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Universities were hard to find at a Conservative Party Conference whose fringe seemed to be much more exercised by culture war wedge issues than economic concerns.

It underlines a particular problem for the “solution to growth” lobbying position that the sector tends to adopt – the HEPI “Vice Chancellors Manifestos” event was largely attended by sector people talking to themselves, while the sessions on free speech and family values were standing room only.

But while universities and home domiciled students struggling with a cost of living crisis were hard to come by, international students popped up in all sorts of places.

Pretty much every event on immigration (and they were plentiful) contained references to the numbers of study visas being issued since the post-Brexit liberalisation of the system.

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