Mrs Hodge wants universities to "hunt down" talent

"There is a world of difference between 50% of young people 'going' to university and 50% having the 'opportunity' to 'experience' higher education," said party's spokesperson on higher education, David Rendel.

But, speaking at the University of London Union debate, Higher Education Minister Margaret Hodge insisted universities must do more to "hunt down" talent.

Both the government and universities had a lot more to do to widen access, but could learn from universities such as Liverpool, Imperial College, and King's College London which were already meeting their benchmarks for social class, she said.

"Labour market forecasts predict 1.7m more new jobs in occupations which need graduate skills over the next decade," said Mrs Hodge.

"So we are not in the business of creating graduates for whom there are no jobs."

Aspirations

The campaign was as much about raising aspirations as about raising standards, she said.

"Too many youngsters from disadvantaged areas feel that university is not right for them or that they are not right for university.

"We know that four out of 10 young people in the lower income groups never think about university as an option for themselves during their school years," said Mrs Hodge.

The government says it is on target to meet its 50% target, with 41.5% of young people under 30 entering higher education.