Could Keer Starmer’s widely expected move into 10 Downing Street provide some hope for people worried about parking their car 550 miles away on Aberdeen’s Garthdee Road?
While this issue may not be the Labour leader’s top priority as the nation prepares to vote, it’s nevertheless an example of how UK Government policies can shape the lives of ordinary people up and down the land.
Tory moves to ban lucrative international students from bringing their families here with them have seen them avoid the UK in their droves.
Since they pay higher fees, that has meant dwindling income at Robert Gordon University (RGU) and Aberdeen University.
Both have been forced to inflict brutal savings as they scramble to make ends meet.
And the cuts are having an impact beyond just the respective campuses in Garthdee and Old Aberdeen.
Now, as the big day looms, we look at why university leaders are no doubt hoping the change at the top is as academic as the polls suggest…
- We lay bare how RGU and Aberdeen University have suffered since the ban in January
- A look at the parties indicates how likely a policy change might be
- And we find out about the cash boost international students bring the city as a whole
So what’s this got to do with Garthdee?
In March, RGU confirmed it had an £18m black hole to fill.
In a desperate bid to break even, campus chiefs fell foul of their neighbours in Garthdee.
Campus bosses, spotting the chance to save £40,000 each year, have opted to scrap payments to Aberdeen City Council covering the cost of a Controlled Parking Zone on the surrounding streets.
This means that residents will either have to pay for their own permits, or face a parking freefall.
The move has stirred anger within scores of locals, who continue to press for the sort of rethink that will only be possible once the university is more solvent.
At the moment, bosses warned the spending is “competing with other options”.
It came as RGU announced that hundreds of staff faced losing their jobs.
What has happened at Aberdeen University?
As the UK Government celebrated plummeting numbers of dependents arriving in the UK, Aberdeen University was feeling the pinch too.
Cash-strapped leaders provoked fury when they announced plans to slash certain language courses and do away with scores of jobs.
As the crisis reached its peak, the university even considered its future to be “in significant doubt”.
In an exclusive interview with The P&J, Mr Boyne said: “Numbers are down 45% year on year [for the January intake of international students on postgraduate taught courses].
“It is a huge hit.”
Both seem to have weathered the storm for now.
And Mr Boyne is confident that a new “rhetoric” around international students will emerge should Labour win the election.
“There will be a different message about whether the UK welcomes international students,” he told us. Ultimately he hopes this will see numbers grow.
So how could the election change things for international students?
Right now, the polls suggest Labour will all but wipe out the Conservatives in the Westminster vote.
Which might be just as well for our universities.
The Tories would be unlikely to lift the policy – which would mean more fiscal misery for those Aberdeen universities and little hope for Garthdee car-owners.
Labour haven’t confirmed any sort of immediate reversal.
But their shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson has already hailed the “major economic contribution” overseas students bring.
She explained that any upturning of the international student rules will be “evidence-based”.
What does this really mean for Aberdeen, and why should I care?
Boffins from London Economics recently commissioned research into the actual value of international students – divided by parliamentary constituencies.
In the Granite City, this somewhat handily breaks down to indicate both RGU (Aberdeen South) and Aberdeen University (Aberdeen North).
What did they find out?
- Going by 2022 census figures, Aberdeen South had 2,185 first year international students
- Overall they bring about £235m in benefits, with a £27m cost to the public purse in return
- In Aberdeen North, there were 1,665 first year international students
- This equates to a £180m boost compared to a £20m spend
- Combined, these international students were calculated to boost the Aberdeen economy by £415m
This cash boost is said to ultimately benefit businesses “small and large”.
The research has since been sent to all candidates standing in the Westminster vote.
What do you think will happen after the election? Let us know in our comments section below
Aberdeen universities need international students back
Aberdeen University principal George Boyne said the figures “highlighted the negative impact of recent UK government restrictions”.
And he claimed they showed the “urgent need, whatever party wins the election, to ease these restrictions”.
Meanwhile, RGU’s Lynn Kilbride said: “It’s clear that international students are not only instrumental socially and culturally, but economically too.”
The vice principal for academic development and student experience added: “We have both undergraduates and postgraduates who have chosen Aberdeen as their destination to study, work and live in.”
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