Ex-ministers warn UK universities will go bust without higher fees or funding

Exclusive: Vice-chancellors suggest fee rise of 2,000 to 3,500 a year, but others say that is politically impossible'

• Next government must make hard university funding decisions, fast

Vice-chancellors and former ministers are warning that the cash crisis facing universities is so serious that the next government will have to urgently raise tuition fees or increase funding to avoid bankruptcies within two years.

They said the state of university finances was more dire than revealed in last week's report by the Office for Students, which forecast 40% of England's universities would end this year in the red.