Policy fallout

All the reaction to yesterday’s announcement on course number caps in England

On the day when thousands of students were graduating and a new series of University Challenge kicked off on BBC Two, prime minister Rishi Sunak—with the political tin ear that is becoming his trademark—announced a “crackdown” on “rip-off university degrees”. These are words more often used in connection with hard drugs and organised crime, not one of the UK’s most successful export industries or the largest employer in many towns across the country.

Nonetheless, it’s now time to crack down on “poor-quality” degrees. Time to make sure people are getting good, graduate-level jobs. Time to “rocket boost” our skills offering, as apprenticeships, skills and higher education minister Robert Halfon put it when he conducted the morning newsround yesterday.