Mr Blair was speaking in an interview with David Blunkett, who served as his education secretary from 1997 to 2001, for the London School of Business and Finance. Mr Blunkett is a visiting lecturer at the private provider.

Mr Blair said that on taking office in 1997, he was told that it was a ¡°waste of money¡± to invest in higher education. However, he said, a global need for skills meant that education and a knowledge-based economy were now ¡°central to prosperity¡±.

¡°A lot of those skills are globally marketable, so that means that your education system ¨C if it¡¯s done properly ¨C becomes a major part of your economy; it doesn¡¯t just serve your economy, it¡¯s a major part of your economy,¡± he argued.

Although Mr Blair did not comment explicitly on any of the higher education reforms proposed by the coalition government in its White Paper, he did stress that higher education was a valuable export and he noted that the value of international students should not be underestimated.

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¡°The truth is that we¡¯re up there now with the best in the world at attracting students from all over the world to come and study here,¡± he said. ¡°Those students will go back not just having studied the English language but [having] some tie to our country.¡±

Asked about public-private partnerships, Mr Blair said: ¡°If you look at the world today, the one thing that is absolutely clear is that there is a permanent revolution going on of change, and this is very discomfiting for some people at one level.

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¡°It¡¯s also very exciting, by the way, on another level. It offers enormous opportunity, but only for people who are prepared constantly to reassess, to re-evaluate and to adjust. And that is as true in higher education as it is if you¡¯re in the financial sector or manufacturing. Anyone who stands still gets left behind.¡±

sarah.cunnane@tsleducation.com