The Labour government’s policies have had a detrimental impact on UK universities, according to Larry Kramer, president and vice-chancellor of the London School of Economics (LSE). Kramer, who took the role two years ago and previously served as dean of Stanford Law School, argued that the cumulative effects of various measures have caused as much harm to British higher education as former President Donald Trump’s actions did to universities in the United States.
Kramer highlighted several key factors contributing to the challenges faced by UK universities, including the freeze on domestic student fees, restrictions on international student visas, and an increase in employers’ national insurance contributions. While he characterized these measures as unintended consequences rather than deliberate attacks, he warned that “no one is looking at the cumulative effect,” which he described as being potentially worse than the impact on US institutions.
He also criticized increased regulatory and reporting requirements imposed on universities, stating they added costs without clearly advancing the intended goals related to freedom of speech, teaching quality, and academic impact. These challenges have led to job cuts in the sector, partly as a result of reduced numbers of fee-paying international students.
Despite expectations that UK universities might benefit from an exodus of academics from the US after Trump’s immigration policies, Kramer noted that the UK’s more constrained financial resources limited this potential gain, with only a modest influx of American academics observed.
Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at the University of Bristol, assessed the tuition fee freeze as an existential threat to UK universities, equating its significance to the challenges faced by US colleges under Trump. However, he suggested that other policy fluctuations in the UK were less consequential and likely reversible.
Looking ahead, government plans include imposing a £925 levy on each international student starting in 2028, alongside recent visa restrictions. Kramer welcomed renewed attention to vocational training under new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who recently emphasized valuing apprenticeships alongside traditional university degrees and proposed tailoring school curricula to local employer needs. However, Kramer cautioned that this focus should not come at the expense of universities. He advocated for increased subsidies to support internships and work experience as pathways into employment.
Kramer underscored that while UK universities rank among the world’s best after those in the US, current operational constraints risk ceding ground to countries like China. He noted British institutions’ heavy reliance on government funding, outlining LSE’s goal to diversify income sources by increasing endowment and philanthropic support to comprise roughly one-third of its budget.
Amid sector-wide shifts favoring STEM fields, Kramer reaffirmed LSE’s commitment to the social sciences, arguing that humanities and arts education hold vital importance for long-term economic growth. “Just inventing things doesn’t mean you’ve created the environment in which they flourish,” he said, emphasizing that nurturing innovation requires attention to economic, political, and legal frameworks that maintain start-ups within the UK.