The ballot of members of The Regent House saw 681 votes in favour of the motion ¨C which called on Cambridge to state it did not have confidence in Mr Willetts¡¯ policies ¨C with exactly the same number voting against. As a result the ¡°grace¡± was not carried.

Almost 150 academics had put forward the grace as part of a nationwide campaign to pass motions of no confidence in the minister at as many universities as possible.

But the result at Cambridge is a blow for campaigners and stands in contrast to the University of Oxford, where a similar motion saw 283 people vote in favour with just five voting against.

The University of Leeds senate has also passed a motion condemning Mr Willetts¡¯ handling of higher education reforms.

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Some of the split in the vote at Cambridge has been put down to disquiet that a grace ¨C essentially a legislative tool for changing university regulations ¨C had been used to make a political statement.

A statement issued on behalf of the academics that put forward the grace says that the result should not be interpreted as support for Mr Willetts and the government¡¯s higher education policy.

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¡°Not one item of campaign material, for or against the motion, argued in favour of current government policy. As such, the ¡®no¡¯ vote will have included a substantial number of votes from those motivated by procedural concerns,¡± the statement says.

It adds that the national movement against the government¡¯s policies will be ¡°buoyed¡± by the strong turnout at Cambridge and number of votes in favour given the disquiet over procedure and the fact it was the summer holiday.

simon.baker@tsleducation.com