Shall I bother to apply for a PhD if I'm not going to get funding?

I'm pretty sure you'll find that accredited degrees will have the core papers checked to make sure they have what they say on the tin... Also you'll find that as you move up the rankings of unis (generally) you see more people getting higher grades. If your theory were correct we'd expect to see relitively similar distributions in each uni which isn't the case.

In 2010, in Cambridge University (excluding subjects with an undivided Class II):

Class I: 22.9 %
Class II, division 1: 57.6 %
(total 80.5%)
Source: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/camd...ate.html#exams

Derby:http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/derby

According to these statistics it is something like 15% harder to get a 2.1 at Derby than it is at Oxbridge. So you are wrong there again.

This article, which does argue for standardisation, explains how the system isn't standarised, as universities set their own exams, while also explaining why more people get higher grades at the better universities: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/comment/opinion/degree-standards-time-to-call-time-on-the-monopolists/2017652.article

Specifically in regard to accredited degrees, a certain baseline standard is enforced, but the difficulty still massively varies. Huddersfield requires BBB to get onto its law course; Cambridge requires A*AA, with many students surely exceeding their offer. If the same criminal law papers and coursework were provided to both universities, then everyone at Cambridge would get a first as they'd find it easy, and most at Huddersfield will struggle, with basically no-one getting a first. Yes, more people get higher grades at better universities, but not to the extent that would occur if accredited degrees/modules were standardised. Universities write exam papers that are suitable for their students, meeting the external requirements yet retaining significant freedom. So, papers at the better universities are significantly more difficult, and it's therefore more difficult to get a 2:1 or a first; people do get the higher grades because the entry requirements to get in are higher in the first place.

This TSR thread may also be interesting fro you: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2000875.

Also you'll find that as you move up the rankings of unis (generally) you see more people getting higher grades. If your theory were correct we'd expect to see relitively similar distributions in each uni which isn't the case.

I should just say that employers (other than some high up companies) won't discriminate based on where you went to uni...

This is what she said, a 1.1 in the final year and 69 overall. There is a 2% give way at my university, with the final year's grades being the deciding factor. And being that she said she passed the final year with a first, that means in theory she would have definitely got a first overall, no questions asked. You guys are just too gullible i'm afraid!