More than 21,000 people have signed a petition opposing plans to cut 150 academic jobs at the University of Exeter, as a coalition of writers, broadcasters and theologians mobilises against what critics describe as a devastating blow to the humanities at one of Britain’s top universities.
The proposed redundancies, concentrated in the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS), have drawn public condemnation from figures including former Conservative MP and Rest is Politics host Rory Stewart, film critic Mark Kermode, literary biographer Hermione Lee, and former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Williams, who received his first honorary degree from Exeter 25 years ago, told the Guardian: “It is very worrying that arts and humanities, including religious studies, seem so often to be automatically identified as the first and softest targets.”
Kermode, an honorary professor at the university, described the cuts as “really ill thought out” and a “terrible mistake”. Greg Jenner, the public historian and creator of the You’re Dead to Me podcast, warned on Bluesky that the university was planning “massive job cuts in history, archaeology, classics”. Hermione Lee warned the redundancies would set “a savage and alarming precedent for the dismantling of disciplines”.
Union condemns ‘reckless attack’
The University and College Union (UCU) has accused management of a “stunning failure of leadership” and a “reckless attack on an institution that is critical to the west country’s regional economy”. According to the union, over 500 staff — around 14% of the academic workforce — are at risk, with 85% of affected positions falling within HASS. Specific departments including History, English, Modern Languages and Politics could see staff numbers cut by up to a quarter. The union claims that courses such as history, English, modern languages and politics will suffer “irreparable damage”, and that proposed cuts on the Falmouth campus also threaten environmental sciences.
Worrying from Exeter – the University it seems planning to slash humanities teaching while telling colleagues it is “in line with the government’s industrial strategy”. https://t.co/oLERjBmyf9
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) June 26, 2026
At a meeting of nearly 700 Exeter UCU members this week, a unanimous vote was taken in favour of a ballot for industrial action. The Exeter UCU branch has also passed a vote of no confidence in Vice-Chancellor Professor Lisa Roberts. The union alleges that management has repeatedly failed to provide financial information needed for collective bargaining, and has referred the matter to the Central Arbitration Committee. UCU General Secretary Jo Grady argued that the university’s “extremely healthy finances” undermine the claim of financial pressure, pointing to an increase in staff earning over £100,000 — from 157 to 404 — and what the union says is a £188 million rise in reserves since 2023.
Why the university says the cuts are unavoidable
The University of Exeter insists the restructuring is driven by genuine and mounting financial pressures. In a statement, a spokesperson said the university was consulting on “limited and specific potential changes” prompted by shifts in student demand or “where current activities are no longer sustainable”. They added: “While Exeter remains in a strong position, rising costs, the real-terms decline in tuition fee income, underfunded research and a sustained drop in international student demand mean we must take action now.”
The university’s own annual report for 2024-25 describes “a year of continued financial stability”. Its financial statements for the year ending 31 July 2024 show total income of £666.6 million against expenditure of £480.5 million, with endowments of £51.6 million. The following year’s report records total income of £681 million. Yet the institution argues that these headline figures mask a structural challenge: the real value of tuition fees is eroding, research grants are underfunded, and international student numbers — a key income stream — have fallen sharply. The university says it is not proposing to close any departments, but that action is needed to secure “long-term sustainability”, protect “teaching and research excellence”, and align activities with future priorities.
Critics, however, point to the UCU’s claim that internal financial modelling shows the deficit could be closed by 2029 using the university’s £50 million in cash reserves, through voluntary measures and a vacancy freeze, without compulsory redundancies. The union argues that the targeting of the humanities — the very disciplines that earned Exeter its place in the Russell Group — has not been properly justified.
The wider context of financial distress across UK higher education is acknowledged by both sides. Multiple universities — including Goldsmiths, Nottingham and Sussex — are imposing severe cuts. Nottingham University recorded an adjusted deficit of £85.3 million in 2024-25 and has warned it could run out of money by 2031 without intervention, with over 1,000 staff made redundant in the past two years. Sussex is restructuring to save £35 million a year with up to 200 job losses, and Goldsmiths is in its third major restructuring in five years, aiming to cut £22 million by 2026-27. Exeter argues that pre-emptive action, rather than waiting until finances deteriorate, is a responsible course.
Regional business leaders warn of economic fallout
Business leaders in the south-west have also raised the alarm, warning in an open letter that “fewer students, and a diminished offer, means real consequences for the trade we all depend on”. The university is the second-largest employer in Exeter, directly employing 5,630 people at its city campuses, and supports an estimated 9,750 jobs in the local area, generating £509.4 million in gross value added. Nationally, the institution supports 15,540 jobs and nearly £900 million in GVA. The economic impact of the cuts, opponents argue, would be felt far beyond the lecture hall.
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, struck a more cautious note, saying: “While it is always a tragedy, with real human impact, when courses close, it would be irresponsible of managers and governors to ignore changes in demand for different courses.”
