Leading Article: DIUS rest in peace

In their public pronouncements the universities have been polite about the summary execution of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and its incorporation into Peter Mandelson's empire. But privately they must be amazed – to put it politely – that DIUS has been abolished after only two years and the expenditure of £7m of public money on setting it up. This is how government policy is made – on the hoof and for short-term political advantage. The Prime Minister needs to give Mandelson a very large lollipop for his support in recent weeks, so he gets given universities, innovation and skills to add to his department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Universities are well and truly the handmaiden of the economy now – or, that's how the government would have it. The universities are wise to keep cool. Having a big beast like Mandelson in charge could work to their advantage. If they can persuade him how important universities are to the nation's economic recovery, they could find themselves benefiting from their new home with business and regulatory reform But no one should be in any doubt that this is only part of what universities should be for.