Chris Skidmore believes in the smallest possible state. Is he going to rescue higher education from market meltdown?
We are now on our third universities minister since the Conservatives shed their pesky Liberal Democrat partners following the 2015 election. The first two were victims of the Brexit Moloch. First up was Jo Johnson, who piloted the Higher Education and Research Act through parliament, only to be rewarded with relegation as minister for London. He resigned in the summer and is now a fully signed-up supporter of the “people’s vote”.
Next up was Sam Gyimah, who in the end found the contradiction between his responsibility to do the best by universities and the damage Brexit would cause too much to take and also resigned. He, too, supports a second referendum.
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