David Willetts' Areas of Interest
On the Foci page, you will find information about David Willetts' key interests, including education, sciences, intergenerational fairness, space, conservatism and how governments work. Discover his insights, publications, and contributions in these important fields.
Higher Education
Discover David’s interventions on education policy.
Inter-Generational Fairness
Explore David Willetts' work on inter-generational fairness and his vision for a more equitable society.
Science & Research
Learn about David’s contributions to policies for science and research.
Conservatism
Explore David's work and contribution to the renewal of thinking on the Centre Right.
Space
Chair of the UK Space Agency, discover David's work on supporting Britain's exploration.
How Government Works
Learn about David's work on how government works.
Higher Education
The fullest account of David's thinking on higher education is in his book A University Education published by Oxford University Press. The slide presentation of March 2024 brings out some of the key themes.
As Minister, David fought a long battle to get access to HMRC income data so we could understand better the earnings of graduates doing a range of different courses. This data is now being used for analysis of graduate outcomes but is in danger of having attributed to it much more significance than was ever intended. David warned about this in two articles for Times Higher.
The pressures on university funding have become more intense. A recent paper by David for HEPI in 2021 set out some of the issues. The Government did then act to improve the arrangements for graduate repayments to bring down the so-called RAB charge. But there are a range of other topical issues in the pamphlet.
Science and Technology
There is growing interest in the meta-science – the rigorous study of how we do science. David has tried to contribute to this over the years with accounts of how Britain’s science eco-system works and how it compares with other major players.
As Science Minister, David drew on expert advice to identify eight great technologies which merited strategic support from Government. Ten years on he reviewed how those plans looked and drew wider lessons for Government policy on key technologies.
Space
David is privileged to serve as Chair of the UK Space Agency. Space is about extraordinary scientific discoveries and brilliant new technologies. But it is also a crucial arena for geo-politics and he has tried to explain how Britain fits into this wider Space scene.
Inter-Generational Fairness
A lot of David's political career has been spent working either on pensions or on education. That led him to get increasingly aware of the changing shape of the state as programmes for older people grew whereas those for younger people seemed to be under more pressure. His book, The Pinch did lead the way in putting the issue of fairness between the generations on the agenda. After the first edition in 2010 a second edition with fresh data from the Resolution Foundation came out in 2019. A lecture at the Royal Institution was an opportunity to set out the themes.
I also chaired the Resolution Foundation’s Inter-Generational Commission which produced a major report on the issue in 2018. We continue to work on the issue at the Resolution Foundation’s Intergenerational Centre.
Generational issues are increasingly important in shaping voting behaviour. The late great Professor Peter Pulzer, my politics tutor at Oxford, famously observed back in the 1960s that “Class is the basis of British party politics; all else is embellishment and detail.” David took the opportunity of a lecture back at Oxford to argue that perhaps we should now revise his bold statement and replace class with age.
Conservatism
David's first book was Modern Conservatism and has tried to contribute to the renewal of thinking on the Centre Right. David wrote about what he called Civic Conservatism in the early 1990s as he saw the need for Conservatism to be more than a free market party – important though that was.
The Conservative Party’s Landslide defeat in 1997 led David to review the lessons from previous landslide defeats in 1906 and 1945. This is all very relevant again now.
How Government works
I began my career as a civil servant in HM Treasury and then moved to Margaret Thatcher’s Policy Unit. My first serious published paper (1987) after I left Whitehall was an account for the Royal Institute of Public Administration of how the Downing Street Policy Unit worked.
My most recent engagement with Government was a review of the Business Case process commissioned by the then Secretary of State for DSIT in Autumn last year. It was presented to her and published earlier this year. It was accepted by the Department and I am pleased that the new Government also appears to be supportive.
Discover David Willetts' Work
Explore more of David's work and learn more about his professional career.
