In the words of Reform UK’s Head of Policy Zia Yusuf at the 2025 Reform Party Conference, Reform is ‘not a party built on views about education’. Instead, they coalesce around, primarily, a desire to reduce net migration. As a result, the nascent party is yet to flesh out a comprehensive policy platform for the higher education sector, outside a few isolated policy commitments, such as scrapping interest on student loans, capping numbers of undergraduate places and cutting funding to universities that undermine free speech. Given Reform’s lead in the polls, the views of their voters will be crucial in driving not only Reform’s own policies, but the policies of other parties too. It is therefore crucial for the higher education sector, and all sectors, to understand the views of these highly influential voters.

We have recorded two focus groups to provide universities with a glimpse into the views of those in university towns who would vote for Reform if there were an election tomorrow, alongside Degrees of Doubt: a new insights note which summarises the views of these voters towards higher education.

Many of those who currently intend to vote for Reform UK are part of a highly volatile voters who have been voting for ‘change’, in the broadest sense, over the last decade. By and large, this group voted ‘Leave’ on the promise of change in 2016, Johnson in 2019 to ‘get Brexit done’, Starmer in 2024 on a manifesto literally entitled ‘Change’, and now support Reform UK – an anti-establishment party campaigning to disrupt the status quo in British politics. While a majority of those who voted Labour in 2024 still say that they would do so again, by far the largest group of voting intention ‘defectors’ are those flocking to Reform. 

These volatile voters are exactly who Reform are looking to target with their policy platform, as they build out a comprehensive manifesto ahead of the next election. But they are not the only Westminster party seeking the support of these voters: judging by the higher education policies of Labour and the Conservatives, they too are seeking to win these voters over. 

If the HE sector wants to know what any of these parties might commit to in their manifesto and in government, they need to look beyond this popular Westminster narrative about the value of HE. The sector needs to understand the opinions and motivations of those who currently intend to vote Reform. 

To start to uncover what Reform voters think about HE, and why, Public First spoke to focus groups of those who intend to vote Reform in university towns. We specifically wanted to speak to voters who might have day to day interactions with a local university, and be aware of the presence of students in their communities. Empirical evidence suggests that universities are (or should be) benefiting these areas, and we wanted to test specifically whether this was the case. 

When we conducted focus groups with Reform voters in university towns, we found that: 

1. Reform voters do not think that a degree is good value for money for students  
   
2. They’re unconvinced about the wider economic benefits of the HE sector
   
3. The system incentivises behaviour that doesn’t feel right 
   
4. They welcome international students as a source of income for institutions, but are concerned about perceived abuses in the system.
   
5. The culture wars was an emotive topic and undermines wider public trust in higher education institutions

We explore each of these findings in more detail in the full report. Read it here.

The focus groups we conducted provide a fascinating insight into the nuances, pragmatism and diversity of Reform voters’ views of higher education and we’re excited to offer you the chance to watch them for yourselves. Register here and we will send you a link and password to access the recordings.

Link to the form: Degrees of Doubt: Full group recording registration