UK universities need ‘significant reset’ as populist era looms

Universities must build bridges with populist parties and take steps to restore their legitimacy among the general public or face being recast as “convenient enemies” by the next Westminster government, according to a new report.

With Reform UK well ahead in the polls, and the Green Party surging, the paper warns that the local elections in May could be a “major turning point” for UK politics and that universities must adapt quickly – particularly given the anger seen recently over mounting student loan debt.

“Questions about universities’ role, purpose and value for money are resurfacing, alongside renewed scrutiny of the student experience and graduate outcomes. In short, the sector’s storytelling is about to face its toughest audience yet,” it says. 

The Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) report adds that the sector has “made a false virtue of its failure to engage with the populist instincts of the time” and has found it surprisingly hard to explain its own benefits.

The authors write that institutions have only a narrow window in which to engage emerging populist parties and have urged them to seek to rebuild their legitimacy for “the populist era that almost certainly lies ahead”.

“Those that fail to build relationships early on will find themselves recast not as partners but as convenient enemies.”

A number of universities have been lobbying the dominant Reform UK party in recent months but the Hepi paper says few are taking its policy signals and speeches seriously.

It calls for academics to use university research to shape the Reform policy agenda and desired solutions, and to do so “without disdain and criticism” of Nigel Farage’s party.

Co-author Diana Beech, director of the Finsbury Institute at City St George’s, University of London, said universities can be slower to adapt than other sectors because of their “unique cultural mismatch” – a progressive body with cautious leadership that is viewed as elitist.

“That combination makes the sector slower to adapt than others. While most industries engage pragmatically with whoever shapes policy, universities remain one of the few sectors that still treats some political actors as ‘off limits’. And that hesitancy runs deep because it’s rooted in institutional culture, identity and a fear of internal backlash.”

Recent polling showed that more than a third of students believe representatives of Reform should be banned from speaking on campuses, which the report said is an “open goal” for the party.

Beech said this creates a chilling effect on universities’ engagement potential and is something that businesses and other public services do not face on the same scale.

To solve the “legitimacy gap”, universities must pursue a “positive and forward‑looking reset” to uphold their side of the social contract with the British people, the report adds.

It calls for the creation of a “legitimacy observatory” to monitor public trust, new publicly minded metrics created by the sector itself to track quality and value that go “beyond graduate earnings”, and politically diverse advisory panels on regulators and funding bodies.

Beech said these panels, which would provide ongoing insight into political attitudes, would send an important signal that universities are willing to engage seriously across the full democratic spectrum and “rebalance the optics”.

Beech said the UK sector must learn from mistakes of others in the US and central Europe, where populist movements have targeted universities early, then escalated if institutions are unprepared to cooperate.

“Populist pressure follows a predictable playbook but UK universities can avoid a second term style showdown if they engage early, intelligently and sincerely.”

The report also urges the sector to address “flashpoints” such as vice-chancellor pay and to explore models that restore confidence in institutional leadership.

Co-author Edward Venning, partner at Six Ravens Consulting, said universities are using arguments that do not fit the popular mood in a low-growth economy.

“Legitimacy is built through behaviour, relationships and governance that the public can respect and understand.

“If universities change tack, they can lead a broader renewal of trust in public institutions. This will get them the funding they deserve. If not, the sector’s structural problems could easily become much worse.”

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com