Socialist Students conference

On 5 December Socialist Students members met for our conference to discuss how we can build the fightback against the government’s brutal onslaught on education.

In the opening speeches we heard from Neil Cafferky from Ireland and Navid Lari from Belgium giving an insight into youth movements in Europe.

Closer to home, Claire Laker-Mansfield gave a speech summarising the excellent work done by Socialist Student members in the movement against cuts and fees in higher education over the past month.

In the discussion we heard about the successful protests that had happened across the country and how our members played a key role in organising them, including from some who had come straight from occupations at Leeds and Brighton universities. We also discussed the demands that socialists should raise regarding tuition fees and how we can help sustain and build the movement into the new year.

We ended by voting on a resolution describing our view of the movement and potential developments within it, as well as one on fundraising for Socialist Students. We also elected activists to the positions of National Organiser, Chair and Treasurer.

All those who attended should now be ready to go back to their universities and colleges and take a lead in building a movement that can defeat the Con-Dems’ attacks on our right to a decent education.

Nick Hart