Labour Party
Statement launch and online Parliamentary lobby, Tuesday 21 July
Online meeting: Tuesday 21 July, 5.30-7.00pm
Covid-19 has plunged UK higher education into a deep financial crisis. Tens of thousands of posts are at risk, and over a dozen universities are predicted to be at risk of outright bankruptcy. But the pandemic has exposed problems, rather than creating them. Well before Covid-19, marketisation was wreaking havoc on higher education.
So far, the government has offered only limited support, amounting to little more than a sticking plaster on a fundamentally flawed system.
Through two large online meetings, the Convention for Higher Education has developed a set of demands for policymakers on how to rescue universities and put our higher education system onto a truly sustainable footing.
Now is the time to start pressing our politicians for meaningful action. This starts with an online lobby with the Shadow Higher Education Minister, Emma Hardy MP.
This is a crucial opportunity to take real action to defend our universities and students. Please join us!
Schedule:
- Prof John Holmwood (Campaign for the Public University) will introduce the Convention for Higher Education’s recommendations for a policy response.
- Representatives from the hardest-hit institutions (including Reading, Liverpool, SOAS) will share what is happening to them.
- Emma Hardy MP, Labour shadow Higher Education minister, will outline the risks to universities and what Labour believes the government should do to provide support.
- Lord Rowan Williams (Council for the Defence of British Universities) and Matt Crilly (NUS Scotland President) will offer short responses.
Other speakers have been invited to discuss how we can build the movement to defend higher education and access. We will also take as many questions from the floor as possible.
The meeting was recorded.
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