circa 1980: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher speaks at a political conference during the early 1980s in London, England. (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)

This election is not over yet, but it has been a long grind through the shortening days of the autumn, against a background of torrential rain and floods: a season of vicious political debate, a fair amount of mendacity and numerous twists and turns.

The nation is deeply divided. The economic divisions are stark: the United Kingdom is the most regionally unequal country in Europe. The south and east include communities which are amongst the most prosperous parts of the entire continent; the north, west and south west include some of the poorest.

Real wages across much of the country remain below the levels of 2007. There are sharp differences across the country in the way people look at the world. And there are sharp generational divides: according to most recent polls the political allegiances of the over 60s are, perhaps unsurprisingly, the polar opposite of the under 25s.

The divisions were not created by Brexit, but they have, without doubt, been exposed by it.

The political debate has been angry, with competing claims and counter-claims.

At root, these claims are about the sort of nation we are and the sort of nation we want to be. With just a week to go, it’s clear that the outcome of the 2019 General Election will not resolve these questions, although our television screens and social media feeds have been full of politicians trying to argue that it can.

I understand the public frustration with this election. At a time when most of us would prefer to focus on turkeys and tinsel, our orbit is filled with political wrangling. But I think history will show this election to be a turning point in our country’s future. I have no intention of telling anyone how to vote in this election. But I will say that everyone should – must – vote. Decisions, as the saying goes, are made by those who turn up.

It’s important because this election will dictate the terms on which questions about our future are posed. Like the elections of 1906, won by the reforming Liberal government which established the fledgling welfare state, of 1945, which brought Labour to power establishing the National Health Service and the post-war social settlement and of 1979, when Margaret Thatcher’s victory essentially ended that settlement, 2019 is a potentially turning point election. A large Conservative majority will pull the nation decisively away from its European engagement. A Labour majority will provide a radical shift in economic and social policy. Another hung Parliament, which is a distinct possibility according to the political betting websites and may be the most representative outcome for a divided nation, will mean that the questions get worked through in an even more fractious House of Commons.

Futures are what universities deal in: we plan programmes of study to prepare our graduates for an uncertain future; we carry out research in order to foster stronger, more environmentally sustainable economies, healthier lifestyles and more prosperous societies for both current and future generations. Universities as organisations are about creating opportunities, which give us a real chance of levelling inter-generational inequalities and driving future prosperity and success.