Fight back with the socialists

Adam Gillman, Reading Socialist Party and TUSC candidate for Reading Central

Over the last 8 months young people have been shocked at the brutality of the Israeli state being unleashed on the people of Gaza. Tens of thousands killed and many more injured, now facing famine and constant bombardment – many of them children.

It feels like all that’s on offer in the future is endless war and instability. Young people, like myself, are frightened for our future because of the threat of climate catastrophe. Big oil companies are polluting more than ever. And neither Tory nor Labour politicians will take control and invest what is necessary to avert a crisis. All they do is blame working-class people for climate change rather than the bosses’ profit-making polluting schemes.

And on top of that, we’re facing the brunt of the cuts and the cost-of-living crisis, with sky-high fees, low pay and rip-off rents.

At the root of all of these issues facing young people is the capitalist system. To truly solve them we need socialist change to end war and climate change. Under capitalism the need to compete over profits mean oil companies will continue to pollute the planet. And as capitalism is increasingly fractured and crisis-ridden, we’ll see more wars over who controls resources and gets to keep exploiting nature and the working class.

That is why socialism is the solution, a system where working-class people democratically control the huge wealth in society. If we nationalised the huge polluters like the oil companies, currently making record billions in profits, under democratic workers’ control we could transition away from fossil fuels without workers losing their livelihoods. There would be an incentive to sustain the environment, not destroy it.

I’m 18 years old, possibly the youngest candidate in the general election. I’m standing as one of 40 candidates for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, because, like so many other young people, I want to fight for my future.

Join us in fighting back against not only war and climate change, but also against the cost-of-living and the housing crisis. We’re fighting for a future for young people without debt, low pay, horrible conditions, and war.

Read inside: Young socialists fighting for public services (page 9), for free education (page 9) and against knife crime and oppression (page 10)