Margaret Thatcher showed us why tuition fees won't work

Radical reforms were needed to turn complacent industries into competitive ones under Thatcher. Higher education needs the same reforming zeal, says Gervas Huxley. In the last few days several commentators have reminded us that the Thatcher government was not only ideologically committed to free markets but also pragmatic in its approach. Mrs Thatcher understood perfectly well that the ‘free markets’ do not arise spontaneously – they have to be created...
To date, this lesson has been ignored. This is because of a fundamental misconception about higher education which makes it appear different: in 1979 it was impossible for most people to conceive of competition between providers of electricity or gas; in my experience, is it hard for outsiders to understand the extent to which universities do not compete. Read more...