scientists will have more influence on the Labour government

Analysts say academics could help plug policy gaps in the new UK Labour government, with experts set to return to leadership roles both inside and outside the new parliament.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party has returned to power for the first time in 14 years but has offered little detail about its plans for higher education and other sectors, a move that Natascha Engel, a former Labour MP and deputy leader of the House of Commons, said offered academics “huge opportunities” to shape the agenda.

“The campaign and the manifesto were full of ideas but the details were left until after the election, so the period between the manifesto and the Royal Speech is a really good time to take the first steps – and help shape what Labour wants to achieve,” said Ms Engel, who now runs the cross-party think tank Palace Yard.

Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, agreed that Labor’s entry into No 10 had created a “void” in policy “that will need to be filled quickly”, which he said was “both an opportunity and a potential threat to universities”.

Much of the day-to-day influence over policymaking will remain in the hands of advisers to politicians. It is understood that Bridget Phillipson, the new education secretary, has a stable team around her who will follow her example at the Department for Education.

On the legislative side, MPs who have previously worked in universities will also be introduced into Parliament. The House of Lords will include Labour life peer Baron Wood of Anfield, a lecturer at Oxford University, and Baroness Morgan of Huyton, Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, both of whom have extensive experience in higher education.

Formal positions may need to be filled, such as a potential new chair of the Office for Students, currently held by Conservative Lord Wharton, while university representatives could be invited to sit on an advisory panel for a potential review of the system.

Outside of formal policy, much of the influence on policy ideas in previous governments has come from think tanks, but some believe this could change under a Labour government.

“While think tanks have played a large role in shaping and influencing policy under Blair, Brown and the later Conservative governments, the advent of the Starmer era could bring a new beginning to the way policy is considered and made in the UK,” said Diana Beech, chief executive of London Higher, an organisation representing universities in the capital.

“Unlike his predecessors, Sir Keir Starmer comes to power without strong links to any political think tank, so universities and academia have a golden opportunity to provide trusted and impartial policy advice in the new parliament as the influence of traditional think tanks declines.”

She said it was “unlikely that the think tanks favoured by the previous government would be able to recover so quickly and gain the trust of Labour’s new policymakers”, meaning university-based policy institutes “should move quickly to fill the void and end the era of scepticism towards expert advice and evidence-based opinion”.

The Labour Party has its own think tanks, the most prominent of which is Labour Together, run before the election by Josh Simons, a former Harvard University academic and author of a book on artificial intelligence and democracy, who was elected MP for Makerfield.

Labour Together also includes Cambridge University political economist Helen Thompson, UCL professor Sir Geoff Mulgan, King’s College London’s Anand Menon and University of Manchester political scientist Rob Ford, who all sit on the organisation’s advisory board.

There are also many figures in academia who were influential when the Labour Party was in power and who could play a significant role in the new government.

Nick Pearce, currently Professor of Public Policy at the University of Bath, was Head of Policy Unit 10 from 2008 to 2010 and then headed the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR).

Andy Westwood was a special adviser to Labour ministers at universities before becoming Professor of Government Practice at the University of Manchester.

He did not say whether he would play any role in the new administration, but he acknowledged that this is a moment when policy scholars and industry groups can gain influence.

“I suspect the decision-making environment – ​​particularly in the run-up to the triennial spending review – will be ripe for ideas to be introduced and for influence to be exerted,” Professor Westwood said.

“Labor will have to think a lot about funding, regulation and, most importantly, how universities help drive economic growth. So this is likely to be a period where people with good ideas are welcomed and this has to be a real opportunity for the sector.”

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