Lauren McGaun
Former Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Vince Cable has launched a new podcast this week called Cable Comments, a series of interviews with leading figures from the world of politics and foreign affairs.
Vince Cable led the Lib Dems from 2017 to 2019. Prior to this, he was Business Secretary during the coalition government.
NEW – listen to the first in my new podcast series, featuring Lord (David) Willetts, former NUS President @ShakiraSweet1, and founder of The Careers Office @DMStreatfield on #COVID19 and its impact on further and higher education. https://t.co/3PBFkGOFNY
— Vince Cable (@vincecable) August 3, 2021
The first podcast episode highlights the impact that Covid-19 has had on Generation Z, focusing on what reforms are needed to improve their student experience.
Former Universities Minister, Lord Willetts
Cable interviews former Universities Minister, Lord Willetts, where they discuss whether their reforms to university funding succeeded ten years after being in office. Willetts argues that fresh reforms are needed in the education system, to reduce student debt.
“Willets insists that Universities need to change the way they recruit”
He says: “I think the threshold at which people start repaying the loans is now too high, approaching £30,000. You could imagine a new deal, lowering the threshold but cutting the interest rate, so you start paying back sooner and the debt doesn’t grow by as much.”
Asked what he would tackle if he had the opportunity to be a Minister again, Willetts says England’s graduates are too young, specialising early by international standards.
Willets insists that Universities need to change the way they recruit, expecting less prior knowledge of subjects.
In this episode, join @vincecable as he discusses the short and long term impact on COVID on the student experience.
Find out in this weeks episode on Cable Comments. Listen here – https://t.co/R37YfJQtsu
Produced by @podcastdotco
pic.twitter.com/aaAcxtSzYT— Podcast.co (@podcastdotco) August 3, 2021
Former President of the NUS, Shakira Martin
In the same episode, Sir Vince interviews Shakira Martin, former President of the NUS.
Speaking on the podcast she says, “I want to see an education system really understand that the student experience is about more than the just what they get in the classroom: it’s about extracurricular activities, it’s about the sense of belonging, it’s about the students’ union.”
Debora Streatfield, founder of the social mobility foundation MyBigCareer, is Cable’s final guest of the first episode. Streatfield runs a successful scheme inspiring school students in disadvantaged areas to take up apprenticeship opportunities.
Upcoming Podcast Episodes
Further episodes, which are due to be released in September, will include an interview with Grace Blakely about Cable’s new book ‘Money and Power’, and a series on China featuring academics on human rights and economic development.
Commenting ahead of the release, Sir Vince Cable said, “I hope the series will be informative and revealing for Politicos, and for others just dipping their toes in the water.”
“This is an opportunity to embrace a medium I’ve always enjoyed contributing to.”
Episodes of the podcast can be accessed here.
Featured image courtesy of the University of Essex on Flickr. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image
Lauren McGaun
Lauren is a freelance journalist at BBC Politics. She helped set up EJ as Co-Founder and used to be Editor in Chief for over a year. Most evenings you will find her sipping Aperol Spritz whilst watching the news or a documentary.