This year has seen the passage of two important pieces of higher education legislation – the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act and the Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Act.
That’s not bad going for a government that is often seen as having higher education far down its list of priorities. So can you feel the difference?
Sceptics might say that a major rationale for passing legislation on freedom of speech was to be seen doing so, and the lifelong learning act fits in well with the Department for Education’s constant valorising of alternative paths to traditional university education. So there’s a clear public relations effect there. But neither piece of legislation is properly in effect yet – and there’s a very good chance that they won’t really be under the current government.
In case you’ve missed it, there’s almost certainly going to be a general election in 2024 (there’s a technical possibility it could take place in January 2025, but no-one’s really considering it). The polls have had Labour consistently far ahead for many moons now, and so the chance of a change of government in 2024 is high.
