UK universities ‘central’ to Labour government’s plans, says Kyle

Universities are “central” to the “primary mission” of the new Labour government and both the short-term recovery and long-term success of the UK, the science secretary has told vice-chancellors.

Peter Kyle used his first major speech to the sector since the election to repeat his promise from the campaign trail that the “war on universities ended the day the Labour government came in”.

“That means the rhetoric that talks down universities has finished,” he told the Universities UK conference, adding that “rather than having a set of policies designed to diminish the importance and ability and potential of higher education”, the new government is “striving to develop policies and use rhetoric” that empower the sector.

Reflecting on his own university experience, Mr Kyle, who was repeatedly rejected by the University of Sussex before eventually studying up to doctoral level at the institution, said most young people “take no for an answer the first time” and the sector was “pretty good at diverting people from specific backgrounds, and that has to change”.

He joked he “wouldn’t wish a doctorate on my own worst enemy” but said the skills he gained from completing his studies were “life-changing” and were still useful in his new ministerial brief, likening the way he makes decisions on policy to the academic process.

Addressing the perceived disconnect between his department – which is responsible for university research – and the Department for Education – which oversees university teaching – Mr Kyle said the new set of ministers were working very closely together, promising several announcements in the coming months connected to addressing skills shortages in an era of rapidly advancing technologies.

Recognising the financial ill-health of many institutions, Mr Kyle said their situation was mirrored in the broader economic struggles of the country.

“The fundamental thing we both have to realise is we have the same inheritance,” he said. “Everything you have gone through, and you are trying to pick up the pieces from, is what we across the board have inherited as a government.

“That is not a counsel of despair that says we are all in dire straits and there is no way forward. I hope it is motivational, because it says we are both in the same position and we need to use the respective tools we have in order to get our country out of the mess.

“The university sector is central to our primary mission in government, which is economic growth. You are central to the long-term success of our country, which will rely on research and development, innovation and long-term investment in science, and how we get out of this hole we are in at the moment.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com