The Socialist 17 October 2007

National Health Service: cutbacks and privatisation kill

National Health Service Cutbacks and privatisation kill

National NHS demo

The vultures are circling ever closer

10,000 march in Sussex

Swansea fights the cuts

Rally for Socialism

Exposing Royal Mail's lies

Postal workers waiting to assess Royal Mail deal

Fighting Royal Mail management's attacks

Solid unofficial action in East London

National Shop Stewards' Network meetings

Daylight robbery in Scotland!

Save Bolsover Post Offices

Brown's blues

Students on trumped-up charges

Scrap fees for all students

Young workers and students need to get involved

"You've got to stick together"

Stop the placement rip-off now!

Tony Benn evades the issue

Trade Union Freedom Bill: Banishing Thatcher's anti-union legacy?

Working longer hours for less pay

ITV2 - making a good deal out of women's bodies

Workers' struggle and political instability sends Polish government into meltdown

Australia: Liberals v Labour - no choice for working people in election

Children's homes at risk of buy-outs

Previous issues, etc

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Scrap fees for all students

Fight for free education

Students demonstrating in 2006, photo Dave Carr

On what basis did the Sunday Times name Manchester University 'university of the year'? Certainly it has not been getting any prizes from its students.

Abby Taylor, Manchester Socialist Students

In fact on 15 October, Socialist Students were involved in a protest against tuition fees and the privatisation of education in the University of Manchester. About one hundred students joined the protest that was timed to coincide with the conferment of honorary degrees at the university.

With two year groups now paying the top-up fees of £3,000 a year anger is mounting. Manchester University is penalising students who are having problems sorting out their loans with the Student Loans Company. Socialist Students campaigns for all fees to be scrapped. Education should be publicly funded.

Boosting its international reputation, and in particular its research standing, requires big money and Manchester is spending £620 million on a capital programme alone.

Most of the cash, much of which was acquired through long-term borrowing deals with banks, is going on gleaming new research facilities, which Professor Gilbert, the vice chancellor, says have taken aback visitors from top US universities.

Prof Gilbert, is apparently also keen to break further into the lucrative professional education and workforce development markets in the UK and abroad to help get extra funds into the university.

No doubt the appointment of Tesco boss Terry Leahy as a co-chancellor has been of use. Sir Terry has proved himself quite adept at wealth accumulation having secured £4.6 million for himself this year. All the talk of education markets makes you wonder why they bother allowing students on campus at all!

In fact the students had to protest outside the building, unable to enter because of high security measures. Having marched round to the back door, around thirty students entered the ceremony and demanded that the university's vice-chancellor came out to be held accountable for his stance against free education.

After making demands that the protest be called off and that students make their point with minimal fuss, the vice-chancellor was eventually forced to come out and speak, the students having conceded nothing.

The eventual agreement was that the vice chancellor would come to the union's general meeting to answer questions from students and supposedly give students a higher level of involvement in key decisions made in the university.

The protest itself was called by the University of Manchester Student Union. There is definitely a need for unity between the unions, linking up with workers to fight for a free education. This also shows that where a lead is given on opposing fees students will respond.

A number joined Socialist Students, who have been building the Campaign to Defeat Fees in Manchester and across the country. See www.socialiststudents.org.uk/cdf for more information about the campaign and to join Socialist Students.

In this issue

National Health Service Cutbacks and privatisation kill