How the Tories pushed universities to the brink of disaster

Given Britain's stagnant economy, dilapidated public services and near-bankrupt local authorities, there isn't much public concern left over for its universities. But 14 years of Tory rule have damaged them just as grievously as the rest of the public realm, and in some ways more recklessly.

Revenue has struggled to keep up with spiralling costs, even while academic salaries have been falling in real terms. A sense of emergency took hold last autumn, when it became clear that there had been a sharp drop in international students, whose higher fees have become pivotal to the funding model of higher education in the UK.

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