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Passed at a meeting on 8 December, the motion also called on the government to pause the implementation of reforms detailed in this summer¡¯s White Paper, which it described as having the potential to ¡°inflict great and irreversible damage¡± on the sector.

The vote was proposed by Richard Saull, lecturer in politics and secretary of Queen Mary¡¯s University and College Union branch, who told the student newspaper, QMessenger, that he wanted to congratulate his colleagues for passing the motion. ¡°What¡¯s important is that the academics at Queen Mary have made known their discontent with current government policy,¡± he said.

Queen Mary¡¯s senate joins the academic bodies of the universities of Oxford, Leeds and Bath as well as Birkbeck, University of London, which have all passed votes condemning the government¡¯s reforms. A similar vote at the University of Cambridge resulted in a dead-heat.

The votes have been welcomed by Sally Hunt, general secretary of UCU: ¡°The government¡¯s plans for higher education have been a complete mess from day one¡±, she said.

The Queen Mary vote passed unopposed, with voting for the motion and five abstentions.

sarah.cunnane@tsleducation.com