Wobbles at Westminster mean smoother ride for universities

The government’s weakness is likely to deter it from pursuing a radical agenda in higher education, says Nick Hillman.

Before the snap general election this month, the consensus was that Gordon Brown had messed up in not calling an election after becoming prime minister in 2007. Had he done so, he would have won a big majority, his own personal mandate and another five years in office—or so people used to claim. This consensus ran so deep in Westminster that it persuaded Theresa May into an early election after previously ruling one out.

The pundits provided plenty of backing for her change of mind. Right up until polling day, they were seemingly united in predicting a healthy Conservative majority, bigger than David Cameron had ever achieved.