Worst idea I've seen in a while. Universities provide not only provide an important boost to local economies, but many of the lesser known ones have developed specially to cater to certain industries. Bournemouth is not high ranking, but it has one of the best VFX and Film related degrees in the country. Plymouth is a big player in marine degrees. Abertay is the best uni in Europe for video game design, yet mires in the 2nd half of league tables.
Defining what a constitutes a good university is near impossible. If people pay 9k a year for London Met and hate it, well they clearly didn't do their research. There are tonnes of resources to prevent people from going to unis they will hate.
And just because a uni has low requirements doesnt mean it will lead nowhere. I know about 3 people that went to Teesside to do some Chemistry related degree, and they were all incredibly happy and found a job decently soon after. Teesside consistently scores higher on the Student Experience Survey than e.g QMUL. Clearly the university is doing something right and providing its students with lots of service and support.