James Ivens, East London Socialist Party organiser
We got rid of almost all the leaflets, overprinted with local meetup info, on our first visit to NewVic sixth form in Newham.
Three students took small stacks of leaflets to give to friends. Two of them left contact info. The third took my number.
Two of them are active N20 organisers now. I met them on our second visit with more material – leaflets, posters, stickers, sign-up sheets, campaign packs – and we made plans.
They have decided to call a student walkout from for 11am on Friday 20 November, assembling out in front of the college, before going onto the east London meetup at Canary Wharf, and Parliament Square in central London after.
I suggested a WhatsApp group to organise. They said Snapchat’s better! So I’m leaving them to it!
There’s a mix of enthusiasm for protesting, and some fear about violence, following the capitalist media coverage of Europe. But we have trade union backing and involvement in our protest. So this should be a big, organised, that takes safety seriously.
The student organisers both say they’re interested in socialist ideas, and coming to a local Socialist Party meeting. I’ve invited them to the Socialist Students Sunday rally at Socialism 2026, and will remind them.
One of the organisers bought Socialist papers for himself and the other organisers. This was after I showed them the interview inside with a previous organiser on the experience of leading a school walkout.
