U.K. conservative pushes for increased higher education access

In a move to influence conservative U.K. politicians, Nick Hillman, a conservative himself, published A New Blue Book that advocates 70% attendance of young people in British universities. The reasoning includes the decline of incoming highly educated talent resulting from Brexit, increases in life expectancy of Brits, and a shift in workforce needs requiring more highly educated workers. Recognizing the push-back by conservatives when Tony Blair advocated 50% attendance, Hillman indicated, "at its worst, right-wing politics can sink into a 'them and us' attitude." Constructing the argument as a win-lose proposition is not unlike the political struggles in other countries, a sad reality that undermines the shared need of most countries for a more highly educated talent pool in a rapidly changing 21st century environment.