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From The Socialist newspaper, 20 March 2019
Youth strikes show the way - mass action can oust Tories
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Tom Baldwin, Socialist Party national committee
On 15 March, young people marched out of their schools and colleges and took to the streets for the second youth strike against climate change. The inspirational protests brought out tens of thousands of people across the country in a mass action repeated at over 2,000 sites around the world.
In Bristol, the strikers chanted "system change not climate change". The system change needed is socialist change. With just 100 companies responsible for over 70% of climate emissions, it is clear that big business is killing our planet. Capitalism's incessant drive for profit has been put ahead of even the future of life on earth.
Climate change is not the only threat to the future of the young protesters. Capitalism has left a wasteland of prospects. Low-paid, insecure jobs are becoming the norm, as is over-priced, privately rented housing. Those seeking a university education are being saddled with enormous debts.
The Tories' and Blairites' austerity programme has made this situation worse. They've deliberately picked the pockets of ordinary people, young and old, in order to give even more to their super-rich mates.
People are growing increasingly frustrated with the spectacle of parliament. Out-of-touch politicians are scrapping over the details of Brexit while the main issues facing people's lives go unanswered.
Theresa May could be forced into seeking a delay to Brexit, underlining her complete lack of authority. However, this government by the rich and for the rich has little prospect of bringing forward anything significantly different. While they remain in office, a delay will only prolong the arguments without answering any questions.
That's why we need mass action to force the Tories out. The youth strike is a great example and an inspiration to follow. Strikes of workers are even more effective, as they hit the bosses' profits. We're strongest when we stand together.
A coordinated series of strikes and protests could rapidly finish the Tories off. Corbyn should be using his position to make the call for such action and mobilise working-class people to fight back.
And we must fight not just the Tories, but also to end the profits-at-all-costs capitalist system that they support. We need a socialist alternative, where the wealth of society is owned collectively by the working class which creates it. Only then can the future of our planet and the people living on it be properly prioritised, as part of a democratic, socialist plan of the economy.
See recent editorial of the Socialist:
Only socialist planning can save the environment
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In The Socialist 20 March 2019:
What we think
May's government facing endgame
News
End austerity. Fight for a living wage!
New Zealand mosque terror atrocity
Top unis threaten cuts if tuition fees
Cash-strapped schools now 'fourth emergency service'
Climate walkouts
Youth strikes show the way - mass action can oust Tories
Massive protests over catastrophic climate change
Workplace news
Victory for Birmingham bin workers
PCS civil servants' union: Vote Yes to strike for better pay
Midlands machine bearing makers launch all-out strike
Hackney school bus workers walk out
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Socialist Party's Sue Atkins wins big support for anti-cuts, socialist policies
Union fightback key to movement against racism and austerity
Socialist Party Northern conference: Workers are sick of cuts and have the power to fight back
Stop cuts to women's services in Leicester
Help build the workers' press: send May Day greetings to the Socialist!
International socialist news and analysis
Spanish state: Historic 8 March action
Opinion
Exhibition: Don McCullin - a life in pictures
Theatre: Banner Theatre's Nottingham 'Free for All'
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