Fix University Funding

Higher Education in the UK is in crisis

University closures, redundancies and course cuts are not isolated failures or local mismanagement. They are the predictable result of a funding system that treats education like a market rather than a public good. Across the country, students are paying more and receiving less. Staff are losing jobs. Communities are losing vital institutions they rely on. Without national intervention, this will continue and accelerate.

Universities are being pushed to breaking point. A broken funding system is failing students, staff and communities across the country. This is not an Essex problem. It’s a national failure and it requires a national fix.

15,000 jobs cut

15,000 University jobs have been cut since 2024

£265 billion

Universities contribute £265 billion to the economy each year - allowing the sector to decline poses a serious risk to the nation’s future.

1 in 5

1 in 5 universities have cut entire subject areas, significantly limiting student choice.

Why this matters at Essex

The University of Essex has announced plans to close its Southend Campus in summer 2026, ending more than 20 years of teaching, research and community activity there. Hundreds of students currently based at Southend will be asked to transfer to the Colchester Campus or face increased travel, financial and academic pressure to continue their studies. As part of a restructure, the University has also announced plans to cut around 400 academic and professional services jobs over the next two years.

The University of Essex, once one of the most internationally diverse institutions in the country, has been hit hard by government policies restricting international students. These measures have left universities struggling, with no meaningful support put in place. Now, staff and students are paying the price. With a proposed levy on international students set for 2028, the situation is likely to worsen. We need to act now.

What is happening at Essex is not unique. It is a clear example of how a failing national funding system forces universities to make damaging decisions that directly affect students, staff and local communities.

The Problem

1. Is systemic

This is not a series of isolated failures. It is the result of a funding system under sustained pressure. Nearly half of UK universities expect a deficit. More than a hundred have launched redundancy or restructure programmes. This is system failure, not mismanagement.

2. Students pay the price

Fees have risen while teaching time, support and services have been cut. Staff numbers are down. Class sizes are up. Opportunities are shrinking. International students face unstable policy and the proposed 6 percent levy, adding pressure to a system that relies on their fees.

3. Marketisation

The crisis is rooted in a market led funding model. Universities are forced to compete, not collaborate. Short term survival comes before long term quality. Education is treated as a product, not a public good. This model is not protecting Higher Education. It is destroying it.

What must change

Higher education needs a funding system that works—one built on proper government investment, a shift away from a market-driven model, and a review of damaging restrictions on international students. We need a sustainable system that protects students, staff and educational quality. Without reform, closures, redundancies and course cuts will continue. With action, Higher Education can once again serve students, communities and the public good.

We’re calling on the government to take urgent action:

Scrap the proposed 6% levy on international students.

Review and reverse restrictive immigration policies that are driving down international student numbers, including changes to the graduate route visa and limits on dependants.

Reassess international tuition fees, with a view to lowering costs and restoring more accessible fee levels for European students.

Deliver substantial increases in grant funding to reduce universities’ overreliance on tuition fees.

Introduce fairer mechanisms for student distribution, such as student number caps, to protect the sustainability of lower-tariff institutions.

Take action

1. Contact your MP

To demand action in Parliament.

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2. Sign the petition

Help build national pressure.

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3. Join the campaign

Sign the open letter, and commit to joining the cause

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Change only happens when people make it unavoidable.

Universities are being pushed to breaking point. A broken funding system is failing students, staff and communities across the country.

This is not an Essex problem. It’s a national failure and it requires a national fix.