University workers have more faith in new UK prime minister Andy Burnham than in his predecessor Keir Starmer, while the majority believe education secretary Bridget Phillipson is “performing badly”, according to a poll.
The former Manchester mayor is set to become prime minister on 20 July and is expected to appoint a new Cabinet, including likely shaking up the team in charge of education as universities continue to face financial challenges, resulting in mass layoffs.
New polling of about 7,000 University and College Union (UCU) members found that more than four in 10 (42 per cent) are more likely to support the Labour Party with Burnham as prime minister.
The figures suggest members had lost faith in Starmer, with under a third (29 per cent) saying they would have voted for the former prime minister if an election had been held in the past few weeks, despite almost half (45 per cent) of respondents having voted for the party in the 2024 general election.
While university staff may feel relatively positive about the new prime minister, Burnham is widely expected to prioritise supporting alternative options to university for young people, rather than saving the higher education sector.
