Jess Lister

Sep 16, 2024 | wonkhe.com | James Coe |Mark Leach |Jess Lister

Endless pieces have been written about international students over the last few years – but very few separate out international postgraduate research students specifically. Yet the work of international postgraduate research students is at the heart of every major research challenge. They build links across the globe, they contribute to the intellectual capital of their institutions, they introduce new pedagogical innovations, and they have an array of skills that complement domestic talent.

Jun 20, 2024 | wonkhe.com | Jess Lister |Mark Leach |James Coe

The problem with new economic policies is that they are sometimes more soundbite than substance. Levelling up, the great Johnsonian idea to rebalance the UK’s economy, is mentioned only eight times in the Conservative’s 2024 manifesto and largely to explain what they have done not what they will do. The IfS in an excoriating report on levelling up found that “Overall, progress towards levelling up has been glacial – and, on many metrics, the UK as a whole has gone into reverse”.

Feb 27, 2024 | wonkhe.com | James Coe |Mark Leach |David Kernohan |Jess Lister

The major criticism of Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is that it is too cautious. Starmer has inspired, or uninspired depending how you look at it, headlines asking whether he is too boring to be Prime Minister, he has rebuked his own cabinet to stop calling him boring, and former Labour spin-doctors have come out to dismiss his alleged dullness. There’s lots of reasons behind this caricature. It’s partially media spin and concoction. It’s sort of who Starmer is as a professional bureaucrat.

Oct 15, 2023 | researchprofessionalnews.com | Jess Lister

Jess Lister says Labour’s lack of policy pledges on universities doesn’t bother the public—yetOn occasion, higher education can become a hot topic in the run up to a general election. Despite Nick Clegg saying that he was very sorry, the Lib Dems were still wiped out in 2015 after breaking their manifesto commitment and increasing fees to £9,000.

May 22, 2023 | wonkhe.com | Jess Lister |Mark Leach |Iain Mansfield |Gareth Smith

If you speak to any university about their government relations at the moment, you tend to get the same response. First, there’s a weary sigh at the current state of affairs, usually followed by a joke about Liz Truss. Then, things take a more optimistic turn; there will, of course, likely be a new Labour government after the next election.