What cuts? Well, for a start the HEFCE budget for funding higher education is being cut by 80% (not a misprint, 80 percent) from 2012-13, meaning the burden of higher education is removed from the government and placed squarely on the student. No-one seems to be asking whether the consequence of this (fewer people in higher education than any of our developed nation competitors and restricted access for those without the funds or ability to bear the debt) is a good or bad thing. There is some window-dressing about students from disadvantaged backgrounds, but early research indicates that this won't make any difference. Given the rise in importance of knowledge economies, it would seem sensible to take a long-term, strategic view and encourage as much access to higher education as possible, and fund bright young people in the same way you would any other strategic asset.