Reform pledges to end public subsidies for ‘woke nonsense’ degrees

Reform UK has promised to ban “foreign students” from accessing student loans and said it will end public subsidies for “woke nonsense” degrees.

Unveiling its new education policies, the right-wing party promised to “come down like a tonne of bricks on taxpayer-funded Mickey Mouse degrees from third-rate universities”.

The money saved from cutting back on spending on higher education will be spent on its plans to introduce more apprenticeships.

“For years, governments have wasted money on useless degrees and ungrateful universities when the backbone of Britain, real Britain, the men and women who get up and go to work in the dark and come home in the dark have been ignored,” says a party document outlining the policy.

In a press conference in north London, the party’s education spokesperson, Suella Braverman, said that a Reform government would introduce a 30 per cent wage rebate for small and medium-sized businesses, to cover the costs of hiring apprentices aged 16-18.

Braverman said that such plans could save small businesses over £4,000 a year per apprentice.

The party also announced its plan to introduce the “apprenticeship retention bonus” of £2,000 per worker, paid when they have completed two additional years of work at the company where they completed their apprenticeship.

It estimated the cost of the policy as between £1.5 million and £2 million, and the party said it expected to pay for this by “banning all foreign students from accessing taxpayer-funded loans and cracking down on taxpayer-funded Mickey Mouse degrees from third-rate universities”.

Reform cited “gender studies” and “critical race theory” as examples of “Mickey Mouse degrees”.

Responding to the plans, Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, said: “For the majority of graduates, a degree pays off through higher average earnings, reduced likelihood of unemployment and a wider range of opportunities. Students should feel confident that their degree will set them up for a brighter future and equip them with skills they need to enter and succeed in the workforce.”

She added that: “Many graduates who did creative or specialist degrees go on to have highly rewarding and successful careers.”

Commenting on the proposed ban on foreign students from accessing a taxpayer-funded loan to pay for their university studies, Stern said that “international students are not eligible for UK student finance and they are not getting loans”.

“The students that Braverman is targeting are lawful residents who have settled status to live and work here permanently.

“International students make huge economic and cultural contributions to our campuses, high streets and workplaces, about £62 million per parliamentary constituency. Their fees ensure more opportunity for British students and support the innovative research that happens in towns and cities across the length and breadth of the country.”

At the end of July, Andy Burnham also announced plans to support apprenticeships and give school students more access to technical education. From 2028, young people aged 14 will be able to combine technical subjects with more traditional academic subjects.  

rosalind.skillen@timeshighereducation.com