Britain | Seeing stars

The British government’s unwanted higher-education boom

Ministers mostly have themselves to blame

BRITAIN’S CONSERVATIVE government is ambivalent about universities. It won a majority in 2019 by picking up votes from people who never went to one. According to the British Election Study, 74% of people with no qualifications who voted Conservative or Labour broke for the Tories, while most people with degrees went for Labour. Ministers tout alternatives to higher education such as apprenticeships. When they do talk about universities, it is often to attack them as nests of woke ideology.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Seeing stars”

China’s attack on tech

From the August 14th 2021 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Britain

Crew members during the commissioning of HMS Prince of Wales

Has the Royal Navy become too timid?

A new paper examines how its culture has changed

A pedestrian walks across the town square in Stevenage

A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition

Turkeys vote against Christmas


David Lammy, Britain’s foreign secretary

David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office

Diplomats will be tasked with growing the economy and cutting migration


Britain’s government has spooked markets and riled businesses

Tax rises were inevitable. Such a shaky start was not

Labour’s credibility trap

Who can believe Rachel Reeves?