Tied Vote Blocks Cambridge University's No-confidence Motion. (July 27, 2011)

Last month by a vote of 283 to 5 Oxford University's Congregation  passed a vote of no-confidence in UK universities minister, David Willetts. Now the University of Cambridge's governing body Regent's House, consisting of 4,500 academics and academic-related staff have voted 681 voted in favour of the motion of no-confidence and 681 votes against. The motion included a call on Mr Willetts and the government to "reconsider the near trebling of undergraduate tuition fees and cuts to higher education".

A spokesman for the university told  the Guardian that under Cambridge's regulations: "such an equality of votes means the Grace – and hence the no-confidence motion – is not approved".

Recently Academics at the universities of  Leeds and Bath have passed no-confidence votes, as have eight departments at King's College, London. And the Guardian reports that:  "Some 1,062 lecturers and students have signed a petition against the government's policies at Warwick University."