It feels like an age ago that Theresa May spoke about white working class boys lacking opportunities to go to university in her first statement as Prime Minister on the steps of Number 10.
But over that last eight years – alongside a pandemic and wars during that time – there has been a gradual sliding of access to higher education off the mainstream political agenda.
Fast forward to now and neither major party sees access as a priority. For so long it has been central to Labour’s approach to addressing education inequalities yet there is no mention of higher education participation in its opportunity mission. While the Office for Students continues to press universities via Access and Participation Plans (APPs) to display even greater commitments to widening access, the wider political backing is not there at present.
However, while inequalities in access to higher education may have shifted out of the spotlight, the problem has not gone away.
