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The Business Secretary, Peter Mandelson, has warned that there will have to be "remedial action" to oblige Oxford and Cambridge to admit more working-class students.
We have been here before: the Government has already established an admissions watchdog to oblige the best universities to widen access.
But this intervention suggests that an attack on elitism, real or supposed, still has political mileage in the Labour Party.
After the election, Labour may no longer be in a position to meddle with admission policies.
But Lord Mandelson is right in one respect, that "simple assessment, based on A-level results" might exclude applicants from poorer backgrounds.
So many candidates to Oxbridge now have four straight A grades that many faculties have introduced their own exams to separate the best candidates from the merely good.
This is effectively a reversion to the old entrance exams, which were done away with precisely because they favoured more privileged students.
If Lord Mandelson really cares about broadening access, he should focus on the steady disappearance of foreign languages, classics and single sciences from many state schools, and on the grade inflation which has made it so hard for top universities to choose the best.
Instead, we risk damaging two of the world's greatest academic institutions, and the excellent university education they offer to students of all backgrounds, for the sake of party political posturing.
Tinkering with admissions requirements would simply water down standards and hurt Oxbridge's academic credibility. That is in no one's best interests.
One card, one capital
The extension of the Oystercard to cover rail as well as Tubes and buses will do more to bring London together - north and south, suburbs and centre - than any political initiative.
The inconvenience for commuters who have had to have one ticket to travel by rail, another to complete their journey by bus or Underground, is real.
A card to cover every public transport journey in zones 1-6 will make everyone's life easier. This development has been long-heralded; the extension starts in the New Year.
Of course, much depends on how well the technology operates: we shall see whether scanners work as well at suburban railway stations as on the Tube, on the strength of the £40 million investment in new machines by Transport for London.
Moreover, the new system will have to work in tandem with normal tickets: this should not be an excuse for closing ticket offices, not least because Oystercard machines do not always work.
It is also good that Thames Clippers will be included on the Oystercard, which marks the long-overdue incorporation of the Thames into London's public transport infrastructure.
There is, besides, a new map of Oyster rail services and the Tube network. It lacks the beautiful simplicity of Harry Beck's original.
Still, in all its size and confusion, it emphasises the reach of the Oystercard: this will be a new era for London commuting.
Stage struck
Today's Evening Standard Theatre Awards will offer further dazzling proof of the vibrancy of London's theatre scene.
Despite - or perhaps because of - the recession, audiences still thirst for quality: serious plays retain their strength in London and competition for this year's awards was intense.
So whoever wins, this much is clear: all London's theatergoers are winners when the capital's theatre is this good.
Reader views (1)
Lord Mandelson attacking privilege!
- Dave B, Beckenham, 23/11/2009 13:04
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