Bankrupt and ravaged by student mental illness, Britain’s universities are badly in need of reform

More serious is the result of the Major government’s 1992 upgrading of 33 polytechnics, which gave many cities not one university, but two. It led to a downgrading of technical and vocational training in favour of academic learning, and was followed by Tony Blair’s ambition to get 50% of young people into university. There is no doubt this did wonders for many provincial towns, but it was an extravagant pledge.