One consequence of the Thatcher years is that anyone who has no power wants it, and those that have it are reluctant to relinquish hold of it.

Each of us, admittedly, has his or her own agenda: whether it be the attaining of a modest goal like mastering the Internet or a more long term vision of obtaining a degree or professional qualification.

However, when that agenda leads to controlling others for the sake of self it's time to pull the plug.

The sidelining of anyone is a tragedy, but misuse of power has consequences for the future of all of us, and there are two groups of people who are being ignored. They remain being ignored at this nation's peril.

Oxford, Cambridge and the top universities have been accused of paying too much attention to where their students were educated (half of these students continue to be the product of private education) and who their families are (nice, middle class students are relatively easy to control).

Peter Lampi of the Sutton Trust compares this attitude to that of American universities. US universities increasingly rely on the IQ test to identify potential, rather than narrower A level criteria preferred by British universities.

Mr Lampi has called this academic apartheid a "scandalous waste of talent".

With few natural assets in this country left to exploit, our future prosperity has to rest on the inventiveness and resourcefulness of those who inhabit these islands.

Ignoring complete sections of society simply because of their family background does not bode well for the future of that society.

The other group "wasting its talent" is women.

Women constitute half the population, but in very few cases is this fraction reflected in jobs women do.

True, many feel that the only woman leader this nation has had was a failed experiment, but no longer can men ignore the fact that women are their equal.

Indeed, current statistics are clearly demonstrating that girls are out-achieving boys in schools. This has dire consequences for the future of this country. Because while underachieving men are controlling our destiny we are wasting the potential of 50 per cent of the country's riches.

The major political parties pay lip service to equality (perhaps remembering the 1980's) and continue to do so at their peril.

If intelligent working class students cannot receive an appropriate higher education in this country they will be snapped up by countries like the US.

Once they have left these islands I fear these graduates will not return.

Decisive women with energy, creativity and get-up-and-go will get-up-and-go to where their talents are respected and valued. Once gone from these shores they will not return.

The potential this country is wasting is nothing short of criminal, and if those in positions of power cannot see the error of their ways soon, the future for this country looks grim.

We have a tradition of producing intelligent and gifted people. Is this the Brain Drain of the 50s and 60s all over again?

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.