Kemi Badenoch will close the Conservative Party conference with a pledge to double the apprenticeship budget to £6 billion, funded by reducing university numbers by about 100,000. She also intends to reintroduce caps on student numbers across all subjects, with limits set by course quality and graduate earnings to curb what she calls rip-off courses.

The policy would reduce the number of university entrants by about 100,000 a year by the end of the next Parliament, saving around £3 billion to fund the £6 billion apprenticeship programme.

Institute for Fiscal Studies figures show around 30% of degree students do not obtain a positive financial return, with lifetime earnings rising less than the cost of study. Badenoch has said her apprenticeship experience gave her confidence and that she did not carry debts into her 30s. Labour dismissed the plan, saying that apprenticeship starts had fallen under the Conservatives and that the party prioritised culture wars over public education.