MP to speak to PM after university campus closure

An MP will push for a meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer about the sudden closure of a university campus, saying it needed to spark a "national conversation".

University of Essex (UoE) announced on Tuesday that it would be closing its Southend-on-Sea campus next summer, ahead of the 2026 intake.

Several students and members of staff told the BBC that they found out about the closure at the same time as the public.

The Labour MP for Southend East and Rochford, Bayo Alaba, said he was looking to speak with the prime minister and the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, "because this is a huge concern to me."

Speaking to Sonia Watson on BBC Essex, he added: "We know that there are a number of universities in the same place, so this is also a bit of a national conversation that we need to have."

He pointed to the 6% cut in grants in 2010 and the decision to freeze tuition fees to £9,250 in 2017.

He said the news about the Southend campus had set "a negative tone" before Christmas.

"I'm actually still in shock," he said.

"I'm quite frustrated and annoyed really with the situation that the staff, the students, the city have been put in by this decision that seems to have come out of nowhere."

He said offering all students a place at the university's Colchester campus was "not practical".

"We've got midwifery courses, dental courses, that are oversubscribed," he added.

"We've got people who've got young families that can't relocate to Colchester, and we've got drama students who can't 'remote learn' drama, it's got to be in person."

Alaba added that refunding students who were unable to relocate "has to be on the table".

The Labour leader of Southend-on-Sea City Council, Daniel Cowan, said the authority was "disappointed" with the university's decision to close its city campus.

"[We] understand this will be a difficult and unsettling time for the students and staff affected," he said.

"We note the reasons given and hope the university will provide clear information and support to everyone during this transition."

Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, said mergers and closures had to happen so they are not spread too thin - and be "as efficient as possible".

"You can't sit there and watch your finances get worse and worse," she said.

"You have to take action, even if it's tough."

She said recent visa changes had made it "more difficult" to recruit international students, which impacted revenue.

"We've seen a couple of universities merge, and there's another one happening right now with Greenwich and Kent," she added.

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