Oscar Parry, South East London Socialist Party
Socialist students from across the country gathered in Birmingham on 18 March. The conference opened with a session on organising and fighting back against the cost-of-living crisis, introduced and replied to by Theo Sharieff and Adam Powell-Davies. The government’s measly 2.8% increase of maintenance loans for next year is far below the rate of inflation. 11% of students are using food banks and 28% are skipping meals, while 40% are considering stopping their studies due to financial difficulties.
Student loans now make up 10% of government debt. The options available to the Tories’ attempts to reduce this – limiting student numbers, lowering repayment thresholds for loans, and targeting arts and humanities courses for cuts – will penalise students and their ability to learn.
How can we convert student anger at these attacks into meaningful action? What is needed are student organisations that can build a mass movement for the resources students need and for free education.
Socialist Students discusses socialist ideas and links what we fight for and how we can get organised today. The conference held discussions on Marxist economics, fighting sexism on campus, campaigning for a 24-hour general strike, and fighting for a new mass workers’ party.
Motions from Socialist Students groups were discussed and voted on including: fighting the student mental health crisis, ending violence against women on campus, solidarity with the student struggle in Sri Lanka, building a new mass workers party, the student housing crisis, and fighting for trans rights. A steering committee was also elected for the upcoming year.
Rally for socialism
The day ended with a rally titled: “The struggle for socialism across the globe”, which heard from socialist organisers fighting here and around the world.
Michael Lenin gave a report from the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) in Nigeria, where the casualisation of work and privatisation of public education has led to mass protests and disaffection of youth with the capitalist regime.
Prasad Welikumbura presented the work of the United Socialist Party (USP) in Sri Lanka, where there are continued protests following the mass movement which occupied the presidential palace last June. Socialist Students groups hosted meetings with Prasad and have passed motions showing solidarity with the struggle in Sri Lanka and against the repression of student organisers including Wasantha, convenor of the Inter-University Student Federation.
The rally also heard from Lluis Bertolin, a striking university worker who gave an update from the UCU dispute, and Oisin Duncan from the Socialist Party who spoke on the need for socialist change here and across the world.
The mood was high across the weekend, with many students making contributions to the discussions. Georgia from UAL ended the day with the statement: “Students haven’t given up, they just don’t yet know who to turn to.”
That’s why Socialist Students groups agreed at the conference to launch campaigns against the cost-of-living crisis, linking up with trade unionists and other campaigners to demand emergency cost-of-living grants, the resources needed to provide a high-quality education and the abolition of tuition fees.
