The Right’s capacity to become the new ‘snowflakes’ is rather remarkable. 2026 is the year where Reform have claimed cancel culture as their own. Recently, a motley contingent, from the party atop the polls, were barred from attending a debating society in Bangor University. The debating society argued that Reform’s track record with “racism, transphobia and homophobia” was unacceptable and led to their removal from the debating slate.

Unfortunately, Zia Yusuf’s response embodied the ‘woke’ culture he once swore to destroy. He claimed that a Reform government would remove Bangor University’s £30 million state funding for this slight. Removing the funding of a university that boasts a “top-tier reputation for ocean sciences [and] environmental studies” because a group of students found their views to be abhorrent, seems a slight overreaction.

Equally, I would have been fascinated to hear how ‘30p Lee’ Lee Anderson, the former Conservative party chair who claimed you could make a meal with just 30 pence, plans to use universities to find made-up billions in savings from his great nightmare – the spectre of DEI. Alas, the joy of living in a free country is that citizens are not obligated to invite the Reform party to every debating society that they want to speak at.

“Universities are one of the first to buckle under to the populist playbook”

In their manifesto from the 2024 General Election, Reform UK argued that it would cut funding to universities that undermined free speech. It claims that it would use financial penalties against “political bias or cancel culture”. This, of course, is deliberately vague: they cry out for ‘free speech’, but only when it is sanctioned by a government led by Mr. Farage.

We only need to cast our gaze across the Atlantic to see how universities are one of the first to buckle under to the populist playbook. Columbia University has had to pay $200 million to the Trump administration over accusations it failed to protect its students from Pro-Palestinian marches. Visa revocations and deportations have become a common feature on campuses for expressing views opposite to the White House.

While there are legitimate concerns about the cost of student loans, the function of university is to accelerate social mobility, equipping underprivileged young people with an education that gives them the confidence and skills to thrive despite their background. Universities should celebrate their ability to empower the next generation of students from across the country, rather than abandoning this strength.

Nevertheless, some degree of pragmatism ought to be employed to smooth relations with the hostile Reform party. The Varsity headline depicting “Cambridge cosying up to Reform” generates immediate concern, but the University would be negligent not to reduce the size of the target on their back. The senior leadership at the University have actively pursued a dialogue to plan for a potential Reform government, to understand the stakes and implications of the country electing a turquoise government.

“Universities must not let the newest proponents of cancel culture infect it with its authoritarian instincts”

However, while a sensible policy aim, any degree of dialogue is unlikely to change the minds at the top of the Reform party. As a necessary tenet of American culture wars and a key manifesto pledge on Reform’s manifesto, it is unlikely a Farage-led government would tolerate the current University setup.

Thus, a more effective policy would be for Cambridge dons, allied with other figures in leadership at UK universities, to increase their contribution to the public debate about the essential place universities have in today’s society. Lower job prospects for graduates and rising tuition fees mean universities currently possess a troubled reputation, with the most recent scandal about Plan 2 student loans rocking the contemporary political debate. Therefore, leaders of these universities must use their public platforms to celebrate the societal contributions of universities, not just in the STEM subjects but in the humanities where rational argument, intellectual curiosity, and debate are all encouraged.

Through their own social media platforms, national media outlets, and public speeches, university staff should take up opportunities wherever they can to celebrate Britain’s great academic institutions. After all, UK universities are one of the key reasons why tech companies are investing in Britain at record levels. Jenson Huang, CEO of Nvidia, argues that it is in these institutions that Britain’s growth potential is located. The government’s strategy for long term growth has universities at the centre of it. The proposed Oxford-Cambridge corridor would add £78 billion to the UK economy annually – that’s just by connecting the two.

Universities must not let the newest proponents of cancel culture infect it with their authoritarian instincts. Higher education leaders at Cambridge are clever to prepare for a Reform government, but it would be just as smart to increase the volume on their defence of the purpose of university and its essential part in British society.