Why Jacqui Smith??

[Flibbertigibbettytoes]

Jacqui Smith is described as minister for Higher Education here. She's not an MP and doesn't seem to have any expertise in the area.
Any ideas on why? Or positive things about her to make this less depressing?

She worked as a teacher before she was an MP.

I remember all the teachers being opposed to Estelle Morris too…

I was wondering the same. So many other brilliant appointments, especially Timpson and the Attorney General, I was looking forward to seeing who would get higher ed.

Starmer seems a sensible, no bullshit type, so I'm going to assume that he wouldn't be bringing back someone controversial if he didn't think she was right for the job. I don't really know anything about her though so hoping this thread reassures me!

She is very experienced generally though (early 60s) and worked in previous governments. I suspect Starmer wants a balance in government, as a lot of new ministers do seem very young (maybe I am getting old!). I don't think she has great knowledge but I am hoping as an experienced older women that she might listen to University leaders... who will be queuing up to speak to her right now....

She was a teacher.

She tutored me when I was a teenager!

It's the brilliance of some other appointments that makes this so puzzling. According to Wikipedia, she worked as a secondary teacher in the 90s and had 2 years in a junior role in the Education ministry.

Who would you have liked to be in the position?

I imagine Starmer sees her as highly competent - she is a former Home Secretary and a lot of experience in management in the NHS. Whether she will be "good" for Universities or not I don't know but she will be prepared to make decisions, I think.

I didn't have a name in mind but basically someone with a bit of expertise coming from experience of working in or with HE (e.g. funding councils) would have looked better.
Who did you want?

I just saw your thread title in active and remembered about Jacqui Smith being a teacher from the last time she was active politically. I asked as you might have had someone in mind who you thought would be a good candidate.

Given the state of higher education and the quality of other appointments I was hopeful for someone with experience in higher education. No one particular person in mind.

JS may do a fantastic job, I sincerely hope she does, and like I said I have faith in KS only picking those he believes in. But reading her bio was slightly concerning. Hopefully she'll prove me wrong, and I'll be delighted when she does.

No idea why people think "she was a teacher" has any relevance to higher education.

I hope she listens to academics, and doesn't have the same misconceptions of university that many school teachers do.

I suspect Universities needs someone who bridges politics & education expertise.
Politics because Unis are financially dependent on foreign students. That's a political hot potato (net immigration).

Wouldn't someone from a funding council know lots about evaluating grant applications (not that great skill is required, how they decide the funding is incredibly simple: Oxbridge & London Unis get everything) & not necessarily anything about how undergrad places are funded in general, or the RAACC problems, or modern expectations for dormitory housing, or equalities legislation, or how many nursing & Medicine places the NHS can afford, and how many fewer students want to study non-STEM subjects, etc?

I had no great insight regarding Jacqui Smith, remembered her being in government, saw her on GMTV, but that was it.
But, then started listening to 'For the Many' podcast with her and Iain Dale.
Very juvenile shut in places, but she is EXACTLY who I would want to represent me and my views.
Yes, I know her background, I see her mistakes.
But I also see her normalness, going to her caravan in Wales, arguing with her sons, being open about her ambitions.
I think she will do a cracking job, good luck to her!

Matt Western, the shadow was doing a grand job. Plenty of aware former academics in the Lords who are left leaning.

She'll be high profile, but I'm uncertain as well tbh.

The Times Higher has just done a feature on left-leaning academics who have Labour's ear. It's paywalled (I subscribe), so here are extracts:

On the legislative side, parliament will also see the introduction of several MPs who have previously worked in universities, while in the House of Lords, Labour life peer Baron Wood of Anfield, a University of Oxford academic, and Baroness Morgan of Huyton, master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, both have extensive higher education experience.

The MPs they mention include:

Among them are Labour’s Marie Tidball, a University of Oxford law researcher standing in Penistone and Stocksbridge; Kanishka Narayan, a former Stanford University innovation fellow set to take Vale of Glamorgan; and economist Jeevun Sandher, who is contesting the potential swing seat of Loughborough. Durham University’s Sam Rushworth is also set to retake Bishop Auckland for Labour; while former minister Douglas Alexander – who has held several visiting professorships since leaving office – is also set to return to parliament after he was selected in the likely swing seat of East Lothian.

It's clear there are members of the Houses of Lords and Commons who could serve with a very deep knowledge of the sector.

She is clearly someone with a lot of political experience that those with higher education experience don't have. I doubt that that is a coincidence. Higher education is on Sue Gray's shit list, I expect they want a political biggish beast because they know it is a difficult portfolio. Let's hope she does a lot of listening to people.

It's a real shame Matt Western wasn't appointed. He was doing the role in the shadow cabinet and he knows a lot about sector (not least because his wife is a professor). Most MPs are woefully ignorant about higher education.

Incidentally, Smith is the thirteenth minister for universities in ten years.

I'm hopeful that you're right @DeborahVance Goodness knows, the sector needs some attention!

For a start:

• Taking international students out of the immigration figures
• Allowing International students to bring family
• Allowing international Doctoral students up to 3 years after the award of the PhD to work, and to seek post-doctoral level work (not Bachelors or Masters though - in the past, some universities were running very shady HE diploma courses - not even Bachelors - to get people into the country ... ).

i voted labour and am an academic and hope they don’t do anything on that list! Which goes to show why they have appointed someone like JS I think - to make decisions some people will hate, a political old hand

I appreciate that he's not available as he's on Health but at one time I'd hoped the job would go to Wes Streeting, who has written and spoken so powerfully about the transformative effect of university education in his own life. I felt like he'd be a great advocate for HE.

Allowing international Doctoral students up to 3 years after the award of the PhD to work, and to seek post-doctoral level work

We've already got that haven't we? Post study visa is two years for UG and PGT, but three years for PGR.

@titchy I’d heard that there was a Tory plan to reduce it drastically.

Ah right ok. As long as we keep it then! and for the love of god find a different way of working out net migration than asking people at the airport

Mired in controversy, utterly dishonest..l hold out no hope on this one.