Labour fails to pass test of time

AMBITION is a noble commodity. It inspires progress – and underpinned Tony Blair's eve-of-millennium speech to the Labour conference when he declared that he wanted 50 per cent of young adults going into higher education in the next century.

His government had lifted the cap on student numbers, and was

overhauling both higher and further education. "Only now can this happen because there is a Labour government that cares about educating the many," added Mr Blair.

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What was lacking was the realism; details of how this aspiration could be funded and what would happen when universities became over-subscribed, as is happening now, at the same time as vice-chancellors are being ordered to make swingeing savings because of the crisis in the public finances.

This is deeply embarrassing for the Government as universities across Yorkshire prepare to reject a record number of applicants whose hopes had been falsely raised.

After all, this is the reason the school leaving age is being raised from 16 to 18 years. Yet there's little prospect of this region's colleges providing any salvation. They, too, are over-subscribed and courses may have to be scrapped because of the funding squeeze.

And, to compound matters, the number of 18 to 24-year-olds out of work is rising relentlessly. There simply are not sufficient jobs for people in this age bracket, irrespective of their qualifications.

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So far, Lord Mandelson has proposed abbreviating degree courses to two years. This risks diminishing standards still further. Tuition fees could be raised, but this means students paying more in return for an insurmountable debt burden. It particularly imperils the chances of those from disadvantaged backgrounds and runs contrary to current Labour thinking. Yet, if Ministers are to be believed, this round of cuts is only just the beginning.

It makes Mr Blair's words of 1999 even more hollow, especially when he evoked Harold Macmillan's legacy and declared: "I can stand here today, leader of the Labour Party, Prime Minister, and say to the British people: you have never had it so ... prudent."

If only these words had stood up to its sternest examination – the test of time.