CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE STOP THE CUTS PETITION to stand against cuts and to advocate for proper funding for higher education!

Stop the Cuts: Fund Higher Education NOW!

19 February 2025

The UK higher education sector is in crisis

We call for immediate action to halt the devastating cuts sweeping across our universities.

The current crisis is unsustainable, and it is vital that the government intervenes now to protect our educational institutions:

One in every two universities is cutting staff jobs and student courses. This alarming trend is not just numbers; it represents the loss of dedicated educators and vital programmes that serve our communities.
The funding model is failing, destabilising staff and students. The ongoing financial struggles for universities puts immense pressure on both employees and learners, leading to uncertainty and a decline in educational quality.
The government must intervene to stop this crisis. Urgent action is required to secure commitments from university leaders to halt job cuts, redundancies, and course closures, and to improve pay and working conditions for staff.

Staff and students should not suffer the consequences for the failures of university management and previous government policies.

We demand a robust funding package that addresses these issues and fosters a more sustainable future for higher education.

UCU's Stop the Cuts campaign

UCU will put pressure on the UK government to change their current position and invest and intervene to alleviate the crisis in higher education
UCU will demonstrate the current dire conditions in UK universities and the consequences of government inaction
UCU will continue to support all branches and members in our fight to protect jobs.

Key dates

Monday 3 March: 'Stop the Cuts' campaign official launch and opening of our petition
Tuesday 18 March: UCU rally and parliamentary lobby
Wednesday 2 April: Westminster Hall debate
Tuesday 8 April: Education Committee session
Saturday 10 May: national, cross-sector demonstration in Central London
Wednesday 11 June: demonstration in Newcastle

Latest developments

Outcome of higher education negotiations, July 2025

UCU will soon be launching a consultative ballot over the full and final offer from Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA). The elected representatives on UCU's higher education committee (HEC) is recommending that members vote to reject the offer, and vote yes to participating in industrial action.

UCU is holding an online meeting on UCEA's final offer, which will take place on Friday 25 July (14:00-15:30). This will be an opportunity to hear from the elected HE negotiators about the offer itself and ask any questions you may have. UCU is urging all HE members to register here to join the online Q&A (registration closes at 11:00 on Friday 25 July).

Questions will be taken in the briefing itself, and you can also submit questions in advance. All UCU higher education members are entitled to attend this meeting, and those who are from branches that are participating in the 2025/26 JNCHES negotiating round in particular are strongly encouraged to attend.

UCU will be in touch shortly with further details about the consultative ballot, including launch date and closing date. You can follow updates on the 2025/26 higher education negotiations here.

Stop the Cuts petition

In January 2025, UCU launched the Stop the Cuts petition.

We encourage all UCU members and supporters in all sectors to sign the petition, and stand against cuts and advocate for proper funding for higher education!

Education Committee inquiry into university finances, June 2025

On 12 June 2025, the UK parliament's Education Committee launched a new inquiry into the financial viability of universities as they face the challenges of rising costs and falling numbers of international students after years of tuition fee freezes.

Responding to the announcement, UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: 'With vice-chancellors axing courses, limiting student provision and slashing thousands of jobs, universities are in crisis and this inquiry couldn't come soon enough [...] Our submission will set out what's gone wrong and how the system can be fixed'. Click here for the full statement.

UCU has been relentlessly lobbying parliamentarians for urgent government intervention and this new inquiry is one of the results of our sustained campaigning efforts. The union's work will continue.

Stop the Cuts Newcastle demonstration, June 2025

Newcastle University is attempting to meet targets to achieve millions of pounds worth in savings from job cuts which is devastating for UCU members, students and the local community. Although numerous jobs have already been axed through voluntary severance, the fight to protect jobs will not stop.

Newcastle University UCU branch has scheduled a further 30 days of strikes, beginning on Friday 6 June, which follows on from strike action taken in March.

On Wednesday 11 June 2025, all roads led to a Stop The Cuts demonstration which began with speeches outside of the Newcastle City Council Civic Centre, and was followed by a march to Grey's Monument, where further speeches and rally cries were heard. Speakers from across the local community and the trade union movement attended including students and representatives from other education unions.

A big thank you to all UCU members and branches from across the UK who came to the demonstration, to help Newcastle University UCU branch fight back against damaging job cuts.

We encourage all UCU members to continue to sign the Newcastle University UCU petition.

Protect Education NOW national rally, May 2025

On Saturday 10 May 2025, UCU called a rally in central London for UCU members and supporters to come together. Higher education, further education, prison education, adult and community education--united.

Members and branches from across the country marched to the Houses of Parliament. Guest speakers included John McDonnell MP, Mariela Kohon (TUC), Amira Campbell (NUS) and Andrea Bradley (EIS); there were also plenty of members from our sister education unions, students, supporters and activists.

Thank you to everyone who came to the rally. You can click here for more photos and watch coverage on BBC News here.

Education Committee letter, May 2025

The union's message on Stop the Cuts is getting through to the UK government. After the deep-dive evidence session on 8 April 2025 (to which UCU contributed), the Education Committee published a letter on 7 May 2025 to the Secretary of State for Education demanding support of our universities in both the short and long term. You can read the Education Committee's letter here.

Education Committee session, April 2025

On Tuesday 8 April, UCU general secretary Jo Grady gave oral evidence at the Education Committee's session 'Higher education and funding', chaired by Helen Hayes, Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood.

You can watch highlights from UCU's contributions on YouTube, watch the full recording of the Education Committee session on parliamentlive.tv, or read the full transcript here.

Westminster Hall debate, April 2025

A Westminster Hall debate on the 'Impact of university finances on jobs in higher education' took place on Wednesday 2 April, 14:30 to 16:00.

We are very grateful to Mohammad Yasin, Member of Parliament for Bedford, for leading this debate. In total, twenty MPs across the political spectrum spoke at the debate about institutions in their constituencies, including Bournemouth, Brunel, Dundee, Essex, Nottingham and Nottingham Trent, York and York St John, UEA and many others.

It is vital that we build upon support from MPs and continue to make our voices and our demand for urgent intervention to address the crisis in higher education heard loud and clear.

We encourage everyone to watch the recording of this debate on parliamentlive.tv (from 14:30:00 onwards) or read the full transcript on Hansard.

Stop the Cuts rally and parliamentary lobby, March 2025

Congratulations to everyone that joined our lobby of Parliament on Tuesday 18 March 2025. Higher education members across the UK came to press MPs to support our campaigns. Politicians were matched with constituents in a packed committee room where they also heard briefings from UCU general secretary Jo Grady and UCU officers. This was a fantastic event aimed at boosting political awareness of the unfolding crisis in higher education and the need for urgent government intervention. More materials from the rally and the parliamentary lobby will be made available here very soon.

Stop the Cuts campaign briefing, February 2025

You can watch a recording of the Stop the Cuts campaigning briefing from Wednesday 19 February, featuring Maria Chondrogianni (UCU president elect and chair of the higher education committee) and Yetunde Akintewe (UCU head of communication and campaigns).

The Minister of State for Skills answers your questions, January 2025

In January 2025 UCU general secretary Jo Grady met with the Minister of State for Skills, Baroness Smith of Malvern. This was an opportunity to put our concerns about the state of UK universities, and what the Labour government should urgently do about the sector, directly to the minister. Watch the full interview below.

Resources

Posters, placards and flyers


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Campaign logos

Social media graphics

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Read UCU's publications on higher education

UCU has recently published a series of on higher education:

'The state of Britain's universities: a crisis unfolding in plain sight' by Howard Stevenson (Professor Emeritus, University of Nottingham), a UCU booklet examining the unfolding crisis in UK higher education and what the Labour government should do about it
'Support for research staff', a UCU report based on freedom of information (FOI) requests to 103 UK higher education institutions and which lays bare the extent of shocking 'gig-economy' style employment practices at some of the most prestigious universities in the country
'Academic freedom in the digital university' by Chavan Kissoon and Terence Karran (University of Lincoln): more than eight in 10 (82%) UK academics say universities' excessive use of digital technologies has harmed academic freedom
'Assessing the costs of removing undergraduate tuition fees across the UK' by London Economics: a levy of around 1% on employer national insurance contributions for graduates could support the scrapping of tuition fees at no cost to the Exchequer
'Non-visibly disabled PGR experiences of studies and careers' by Tanya Osborne (University of Gothenburg), Phoenix Andrews (independent researcher) and Zara Bain (University of Bristol): less than four in ten (36%) postgraduate researchers (PGRs) with non-visible disabilities are happy with the support they receive from their university.

Extend your solidarity to staff under attack

UCU is determined to resist the waves of job cuts and attacks on working conditions taking place across UK universities. You can click here for a list of current industrial disputes and find out how you can support them and extend your solidarity. The list is updated continually by UCU staff so please check back regularly.

Last updated: 17 July 2025

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