One down, 999 to go...

[steepholm]

The first tranche in a whole raft of cuts has been rolled out. There will be more, going forward.

For some reason, my eye lighted on:

Cuts of £200m to the university budget will mean 10,000 fewer extra places than had been announced.

This is what is known as making "efficiency savings" in order to "protect front-line services", I believe. Now, where did that white rabbit disappear to?

Comments

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

How many of the Front Bench have science degrees, I wonder?

Having just gone through the links on Wikipedia, I can answer that one. Out of 28 front bench ministers, there is precisely one with a science degree: Vince Cable (by coincidence, the very person who'll be implementing today's cuts). Or, even more precisely, just half of Vince Cable, since he took a joint degree in Natural Sciences and Economics.

Now, if you'd asked about PPE...

Not that I totally trust this Wiki page. The link for Kenneth Clarke takes you to Kenneth Clark the art historian, for example. I also like the cause-and-effect aura that hangs over these two sentences from IDS's biography: "Duncan Smith converted to Catholicism as a teenager. He speaks Italian." If only that were all it took.

[gillo]

Vince Cable is an economist through and through, whatever his first degree was in.

It's the old mantra. Science is technology advanced enough to seem like magic to these guys, so more scientists is the magic answer to all woes. All other subjects outside the charmed STEM are "irrelevant". Even though the people making the decisions all have that sort of degree themselves. PPE followed by think tank or researcher job followed by a seat to nurse.