The Labour Party is broken, the Liberal Democrats have sunk, and the Conservatives have bound themselves to Brexit’s wheel of fire - their fate, like ours, uncertain.
As we start a new academic year, I can’t remember a time when politics was so unpredictable. But what does this mean for the FE sector?
The Labour Party is unsure whether to retreat into ideological purity or stay in the real world of electoral politics. While most of its MPs continue to champion FE, the Labour leadership seem too distracted by their internal arm-wrestling to develop any new thinking about FE or skills.
Many Lib Dem MPs have passionately supported the sector, but the coalition left it seriously weakened. Ironically, the higher education policies for which they took the most stick have led to universities with record numbers of students. The imbalance between FE and HE funding is one of the most striking legacies of the coalition.
Political gamble
And what are we to make of this new Conservative government led by pragmatic, sober individuals but committed to the biggest political gamble since the Falklands War? Perhaps, like Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May will carry it all off triumphantly, but I suspect we’re all going to need nerves of steel as we set off into uncharted territory.
The appointment of key ministers - education secretary Justine Greening and apprenticeships and skills minister Robert Halfon - who are both knowledgeable of and sympathetic to FE is encouraging. We may finally get a government able and willing to tackle England’s historical underinvestment in practical and technical education.
We need a consistent national strategy, not the Punch and Judy of party politics
FE needs to loudly demand three vital things. First and foremost, we need politicians to invest in top-quality technical education, urgently implement the Sainsbury proposals for post-16 education and - crucially - fund their delivery properly.
Cul-de-sac of debt
Second, the funding system, which incentivises schools and universities to pull thousands of students into subjects employers don’t want while starving technical and vocational education of resources, needs to be corrected. Providing unlimited funding for undergraduate degrees that lead young people down a cul-de-sac of debt and unemployment is wrong and needs to stop.
Finally, FE colleges need to be at the centre of the government’s flagship apprenticeship strategy. Bargain-basement apprenticeships may be superficially attractive, but they don’t improve training infrastructure or represent value for money. Only the FE college network provides a stable platform for the sustainable skills improvement needed to revitalise post-industrial towns and cities.
Let’s hope FE can have a party and everyone will come. What we need now is a political consensus around a consistent national skills strategy, not the Punch and Judy of party politics.
Andy Forbes is principal of the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London
