It’s almost certainly a fool’s game trying to predict anything in politics nowadays but I’m going to have a go. But first, some background.

Back in October last year, three students at Brockenhurst College - so incensed by the funding cuts their college has had to cope with over the past decade, and emboldened by our #LoveOurColleges campaign - started a petition. That petition has led directly to a debate today in Parliament following the support of tens of thousands of others who held the same view: that our colleges need more investment to support more people, communities and employers and to give college students a better deal.

We’re not the only sector asking for more investment after a decade of austerity, but colleges have undoubtedly been the hardest hit part of the education system and, arguably, across the whole public sector. Only local authorities have been hit as much.

Before the debate opens, it is worth remembering just how the funding cuts have impacted directly on students and staff. Teaching hours for young people are only 15 hours per week compared with 25+ in most OECD countries. Lecturer pay in colleges is £30K compared with £38K for school teachers. Opportunities for adults to study basic skills, Esol, GCSEs and vocational courses has halved.

So, what are my predictions?

There will be lots of passionate, informed and committed MPs, from all parties, wanting to show their support for their local college despite the obvious distraction of Brexit and the prime minister’s statement on her plan B at 2.30pm. I’m secretly hoping that there will be record numbers because at least this is a cause that unites across parties, and for which there is a strong and growing consensus. Now, that’s not a prediction, given how critical the Brexit issues are, but you must have hope when you’re advocating for colleges.

So, back to my predictions. Every single speaker will support the simple case we have made. They will all agree that colleges have been harder hit by austerity than any other part of the education system and that it is wrong. There will be sincerely felt speeches about constituents, young and old, who have suffered; either through reduced hours of teaching, less support, ageing buildings and equipment, less choice of courses and lower teacher pay.

MPs will make the links between colleges and productivity, regional economic growth, community development, tolerance, mental wellbeing, jobs, business success and so much more. I know this because, after more than 20 years working in further education, I have yet to meet a politician who is not a supporter, nor any who don’t have stories to tell about how important colleges are. That type and level of support has not been enough, though, to ensure that colleges have been properly considered when it comes to the difficult choices governments have made in spending reviews over the past decade.

Priority for investment

My boldest prediction is that this has changed fundamentally. After a decade of cuts, colleges now have the prospect of being a priority for investment and regard across the political parties. There are lots of reasons for this. In part, it is because politicians have come to recognise that the biggest skills challenges we face can be solved only by colleges. Overall, we need to support people to have longer and successful careers in a rapidly changing world in which many jobs will disappear, new ones will emerge and most will require people to learn new things. Schools and universities will play vital roles in achieving this, but it is our colleges that will need to come to the fore.

Literacy and numeracy have been joined by digital as essential basic skills. Beyond that, employers are looking for people who have the confidence and wherewithal to carry on learning in employment as technology transforms working practices. Politicians have really begun to understand this and that’s why they have been supporting our #LoveOurColleges campaign.

Every community needs a successful college. MPs from all parties see that every day in their constituencies and will be on our side, pressing for the investment needed in this year’s spending review. Or failing that, in the general election, which might happen. That’s my boldest prediction.

And let’s face it, it would be nice to think that there is something on which all parties, all factions, all MPs will be able to agree. For the sake of millions of people, I hope I am right.

David Hughes is chief executive of the Association of Colleges