Rishi Sunak called Labour’s target to expand higher education “one of the great mistakes of the last 30 years”, leading to “thousands of young people being ripped off”, in a Conservative Party conference speech that suggested that criticism of universities might continue through the next general election campaign.
In a speech where the prime minister said he was rejecting what he described as 30 years of failed “consensus” in government, he also said his party was putting the emphasis on apprenticeships.
By contrast, Mr Sunak argued, “the Labour government pursued the false dream of 50 per cent of children going to university and abandoned apprenticeships. This assumption that the only route to success was the university route was one of the great mistakes of the last 30 years.
“It led to thousands of young people being ripped off by degrees that did nothing to increase their employability or earnings potential.
