The Socialist 19 January 2010

Haitians abandoned, bankers rewarded: Fight for a socialist world

Haitians abandoned, bankers rewarded

Haiti - disaster compounded by capitalism

Defend jobs, nationalise Bosch

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition gets started

Support grows for new Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

Donate to help build a socialist alternative

Youth Fight for Jobs - demonstrate on 13 March

Civil service compensation scheme: A fight for jobs and services

Victory for hospital workers

South Yorkshire firefighters forced to strike again

Virgin Trains ticket office workers walk out

Obama and the Democrats in power

Sri Lankan government condemned

'Stop and search' unlawful

Non jury trials undermine democratic rights

Spinning the war

LibDems show their true colours

Marching off the dole?

Socialist Party national committee

Education trusts are "academies lite"

Stop the cuts in higher education

No business in our education

Angry reaction to Unison witch-hunt

Dear Granny Smith

Previous issues, etc

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LibDems show their true colours

As part of their 'progressive cuts' agenda, the Liberal Democrats have now backed down from their pledge of abolishing tuition fees. LibDem leader Nick Clegg now claims: "the world has changed" and that "money does not grow on trees".

But the Liberal Democrats have calculated that abolishing tuition fees would cost an 'unaffordable' £3.5 billion, and they backed the bailing out of the banks which cost over £800 billion, showing where their principles really lie.

The LibDems in the past have tried to win over the student vote by putting on a 'radical' front. Sadly this has caused some students to come to the false conclusion that the LibDems are an alternative to New Labour and the Tories. Even though they have never been elected to power, the LibDems have proved many times that they are in the same league as the rich and powerful.

Where they have been elected to council positions they have voted through cuts and privatisation of public services, such as the Tyne and Wear Metro system which is used by many students every day.

The LibDems are perhaps positioning themselves even further to the right in an attempt to show themselves as reliable coalition partners in a Tory-led government, which will inevitably cut our public services. However, no matter which combination of the main parties we get in government, it will only represent the bankers and the rich, making sure they don't suffer for the crisis they caused. Instead it will be ordinary workers and students who suffer.

The cuts, which all three main parties put forward, will put many more working class students off going to university. Unlike the LibDems, the Campaign to Defeat Fees and Youth Fight for Jobs fight for a free, publicly owned education system with living grants for all. The only way we will defeat tuition fees once and for all is by building a mass campaign involving students and linking up with workers in struggle and the trade union movement.