Conservatives wary of university are doing themselves, universities and younger voters a big disservice

One reason for going to university – though not the only one – is to boost earnings.

There is a fear that the boost to earnings from going to university is not what it was. I investigate this in my new pamphlet (Are Universities Worth It?) Earnings have been pretty flat since the Financial Crash and overall graduate earnings have not been exempt from ths.

However there has been a real increase in the earnings of people on the minimum wage since 2015 when George Osborne embarked on a policy of increasing it by significantly more than inflation. Many non-graduates are on wages at or close to the minimum wage so they have gained some ground on graduates. But by the age of 31, graduates are earning 37 per cent more than non-graduates with at least two A-levels – £30,750 and £22,500. That is a healthy graduate premium.