Government ‘won’t bail out universities’, says vice-chancellor

Labour conference: Birmingham vice-chancellor calls for universities to be given space to thrive

Although many universities are on a financial precipice, there will be little public money forthcoming for institutions in the next five years, according to the vice-chancellor of the University of Birmingham.

Speaking at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Adam Tickell said that many universities were either in cash deficit or in technical deficit, with some “on the verge of unsustainability”. However, the pressures on the public purse meant that government help was unlikely to be forthcoming, Tickell said.