The government were warned months ago that without proper support for universities tens of thousands of jobs were on the line. Instead of taking action to support these vital staff they chose to sit on their hands.
Far too many staff have been employed on insecure contracts and now they find themselves in the firing line. More must be done to protect these jobs in the months ahead.
We cannot build back better by reducing capacity in higher education, and the government must now listen to the call Labour made in our seven tests to ensure equality of opportunity in every region, with fully staffed universities to deliver it.