Areportpublished today shows that less than a quarter of under-35s believe it is important “to serve in the military during a national crisis”.
The findings, produced by the National Centre for Social Research, come after Ipsos polling in October found that half of the UK population would not fight for their country under any circumstances.
Reacting to the statistics, Socialist Students national chair Adam Powell-Davies said: “The Britain that our government wants us to fight for is the Britain of the billionaires, bankers and big business. It is a country where just 50 families hold more combined wealth than the bottom 50% of the population, roughly 34 million people. With Labour’s Budget doing nothing to reverse this status-quo of profits for a few and crumbs for the rest of us, it any surprise that young people won’t fight for a country where the people currently in charge won’t fight for us?”
Socialist Students is currently leading the campaign in Britain for mass student walkouts and protests on Friday 20 November, as part of an International Youth Strike called by youth and student organisations from across Europe, under the slogan, “fight for our future, not their wars”.
Socialist Students was the founding organisation from Britain initiating the International Youth Strike call at a meeting held in Cologne, Germany in June. In Britain, the National Education Union has backed the strike, the National Union of Students is taking part, and UCU and UNISON have called for protests in every university on the same day. Walkouts are planned at more than 100 schools, colleges and universities, and the main London protest is at 12pm in Parliament Square.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Earlier today TALK News Broadcasting asked for a socialist representative to participate in a live televised conversation about the amount of young people who would not want to fight for Britain if a war broke out. However, when Adam Powell-Davies was offered, TALK suddenly withdrew the invitation. Socialist Students would like to make clear that our members are available for interview and comment. Contact Socialist Students at socialistudents@gmail.com or on 0751521699.
About Socialist Students: Socialist Students is a democratic, student-led campaigning organisation in schools, colleges and universities across the UK. It fights for a socialist transformation of society to meet the needs of all, not the profits of a few. Its members organise campaigns and protests against war, climate breakdown, poverty and discrimination, and link student struggles with workers’ struggles on and off campus. More at https://socialiststudents.org.uk/what-is-socialist-students/
Eesha Khurana, Manchester Socialist Students, spoke at a rally on the eve of Andy Burnham’s first Budget:
Young people have seen our futures stolen from us.
In schools, staff are underpaid and overstretched. Uni tuition fees have gone up year on year and are going over £10k next year. Job opportunities for graduates are drying up.
So much for doing away with discriminatory wage bands! The government is keeping the youth minimum wage lower than it is for older workers – breaking their promise.
Burnham acts like he is different to the governments that went before, but he’s not.
His Chancellor John Healey wants 5% of GDP to be spent on ‘defence’. That’s more than we spend on housing and education combined!
Just like the youth in France, we’re not willing to stand by and let our futures be stolen from us.
Socialist Students is working with over 25 youth organisations across Europe taking part in the international youth strike against war on 20 November. We’re backed by the NEU, and the UCU has called a day of action too.
Thousands of school, college and uni students will be walking out. We demand that the government funds our futures, not their wars!
Socialist Students organiser Mihaela Ivanova spoke at the London protest outside Parliament, the day before Labour’s Budget.
In an ITV interview, Andy Burnham stated his Budget will not stray from the red lines of Labour’s 2024 manifesto. In other words, a promise to continue brutal austerity, a grinding cost-of-living crisis, and defending the skyrocketing profits of the bosses.
While politicians of every rosette are beating the drums of war, young people across Europe have poured out onto the streets in their thousands to fight back. We are inspired. Not just by them.
But by the French teachers’ unions, who have stood shoulder to shoulder with their students against the attacks on education by the Macron government. The same attacks to education that Burnham’s government, and previous governments here in the UK, have forced onto young people.
That’s why Socialist Students is building for the International Youth Strike on 20 November to join the hundreds of thousands of students across Europe to fight for our futures not their wars! Students in over 50 schools, colleges, and universities in the UK will be walking out of their classrooms.
We are emboldened by the NEU (National Education Union), which has passed a motion to join and provide safe stewarding. And the UCU (University and College Union), which has called a day of action.
The peaceful protests in France have shown us that when students and workers are united, we cannot be defeated. So we invite you all to join us on 20 November to fight for the funding we need, and fight back against the austerity, war, and racist division of this government.
York uni protest projects our voice
Arthur Herbert, York Uni Socialist Students
Our Budget Day protest was an opportunity for us to voice our opposition to rising militarisation, austerity, and the cost-of-living crisis. We succeeded in projecting our voices, connecting with more students at the uni.
As many York Socialist Students members are new this year, including myself, we have never organised a protest before. So this provided an opportunity to do that.
York Socialist Students has grown from three members last year to 15 this year, so far. We’ve quickly learned the need for strategy, defined roles in mobilising our forces, and preparing chants beforehand.
Our protest was an essential trial run for the International Youth Walkout on 20 November, which will see thousands of students and young people across the world strike out against the capitalist order, its wars, and its failure to provide for our futures.
Capitalism’s inability to provide a future for the younger generation is shown by what societies are being ratified this year at universities in York. At York St. John, there is no organisation or society for the traditional parties, Labour, Conservatives and Lib Dem, who have overseen a decline in living standards during an era of capitalism in crisis. Other than Socialist Students, and other left-wing societies, there is no other political society on the SU website other than Restore Britain – a far-right group which emerged from a split in Reform UK.
Restore frames itself as an anti-establishment party, yet its head, Rupert Lowe, claims MPs should be paid £250,000 a year – giving already out of touch political ‘representatives’ living standards much higher than the declining standards of the working-class majority. Long before Andy Burnham set out plans to cut the pensioners’ triple lock, Restore was rallying to get rid of it completely. Not only this, in its public documents it rejects the claim that public services are underfunded! So much for offering anything different from the past 15 years of brutal austerity.
The Restore society at the University of York has gotten into a lot of trouble for its “Get Foreigners Out” social media post. The hateful division put forward by Restore has exposed them to many students, many of whom are angry and correctly understand that such right-wing groups do not represent the interests of anyone but the super-rich capitalist class.
Socialist Students agrees with calls to kick the Restore society off campus, along with similar calls across the country for Reform UK and anti-abortion groups. We are fighting to defeat them politically, rather than by administrative means.
The way to cut across racist division is socialist unity amongst the working class. Socialist Students across university campuses across the country has consistently held meetings, demonstrations, and discussions on how to fight the far right, racism, sexism, and all forms of division pushed by the bosses. We explain that far-right ideas must be defeated politically, rather than simply ignoring them if they begin to get an echo.
At the same time, anything left up to the Students Union by itself is not guaranteed to get finished – this includes the battle for our views. We cannot rely on the SU to do the job of defeating the far right for us. If we allow the SU to repress societies because of their views, they could potentially use those tactics to bite back against us. It has been the case elsewhere in the country that Socialist Students has had society applications denied, or have been barred from holding meetings, etc.
In line with our ‘action-led’ approach, Socialist Students is organising youth strikes on 20 November – ‘fighting for our futures, not their wars’ – to politically guide the energy and anger of students to a real fight against war, racism, austerity, and the move to a fully funded free education model.
Official support for N20 youth strike!
National Union of Students (NUS)
The National Union of Students (NUS), which represents over seven million students, announced on 28 October, in its response to the chancellor’s Budget, that it will be taking part in the youth strike. NUS said the Budget “does nothing for students”: the chancellor had done nothing about unfair student loans in England, had slowed the growth of the minimum wage for people aged 18 to 20, breaking a manifesto promise, and had given no detail on funding universities and colleges. Students had been left out of the conversation, NUS said, and “that’s why NUS is taking part in the youth strike”. It is asking students to sign up to take part on the day.
National Education Union (NEU)
The national executive of the NEU, which organised staff in schools and colleges, has unanimously voted to back the International Youth Strike.
The executive resolved to “express support for the right of young people to peacefully organise, protest and make their voices heard, including those taking part in the N20 day of action”, and to “oppose disciplinary action against students participating in peaceful protest activity, including detentions or other sanctions, and to support campaigns defending students’ rights where required”.
University and College Union (UCU)
The UCU, which organises workers in universities and colleges, has called a national day of action over the crisis in further and higher education on 20 November. Unison, another trade union, has voted to join the day of action in higher education too.
The Young Greens are on board. So too, the Stop The War Coalition, which was welcomed to its first in-person meeting of the international organising group on 17 October.
Protests confirmed so far for Friday 20 November:
London: 12 noon, Parliament Square
Birmingham: 12 noon, University of Birmingham, Green Heart; 2:30pm, High Street, outside Waterstones
Brighton: 12:30pm, St Peter’s Square
Bristol: 1pm, College Green
Cambridge: 4pm, King’s Parade
Cardiff: 11am, Cardiff University Students’ Union
Carlisle: 12 noon, Market Cross
Cheltenham: 12 noon, Imperial Gardens
Coventry: 12 noon, Priory Street, outside the Cathedral
Guildford: 12:30pm, University of Surrey, Philip Marchant Building
Hull: 12:30pm, Queen’s Gardens
Leeds: 12 noon, Parkinson Steps
Leicester: 1:30pm, Clock Tower
Liverpool: 1pm, University Square
Manchester & Salford: 12 noon, Whitworth Arch, then march to No10 North
Newcastle: 12 noon, Civic Centre Gardens next to St Thomas’s Church
Northampton: 12:30pm, Angel Square
Nottingham: 12:30pm, Nottingham Trent Students’ Union
Paisley: from 11am, UWS Paisley Campus Library
Plymouth: 12 noon, Sundial, Armada Way
Pontypridd: 12 noon, USW Treforest, outside G Block
Preston: 12 noon, University of Lancashire Student Centre
Reading: 12 noon, Forbury Gardens
Sheffield: 1pm, Barker’s Pool
Southampton: 12 noon, Guildhall Square
Stoke-on-Trent: 12 noon, Ember Square
Swansea: 12 noon, Swansea University, Fulton House Green; 12 noon, Gower College Gorseinon, College Gates
Wolverhampton: 12 noon, Wulfruna Street, outside the University
Worcester: 3pm, Sabrina Bridge
York: 2pm, St Helen’s Square
Click here, to find out if there is a protest organised in your area? If not help organise one with our campaign pack.
Join the student fightback: join Socialist Students…
Behind the figure of ‘one million youth – not in education, employment, or training’ are people desperately trying to get a foothold. The effects go well beyond having less money.
What should be an exciting start to adult life, instead becomes a struggle to find any kind of security. Unemployment damages confidence, worsens mental health, and leaves young people feeling isolated.
The soon to be published Milburn Review has brought attention to the scale of this crisis. But rather than confronting the lack of jobs and opportunities, young people are being blamed for our situation.
Labour politician Alan Milburn has suggested cutting welfare spending to supposedly fund ‘employment support’. We’re expected to take responsibility for a crisis we didn’t create.
What are young people supposed to do? We can’t create jobs that don’t exist. Or magic up experience that employers refuse to give us.
Cutting support won’t fix that. We need free, fully funded education and training.
We need a major expansion of apprenticeships offering proper training, secure employment, and decent wages. We need a mass programme of council house building, and investment in renewable energy and public services, creating thousands of skilled, well-paid jobs.
But these demands also raise a bigger question: who controls the wealth and resources in society?
There is no shortage of work that needs doing, or wealth to pay for it. Yet under capitalism, decisions about investment and employment are made according to the profits of big business, not the needs of ordinary people.
We need socialist change: public ownership of the major banks and big businesses, under democratic workers’ control and management, so resources can be used to meet social needs rather than private profit.
After leaving uni, I spent months looking for work, applying for 100 jobs in a single week. Eventually, I accepted a minimum-wage job, completely unrelated to my degree.
This is the reality facing young people, doing everything expected of us, gaining qualifications, but still struggling to find decent work.
By linking up with workers and trade unions, we can build a movement to fight for a different future. We don’t have to accept a system that puts profit before people.
A socialist society, democratically run in the interests of the majority, could give young people the future we deserve.
We are building towards the 20 November international youth strikes tenaciously.
Through our Socialist Students groups at University of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University, we have been getting students involved in the campaign. They have been joining us on stalls and spreading awareness.
The National Education Union (NEU) is the largest education union in Europe. And has passed a motion for the union to support the 20 November youth strike. This means that teachers in the NEU will oppose disciplinary action against students taking part in the strike.
We have received an overwhelmingly positive response. School students are signing up on the Socialist Students website, asking for assistance to develop the strike at their schools.
At every opportunity, we’re upping the ante. Now taking on the colossal task of stickering and postering Liverpool.
We are focusing on schools and colleges where students have reached out to us, as well as the three largest universities in Liverpool.
We are helping students who have taken an interest in the movement, to develop their political consciousness, getting them involved with our actions. This is crucial as we’re amping up to be postering, leafleting, or stickering every single day of the next three weeks, until the strike.
Some groups in the University of Liverpool Guild of Students are attempting to cut across the movement. But, we are persevering, because we are confident in our ideas. The anti-austerity programme, that we are bringing to the strike, is connecting with people.
Socialist Students is the central organisation in Liverpool pushing this campaign. We are prepared to take it as far as it will go.
There, we will hear from speakers representing signatories to the youth strike from across Europe.
London’s New City College: Students have a right to be heard
Nora Shaughnessy, Queen Mary Socialist Students
We handed out so many leaflets, that we actually ran out!
Queen Mary Uni Socialist Students visited New City College in Poplar, east London, to speak to students about the 20 November International Youth Strike. There was a fantastic response from young and mature students.
Two students initially came over to pick up a leaflet. After reading it, they came back to ask how they could get more involved.
We gave them a Socialist Students campaign starter pack to help them organise their own rally, and bring their friends along. We also managed to get a member of staff signed up.
Some staff seemed hesitant to approach our stall, possibly worried about openly expressing political opinions, because of their position within the college. It’s important that staff and students feel free to express their opinions, and get involved in issues they care about.
As socialists, we believe young people should have a say in their education and future. Schools, colleges, and universities should be places where students can discuss issues affecting them, challenge inequality, and organise together.
The visit showed that young people aren’t apathetic. They are interested, they want to be heard, and they’re ready to get organised.
Seven in ten young voters voted against Trump’s Republicans, a record youth margin, as students in more than 50 UK towns and cities prepare to join a worldwide youth revolt by walking out on 20 November
Press release from Socialist Students
Socialist Students has hailed the youth revolt against Donald Trump in Tuesday’s US midterm elections, and says young people in Britain will add their voice on Friday 20 November, when students in more than 50 towns and cities walk out of schools, colleges and universities for the International Youth Strike under the slogan “fight for our future, not their wars”.
Young voters rejected Trump’s party by a record margin: an estimated 71% of voters aged 18 to 29 backed a Democratic candidate for the House and 25% a Republican, according to initial figures from CIRCLE, the youth research centre at Tufts University, which called the 46-point gap “the highest we have ever seen in a national election”. In 2024, young voters were roughly split between Trump and Kamala Harris. Most voters under 30 said they were voting to express opposition to Trump, and there were a record number of early votes for a midterm election. The US vote is part of a wave of youth revolt around the world.
Socialist Students national chair Adam Powell-Davies said: “Young Americans have delivered their verdict on Trump. Seven in ten young voters rejected his party, the biggest margin on record. This was a revolt against a government of billionaires that attacks migrants, wrecks the planet and pours money into war while young people struggle with rent, debt and the cost of living. But it was a vote against Trump, not a blank cheque for a Democratic establishment that failed to stop him last time. Young people in America need a party that represents their interests.
“From Brazil to Serbia to France, young people are showing that when we organise, we can win. Serbian students have defeated Vučić at the ballot box, and French students have forced billions of euros for schools and universities out of their government. Here, Labour has cut university teaching grants two years running while planning to raise military spending to close to £80 billion a year by 2029. On 20 November, students across Britain will walk out to fight for our future, not their wars.”
The International Youth Strike was called by youth and student organisations from across Europe, and students in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and other countries will also take action on 20 November. In Britain, the National Education Union has backed the strike, the National Union of Students is taking part, and UCU and UNISON have called for protests in every university on the same day. Walkouts are planned at more than 100 schools, colleges and universities, and the main London protest is at 12pm in Parliament Square.
Capitalism’s inability to provide a future for the younger generation is shown by what societies are being ratified this year at universities in York. At York St. John, there is no organisation or society for the traditional parties, Labour, Conservatives and Lib Dem, who have overseen a decline in living standards during an era of capitalism in crisis. Other than Socialist Students, and other left-wing societies, there is no other political society on the SU website other than Restore Britain – a far-right group which emerged from a split in Reform UK.
Restore frames itself as an anti-establishment party, yet its head, Rupert Lowe, claims MPs should be paid £250,000 a year – giving already out of touch political ‘representatives’ living standards much higher than the declining standards of the working-class majority. Long before Andy Burnham set out plans to cut the pensioners’ triple lock, Restore was rallying to get rid of it completely. Not only this, in its public documents it rejects the claim that public services are underfunded! So much for offering anything different from the past 15 years of brutal austerity.
The Restore society at the University of York has gotten into a lot of trouble for its “Get Foreigners Out” social media post. The hateful division put forward by Restore has exposed them to many students, many of whom are angry and correctly understand that such right-wing groups do not represent the interests of anyone but the super-rich capitalist class.
Socialist Students agrees with calls to kick the Restore society off campus, along with similar calls across the country for Reform UK and anti-abortion groups. We are fighting to defeat them politically, rather than by administrative means.
The way to cut across racist division is socialist unity amongst the working class. Socialist Students across university campuses across the country has consistently held meetings, demonstrations, and discussions on how to fight the far right, racism, sexism, and all forms of division pushed by the bosses. We explain that far-right ideas must be defeated politically, rather than simply ignoring them if they begin to get an echo.
At the same time, anything left up to the Students Union by itself is not guaranteed to get finished – this includes the battle for our views. We cannot rely on the SU to do the job of defeating the far right for us. If we allow the SU to repress societies because of their views, they could potentially use those tactics to bite back against us. It has been the case elsewhere in the country that Socialist Students has had society applications denied, or have been barred from holding meetings, etc.
In line with our ‘action-led’ approach, Socialist Students is organising youth strikes on 20 November – ‘fighting for our futures, not their wars’ – to politically guide the energy and anger of students to a real fight against war, racism, austerity, and the move to a fully funded free education model.
Official support for N20 youth strike!
National Union of Students (NUS)
The National Union of Students (NUS), which represents over seven million students, announced on 28 October, in its response to the chancellor’s Budget, that it will be taking part in the youth strike. NUS said the Budget “does nothing for students”: the chancellor had done nothing about unfair student loans in England, had slowed the growth of the minimum wage for people aged 18 to 20, breaking a manifesto promise, and had given no detail on funding universities and colleges. Students had been left out of the conversation, NUS said, and “that’s why NUS is taking part in the youth strike”. It is asking students to sign up to take part on the day.
National Education Union (NEU)
The national executive of the NEU, which organised staff in schools and colleges, has unanimously voted to back the International Youth Strike.
The executive resolved to “express support for the right of young people to peacefully organise, protest and make their voices heard, including those taking part in the N20 day of action”, and to “oppose disciplinary action against students participating in peaceful protest activity, including detentions or other sanctions, and to support campaigns defending students’ rights where required”.
University and College Union (UCU)
The UCU, which organises workers in universities and colleges, has called a national day of action over the crisis in further and higher education on 20 November. Unison, another trade union, has voted to join the day of action in higher education too.
The Young Greens are on board. So too, the Stop The War Coalition, which was welcomed to its first in-person meeting of the international organising group on 17 October.
Protests confirmed so far for Friday 20 November:
London: 12 noon, Parliament Square
Birmingham: 12 noon, University of Birmingham, Green Heart; 2:30pm, High Street, outside Waterstones
Brighton: 12:30pm, St Peter’s Square
Bristol: 1pm, College Green
Cambridge: 4pm, King’s Parade
Cardiff: 11am, Cardiff University Students’ Union
Carlisle: 12 noon, Market Cross
Cheltenham: 12 noon, Imperial Gardens
Coventry: 12 noon, Priory Street, outside the Cathedral
Guildford: 12:30pm, University of Surrey, Philip Marchant Building
Hull: 12:30pm, Queen’s Gardens
Leeds: 12 noon, Parkinson Steps
Leicester: 1:30pm, Clock Tower
Liverpool: 1pm, University Square
Manchester & Salford: 12 noon, Whitworth Arch, then march to No10 North
Newcastle: 12 noon, Civic Centre Gardens next to St Thomas’s Church
Northampton: 12:30pm, Angel Square
Nottingham: 12:30pm, Nottingham Trent Students’ Union
Paisley: from 11am, UWS Paisley Campus Library
Plymouth: 12 noon, Sundial, Armada Way
Pontypridd: 12 noon, USW Treforest, outside G Block
Preston: 12 noon, University of Lancashire Student Centre
Reading: 12 noon, Forbury Gardens
Sheffield: 1pm, Barker’s Pool
Southampton: 12 noon, Guildhall Square
Stoke-on-Trent: 12 noon, Ember Square
Swansea: 12 noon, Swansea University, Fulton House Green; 12 noon, Gower College Gorseinon, College Gates
Wolverhampton: 12 noon, Wulfruna Street, outside the University
Worcester: 3pm, Sabrina Bridge
York: 2pm, St Helen’s Square
Join the student fightback: join Socialist Students…
The National Union of Students is taking part in the strike, and UNISON has voted to join UCU’s national day of action in universities on the same day, as students in more than 50 towns and cities prepare to walk out
Press release from Socialist Students
The national executive of the National Education Union (NEU), the largest education union in Europe, voted unanimously last week to back the International Youth Strike on Friday 20 November, when students in more than 50 towns and cities across Britain will walk out of schools, colleges and universities under the slogan “fight for our future, not their wars”.
In its motion, “Support the International Youth Strike: ‘Fight for our future, not their wars’”, the executive resolved to “express support for the right of young people to peacefully organise, protest and make their voices heard, including those taking part in the N20 day of action”, and to “oppose disciplinary action against students participating in peaceful protest activity, including detentions or other sanctions, and to support campaigns defending students’ rights where required”.
The union will also tell members about the strike through NEU communications channels, including how they can “safely and responsibly support participating students’ rights in line with safeguarding requirements and legal obligations”, and will advise members who wish to volunteer as stewards at local student demonstrations. Bristol NEU has already passed its own motion offering practical support for the students’ 1pm protest on College Green, such as hi-viz jackets or the cost of hiring a sound system, and backing members who volunteer as stewards where organisers ask for them and safeguarding arrangements are in place.
The National Union of Students (NUS), which represents over 7 million students, announced on 28 October, in its response to the chancellor’s autumn budget, that it is taking part in the youth strike. NUS said the budget “does nothing for students”: the chancellor had done nothing about unfair student loans in England, had slowed the growth of the minimum wage for people aged 18 to 20, breaking a manifesto promise, and had given no detail on funding universities and colleges. Students had been left out of the conversation, NUS said, and “that’s why NUS is taking part in the youth strike”. It is asking students to sign up to take part on the day.
The University and College Union (UCU) has called a national day of action over the crisis in higher education on the same day, and wants to see rallies, protests and events in every university. UNISON, which organises support staff in universities, has now voted to join it. “Every university in the UK protesting on the same day,” the two unions said.
Socialist Students national chair Adam Powell-Davies said: “We warmly welcome the NEU’s support. No student should be punished for peacefully standing up for their future, and when students walk out on 20 November they will know that Europe’s largest education union is on their side. Teachers see every day what years of cuts have done to our schools and colleges, and through their union they are standing with the students who are fighting back.
“With the NUS taking part, and UCU and UNISON calling for protests in every university on the same day, 20 November will be a day of action right across education. As the NUS says, the budget did nothing for students. Labour has cut university teaching grants two years running while planning to raise military spending to close to £80 billion a year by 2029. That is why we say: fight for our future, not their wars.”
The International Youth Strike was called by youth and student organisations from across Europe at a meeting in Cologne in June, where Socialist Students was present from Britain. Students in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and other countries will also take action on 20 November, and in Italy the CGIL, the country’s largest trade union confederation, has called a 24-hour general strike on the same day.
Walkouts are planned at more than 100 schools, colleges and universities, and the main London protest is at 12pm in Parliament Square. Friday 20 November is also World Children’s Day, the anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which gives young people the right to express their views on matters that affect them and the right to peaceful assembly. Teachers, lecturers, support staff and parents are invited to join students on the day.
Earlier this month, Andy Burnham revealed Labour’s plan to axe the pensions triple lock in 2030, aiming to reduce state spending. Their proposal is to weaken the state pension, meaning that, by 2050, retirees will have had an estimated £50 billion pinched off of them.
The triple lock was introduced in 2011 off the back of disgracefully high rates of pensioner poverty in the UK. It was a government commitment, which went above their legal requirement, to increase the state pension each year by whichever of the following three percentages was the highest: average wage growth, inflation, or 2.5%.
The Triple Lock has typically been seen as untouchable, as pensioners are such an important voter base. However, amid global crises and the weakening of traditional capitalist parties, governments are increasingly willing to roll back longstanding concessions to cut costs and protect profits.
Despite what the media may suggest, the average pensioner is not wealthy. Although the Triple Lock has helped reduce pensioner poverty, rates have begun to rise again. With the current state pensions amongst the lowest in the G7 countries, Burnham’s proposal risks pushing more pensioners into serious financial hardship.
We reject the cynical argument that cutting pensions is beneficial for young people or could fund support for NEETS (young people Not in Employment Education or Training). Even if it did, what happens to us when we retire? Already, 43% of working-age people cannot afford to save enough for retirement. Cutting pensions today risks leaving tomorrow’s retirees in even greater poverty. Instead of blaming each other, workers of all ages must unite and realise that there is a group of people in society hoarding the wealth that could finance Gen Z, and it’s not the pensioners!
Defending the Triple Lock will require trade unions to organise workers and pensioners in mass protest and strikes. Students must also play a role, and mobilise for the international youth strikes on 20 November, emphasising that fighting for our future also means fighting for our pensions!
Burnham has outlined a plan to use the money saved on pensions to fund a National Care Service – but why should it be one or the other?
Only through a socialist transformation of society could the constant fight for scraps of welfare truly end. A system based on collective, democratic ownership would put human needs before profit, ensuring everyone gets to enjoy a secure future and a dignified retirement.
