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Hello and welcome to The Edition, the Spectator's weekly podcast discussing some of the most important and intriguing issues within our pages.

I'm Cindy Yu.

This week, though the government Newton has been celebrated widely as the right thing to do, it does leave universities in rather a tight spot.

I find out exactly why.

Also on the podcast, it's a tight spot. I find out exactly why. Also on the podcast, is obesity a problem of mental health? And at the very end, should we celebrate or criticise illegal

raves in the age of COVID? First up, Ross Clark writes about the financial situation that a lot of universities

find themselves in in this year of the pandemic, and that was before the government you turned

on exams. I'm joined by two guests to find out exactly why universities and higher education

in general is in a dire state.

Matthew Goodwin is Professor of Politics at the University of Kent and author of National Populism.

We're also joined by Robert Halfen, Conservative MP, who's chair of the Education Select Committee.

So Matthew, to start with, can you explain just why universities are in such a tight spot?

I think the key point for me is that we have had a perfect storm for higher education coming

for a few years. And that storm essentially, as a result of COVID and the events of this week,

is for some universities turning into a tornado.

We've had a demographic dip.

We've had fewer 18 and 19 year olds.

We've had existing financial problems, pushing more than 100 universities into pretty

serious deficits.

...