Donald Trump’s crackdown on liberal universities and campus activism should be replicated in the UK, ministers have been told.
The US President’s moves to exert more influence over American colleges by slashing financial support has sparked calls for the Labour government to ensure British institutions do not engage in ‘ideological overreach’.
Trump has singled out seven major universities for funding cuts of up to $12billion overall, including freezing $2.3billion in federal cash to the prestigious Harvard university on Monday.
The Ivy League school decided to push back on the White House’s demands to crack down on alleged anti-Semitism and civil rights violations on campus.
One such request from the Trump administration was to shut down any diversity, equity and inclusion (EDI) programs.
Earlier this month it emerged that any UK universities receiving funding from the United States are being asked by the White House to confirm that any projects do not contain EDI elements.
Ministers have now faced calls to embrace Trump’s ideological war on liberal campuses in the UK.
Proponents say it would save taxpayer money currently spent on EDI projects as well as ensuring universities are politically neutral, rather than ‘indoctrinating’ students.
Trump has singled out seven major universities for funding cuts of up to $12billion overall, including freezing $2.3billion in federal cash to the prestigious Harvard university
The Ivy League school decided to push back on the White House ‘s demands to crack down on alleged anti-Semitism and civil rights violations on campus
Demonstrators rally on Cambridge Common in a protest organized by the City of Cambridge calling on Harvard leadership to resist interference at the university by the federal government
Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, told MailOnline: ‘Taxpayers will be looking overseas with envy.
‘While American universities are being told to clamp down on costly and ineffective EDI personnel, British universities are still pouring millions into these virtue-signalling roles that do nothing to improve education.
‘Britain could learn a few lessons from Trump’s hardline approach to cutting waste and focusing on real education rather than pointless non-jobs.’
Reem Ibrahim from the Institute of Economic Affairs added: ‘American taxpayers should not be forced to fund universities that treat people differently based on immutable characteristics.
‘Schemes that prioritise ethnic minorities over white people are simply racist. Neither should governments dictate what private universities can teach, which students they admit, and which staff they hire.
‘The solution is market-based reforms in higher education funding, promoting competition, individual choice, and reduced state involvement altogether.
‘The UK Government should ensure that such discriminatory schemes are rooted out too.’
In February it emerged that the cost of EDI salaries at British universities has doubled in three years and is now costing the sector £28 million per year.
Each university employed an average of 6.9 staff in EDI roles, suggesting there were more than 1,000 employed in the university sector as a whole.
The University of Oxford was the worst offender, with 59 roles in 2023/24 costing £2.5million.
In February it emerged that the cost of EDI salaries at British universities has doubled in three years and is now costing the sector £28 million per year
The University of Oxford was the worst offender, with 59 roles in 2023/24 costing £2.5million
A memo from the US Education Department sent to state officials nationwide earlier this month asked them to confirm they are complying with the administration’s anti-EDI policies.
They were asked to verify that they are following the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits schools that receive federal funds from discrimination based on race, gender, and other protected identities.
The department’s Office of Civil Rights has previously said that 45 universities violated the Act by partnering with a nonprofit organisation that helps students from underrepresented groups earn doctoral degrees in business.
The Trump administration has also said it will withhold funding if they find universities have failed to prevent anti-Semitism amid 18 months of campus protests since the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Officials said Columbia University’s failure to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests was the primary reason it cancelled $400million in federal grants.
Cornell, Northwestern, Princeton and Brown have also had their funding slashed in recent weeks. They were among 60 colleges put on notice by the Department of Education last month for failing to combat anti-Semitism effectively.
‘The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite US campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,’ Education Secretary Linda McMahon said.
‘U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.’
The Trump administration has also said it will withhold funding if they find universities have failed to prevent anti-Semitism amid 18 months of campus protests since the Israel-Gaza conflict
Officials said Columbia University’s failure to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests was the primary reason it cancelled $400million in federal grants
But Trump’s battle with elite universities in the US has deeper roots, with conservative circles viewing higher education as a bastion of liberalism.
Criticisms that have been raised consistently by Republicans in recent years include the continuation of affirmative action policies, which are designed to increase representation of underrepresented groups, and accusations that professors are too left-wing, on average.
One successful Republican college transformation is the restructuring of the New College in Florida.
Previously known as a liberal arts school, a 2023 takeover by Florida state governor Ron DeSantis saw his allies dominate the current board of trustees.
Right-wing figures in the UK are now hoping to push back on what they say is ‘ideological overreach’ from higher education institutions.
Last year Tory Party leader Kemi Badenoch claimed university lecturers are marking down Conservative students, who are being ‘attacked’ for their views.
She told the party conference: ‘Young Conservatives…tell me they are afraid to share their politics with other students because they will be attacked.
‘[They say] they are marked down by lecturers because of their beliefs. We have let young Conservatives down.’
In the UK, data from the Times Higher Education Survey – which asked academics to list their voting intentions – suggested 82 per cent of higher education staff voted for the Labour, Liberal Democrat or Green Parties in 2015-16, far higher than the 42 per cent figure for the general public.
President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon
McMahon said: ‘The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite US campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year’
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson told MailOnline: ‘We don’t exist to mimic the United States, but we would be wise to take note of the growing resistance to ideological overreach in their universities.
‘The spread of woke ideology, unchecked DEI mandates, and the inclusion of anti-British sentiment in curricula are all causes for concern here at home.
‘British students deserve to be proud of their country—a nation known for its generosity, its resilience, and its enduring success.
‘Our classrooms should be places of genuine learning, not political indoctrination. A level playing field means protecting students from the personal ideologies of those hired to teach them.’
However, senior industry figures have warned against mimicking Trump’s war on liberalism.
Tim Soutphommasane, the chief diversity officer at the University of Oxford, said in February that universities must not ‘be sucked into a vortex of culture war politics’.
He added: ‘The UK is not the US. That is a critical starting point for any approach we have.
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson told MailOnline: ‘We don’t exist to mimic the United States, but we would be wise to take note of the growing resistance to ideological overreach in their universities’
‘And we should be very mindful of allowing culture war excesses from the US contaminating the public culture here.’
They have also claimed that some universities ‘might see opportunities’ to recruit students and staff from the US due to Trump’s manoeuvres.
Susan Lapworth, Chief Executive of the Office for Students, told PoliticsHome that institutions could now ‘recruit students who might otherwise have studied in the US, but for whatever reason now, are choosing not to, or indeed to recruit staff.’
A spokesperson for Universities UK, which represents 141 universities, told MailOnline: ‘Universities already have legal obligations to protect free speech. These will be strengthened by the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech Act).
‘Cutting funding to a sector which delivers a quarter of a trillion pounds in value to the UK economy when there are already legal safeguards in place would be nonsensical.’
A Government spokesperson said: ‘The conditions set by the US government on its grant funding are entirely its prerogative. Universities in the UK are independent.
