Every town or city in the UK with a population of more than 80,000 people should have its own university to help spur growth and innovation, according to a new book?that aims to provide the Labour government with a ¡°road map¡± for addressing inequalities.

The UK suffers from several ¡°legacy problems¡±, including a ¡°lopsided economy¡± ¨C with graduates clustered in London and a handful of other cities ¨C and a ¡°rigidly academic focus¡± in its top universities, according to Steve Coulter, a former BBC journalist who is now visiting senior fellow at the London School of Economics.

The current government has so far?¡°kept its powder dry¡± on higher education, he writes in a chapter in?Making Equal ¨C New Visions for Opportunity and Growth, released to mark the 125th anniversary of Ruskin College, Oxford, but stresses that a high skills agenda can help tackle the country¡¯s spatial economic disparities.

Coulter says that higher education must expand and adapt to a changing labour market and economy driven by technology in a way that spreads and creates wealth and opportunity in ¡°left behind¡± areas of the country.

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He calls for every town or city with a population of more than 80,000 people to have its own university. Such a policy, suggested during a period of financial stress on the country¡¯s existing institutions,?would lead to new ones being established in?places such as Milton Keynes and Wigan.

¡°The most important requirement is that HE expansion should not be conceived only at the macro level but as part of an explicit, place-based mission to spread growth and level up.¡±

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Coulter says new universities should be built by upgrading existing institutions with established roots in the community and should offer more alternatives than the traditional three-year bachelor¡¯s degree.

He adds that a more favourable regulatory environment should be designed for new, innovative entrants to the market, that providers should build better links with employers, and that course content should be devised in conjunction with local skills improvement plans.

Coulter also calls on Keir Starmer¡¯s government to commit to?implementing the Lifelong Loan Entitlement?and extend student finance to a wider range of courses.

¡°Ultimately, in a more competitive, knowledge-driven world, expanding HE is a necessity not a choice,¡± he concludes.

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The book, which claims to provide a road map for Labour to regain momentum and deliver transformational change, also features a chapter from former education secretary David Blunkett, who also points to the importance of lifelong learning.

Blunkett says that the development of a ¡°Learning Passport¡± would allow people to follow a modular learning system across their lives, offering a more flexible and less expensive option.

According to the Labour heavyweight, a longer-form method of delivering education could enable people to keep abreast of evolving technologies and not be overtaken by sudden advancements, such as artificial intelligence (AI).

¡°The developing iterations of ChatGPT, both in the learning process and in the workplace, require a rethink as to where, when and how, education is delivered.¡±

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Along with helping learners adapt to AI, Jonathan Michie, president of Kellogg College, Oxford, writes that lifelong learning can also help them overcome social inequalities, create resilient regions, promote social cohesion, strengthen democratic institutions, and boost individual intellectual enrichment and wellbeing.

However, Michie warns that governments take ¡°a too short-term and narrow approach to adult education and lifelong learning¡± and over-emphasise the world of work. He called for a ¡°revolution in adult education and lifelong learning, creating the basis for an era of national renewal¡±.

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patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com