Liam Byrne: We need a new way forward for universities

Fifty years ago Harold Wilson’s Labour became the first Opposition since 1906 to evict a sitting Tory government. Key to Labour’s Sixties sizzle was the promise to harness the “white heat of the technological revolution”, and centre-stage was a plan to revolutionise our universities, unlocking opportunity for millions of aspirational people like my parents.

Ending today’s cost of living crisis demands growth that is more inclusive, with more high-skilled and high-paid jobs. Universities are part of the solution. Today they are the power stations of the knowledge economy, the key to how we compete in the global digital economy.

The next Labour government will create a clear route for the forgotten 50 per cent of young people who do not currently go to university. We will fix this broken university funding system: under this government, up to £70 billion in student loans is set to be written off, meaning that despite tripling students’ tuition fees, hardly any money has been saved. At the same time, science investment is falling behind other nations and skills shortages are growing.

We need a better way. So today, Labour is also publishing the “big five” ideas from hundreds of conversations with students, scientists, researchers, and university and college leaders in Britain, Europe, India and China.

Ed Miliband has already set out Labour’s plans to introduce new Technical Degrees. These will be complemented by what you might call a “technical university”, a pioneering concept developed by Sir Keith Burnett of Sheffield University and Nigel Thrift at Warwick. By fusing together world-class research departments with industry R&D, “technical universities” will unlock an “earn while you learn” route to degree-level skills for many more young people.

The second thing we should add into the mix is a revolution in university-college links — a local college partnership — between our great FE colleges, licensed as Institutes of Technical Excellence, so that thousands might start their journey to a degree at their local college.

Third, council and university leaders have told us they want a huge expansion in the number of University Enterprise Zones, so that university research becomes a more potent “power station” for the local knowledge economy.

Almost everyone has told us that they need longer-term research budgets and better support for the global “Star Alliances” that universities like UCL, Queen Mary’s and Imperial are building, linking together the world’s best scientists and carving out a bigger share of the “global lab” for Britain.

Finally, we’ve heard calls for a 21st-century revolution in access to technical education, to match the opportunities available to those who go to university. We need a national network linking university advice services; giving support for university-school trusts connecting the classroom and the lab; seizing the opportunity offered by the Open University’s Massive Open Online Courses; and fostering new workplace partnerships.

Together, these are ideas that could boost our knowledge economy and open high-paying technical and professional jobs to the “forgotten 50 per cent”. They are ideas that Britain — and London — needs if we’re to win the race to the top.

Liam Byrne MP is shadow minister for universities, science and skills.