Alistair Lomax, Director of the Arc Universities Group, writes for Times Higher Education on the risks facing the UK’s ‘growth corridors’ amid a deepening financial crisis in higher education.
When Rachel Reeves pledged in January to unlock the potential £78 billion boost to the UK economy offered by better coordinating the region between Oxford and Cambridge, observers’ collective sense of déjà vu was understandable.
After all, while Reeves might have rechristened it the Growth Corridor, the idea of linking and powering up a region bookended by two world-leading universities – creating what she called “Europe’s Silicon Valley” – is not a new one.
What was then known as the Oxford-Cambridge Arc was originally a Tory project, building on the Infrastructure Commission’s 2017 Partnering for Prosperity report. The vice-chancellors of the 10 universities in the region were asked whether they could offer “a coordinated response” to regional economic development and “a single front door” for those interested in working with them on it. The answer from the vice-chancellors, led by Cranfield vice-chancellor Sir Peter Gregson, who became our chair, was “We don’t know, but we will give it our best shot.” Thus emerged the Arc Universities Group, of which I am the founding director.
But during the subsequent Boris Johnson Parliament, the concept of investing in the so-called golden triangle ran contrary to the flagship policy of levelling up. Indeed, the Arc appeared to be an embarrassment to Michael Gove, who served as levelling up secretary for two of the seven rides on the ministerial carousel. When asked for his views on it, Gove mimed sitting on the toilet and pulling the chain – flushing away a lot of local political support as he did so.
Yet the project somehow survived the Conservatives’ political roller coaster because while the politicians were jumping – or falling – out, the universities clung on – and not just Oxford and Cambridge. Then, six years on from our founding, we were delighted to see Patrick Vallance ride over the horizon as a new ministerial champion for the project. The vibe is different now: more confident. The long-mooted new railway line between Oxford and Cambridge is now firmly on the table, as is the expansion of Luton Airport – and even a Universal Studios theme park in Bedfordshire.
