On the future of British universities: "I don't necessarily expect a violent act of cultural vandalism to take place on behalf of the state or a monarch on the universities but the monasteries didn't close down only for that reason. They also saw their intellectual star wane. They'd become less intellectually vital. They'd also had their financial resources strained because they were prosecuting wars on behalf of the crown. And so their legitimacy was dropping even in the eyes of the communities and the economies that had built up around them. I suppose we could end up visiting the likes of Cambridge in the future as a beautiful ruin as we visit Fountains Abbey". - me on @NewCultureForum will @KiszelyPhilip Link to full panel (with @BenBarryJones and @missalicegrant) in the comments below.