endorse any ideas from the CBI…the right thing to do, what parliament laid out, was to have that review.”
When Derbyshire pushed the point home about lifting the cap, Willetts said it was “all a matter for review” and that the Party would “need to have a further look where the poor people have been put off going to university.”
The Conservatives are waiting for a government review of tuition fees, however, it is not due to be completed until after the general election. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have proposed that extra money would be available to fund an extra 10,000 university places if graduates were able to pay back their loans early at a discounted rate.
Following the snub on live radio, Kate Little said: “Politicians of every colour seem to have become adept at dodging the issue of higher education funding, and this latest statement from David Willetts comes as no surprise. Students are being let down by the major parties’ refusal to discuss the options.”
“We can only hope that the promised review will take into account the impact their proposals will have on students’ likelihood to enter higher education, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds: otherwise, the poor will be priced out of higher education and class divides perpetuated in a vicious cycle of debt and disengagement.”
Little said: “The current funding system needs urgent reform: only time will tell whether any of the main parties will support a more progressively-funded system, since apparently posing direct questions doesn’t mean they have to tell us anything!”
As part of the Conservative Party conference that took place in Manchester last week, the Victoria Derbyshire Show featured a panel made up several MPs, which changed over the course of an hour.
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