Since the start of September, the US has carried out further bombing on Iran. A recent strike hit a residential building and a wedding ceremony, killing four people and injuring more than 60. This isn’t an isolated incident, but an increasingly regular occurrence in the era of war which we live in today. The ongoing slaughter in Gaza is another stark example, so too the brutal attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, and the many casualties in the Russia-Ukraine war.
In Gaza, hundreds of people have been killed this year, despite the so-called ‘ceasefire’. On top of this, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s minister of national security, demonstrated the cold callousness that capitalist politicians are capable of when he posted an AI-generated video on social media, depicting Palestinians being transported on a conveyor belt into a detention camp, alongside the caption ‘We promised – we delivered!’
Young people today are entering adulthood in a world characterised by instability and increasing wars. At the same time, the climate crisis is only getting worse, driving disasters such as the dreadful flooding in Nepal. In Britain, bus drivers have been forced to take strike action to win action over extreme working temperatures. Rents have also reached unsustainably high levels, with many young people unable to afford to move out of their parents’ houses, and with the idea of owning their own home growing increasingly out of reach.
These crises are not separate. They are symptoms of a system that puts profit above everything else, and therefore at the expense of everything else.
Climate change, war and division are all a result of the reckless destruction of the capitalist system. Therefore, we must fight for an alternative.
That is why Socialist Students is working with a growing number of youth organisations across Europe to build for a coordinated day of student walkouts and youth strikes on 20 November. We want to make it clear that we won’t stand for capitalist chaos, and are fighting internationally for our futures, not their wars.
Join the international youth strike on 20 November
Tom Gibson, Yorkshire Socialist Students
August saw thousands of students walk out of schools, colleges and universities in Australia against the reactionary right-populist politician Pauline Hanson.
Hanson uses dog-whistle politics against minority communities, particularly the Muslim and trans communities, while portraying herself as the only alternative to the establishment’s hated two-party system; a familiar pattern.
Despite a recent rise in the polls, she is very unpopular with younger Australians, the majority of whom are repulsed by her reactionary social views and anti-working class economic policies.
The walkouts were organised by the National Union of Students in response to increasingly repulsive rhetoric from Hanson, and took place all across Australia. Thousands turned out, despite the ‘Labor’ government condemning the protests, summing up how the so-called ‘progressive’ capitalist politicians view actual resistance to far-right politics. This criticism did not deter the students, nor did Hanson’s asinine comments about the students’ action being funded by China.
On 20 November, students internationally will be walking out, protesting against the symptoms of the capitalist system: war, inequality, bigotry and climate disaster. Socialist Students is building for walkouts in Britain to be as big as possible.
The walkouts in Australia are yet another inspiring example of youth taking action worldwide.
Young people were curious about how they can change the world on our Socialist Students stall outside Capital City College in Hackney.
The principle came out and said: “You aren’t going to get very far with your activism, they don’t care about politics”. This was after two staff members said they supported the youth strike on 20 November.
Many young people took leaflets, asking how they could take action against war and climate change. The issues of unemployment and low pay came up too.
A couple of students asked if we were going to be here next week, so we could discuss further about the youth strike and socialist ideas. One passerby took a leaflet, and said he was going to give it to his daughter.
Young people are ready to fight back. We need to build student unions to discuss these ideas and a socialist alternative in schools, colleges and universities. If you’re interested, join Socialist Students, and alongside 20 other organisations across Europe, start building for the international youth strike on 20 November.
Preston
Penelope Dawber, Preston Socialist Students
Socialist Students has done three campaign stalls at Cardinal Newman College in the last week. We have handed out over 400 leaflets in support of the 20 November international youth strike.
Several students have already scanned the QR code and given us their numbers, so they can get involved. We’ll return soon to help grow the movement amongst college students even more.
Wolverhampton
Josie Shelley, Black Country Socialist Students
Even students who saw themselves as ‘non-political’ agreed with our ideas on fighting for education, jobs, housing, and services – especially on the struggles they will face as young adults.
We had a lot of interest in our campaign stall outside Wolverhampton College. It was the first day of term, so the atmosphere was lively.
We gave out loads of leaflets, and also sold our Socialist paper. All in all a very positive response.
Many young people growing up today are rightfully recognising that the capitalist system cannot offer us a future. In 2021, polling from the pro-free-market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs showed that 78% of 16-to-34-year-olds blamed capitalism for Britain’s housing crisis, and 67% said they would prefer to live under a socialist economic system.
And this should come as no surprise. For young people today, the world often feels as if it is moving in only one direction – and that direction is not a positive one. With the rapid shifts and compounding crises of this era, it can feel like the living conditions of millions across the world are deteriorating day by day.
The genocidal war on the Palestinians – waged at the behest of the Israeli regime and backed by Western capitalist powers – has left a lasting imprint on an entire generation. Outraged, many young people have turned to mass protest, joining university campus encampments and the massive weekend demonstrations across the country.
The US-Israel war on Iran typifies this era of capitalist crisis. Despite overwhelming global opposition to the war – especially among young people – Donald Trump, serving as the naked face of declining US imperialism, attempts to shore up the interests of American capitalism abroad. By doing so, this war continues to trigger severe economic shocks and crises, doing nothing for the interests of workers and young people alike in America.
Because of the global nature of capitalism, even if Britain is not directly involved in the war against Iran, its consequences will be felt here, too. The British housing crisis has only worsened since 2021, and there are now over one million young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET).
And how does the tiny capitalist elite try and stay in their position? They promote divisive ideas to try and hide who the real enemy is – the super-rich. The disgusting rhetoric of the likes of Trump, Farage and more as they seek to protect their rich mates has spurred us into action. We have protested against racism, transphobia, sexism and more.
All of this is occurring while the world is on fire – and not just politically. We have witnessed devastating wildfires across Europe, even as capitalist politicians like Trump deny the reality of climate change. We can see that politicians are liars who do not rule on their behalf. It is the billionaires controlling the oil industry, AI, and Big Tech whom Trump and his ilk seek to defend.
This explains the wave of youth protests and revolts worldwide. Whether it is the 55,000-strong school strikes against militarisation in Germany or the recent ‘cockroach’ movement in India, young people are increasingly understanding that capitalism offers nothing but war and austerity for them, while offering wealth and prosperity for the ruling class.
Young people and students have no choice but to get organised. Capitalism has proven that it offers us no future. This is why I am joining the international youth walkouts on 20 November, organised by various youth organisations across Europe, including Socialist Students in England and Wales. These November walkouts provide a vital opportunity for young people to express our discontent and anger. Fighting for our futures requires organisation, which is why Socialist Students is campaigning to make 20 November as large as possible. We believe that socialist change is the solution to war, climate chaos, and unemployment.
We will be organising both before and after 20 November to help provide the leadership needed in this age of capitalist decay. We want 20 November to be a first step towards building an international youth movement to fight for a socialist future. Join us.
Joe Woolfall, Liverpool Socialist Students
Walking out…
…to fight climate change
The world is burning. We can see it burning on TV. We can see it burning outside our homes this summer.
What is being done? In November, world leaders will meet again, this time at the COP31 climate conference in Turkey.
But every year, nothing is done, and climate change gets worse. These world leaders all defend a capitalist system that is about putting short-term profit first.
Oil giants Shell and BP have just recently doubled their profits. Even new Labour ‘change’ prime minister Andy Burnham is thinking of expanding North Sea drilling.
On the basis of capitalism, we don’t have a future. But workers are fighting back.
The Fire Brigades Union has just beaten service cuts in Kent – saving jobs, engines, and stations.
Bus drivers in Unite the Union, where I live in north London, are striking against the unbearably hot conditions they work in all day. On the picket line, one driver showed us 48°C in their cab!
If workers are fighting back, we need to fight back too. Young people will be walking out to fight for a future free from climate catastrophe.
Because there is an alternative. Socialist Students says the big polluters and big business needs to be democratically nationalised. With socialist change we can meet the needs of our society, people, and planet.
Paul Ilkley, Enfield
…for high-quality, free education
Over one million young people aged 16-24 years old in the UK are NEET, meaning ‘not in education, employment, or training.’ One tenth of these are university graduates. The capitalists have been scratching their heads as to what the reason might be; everything from smartphones to mental health diagnoses have been thrown out as suggestions.
What they won’t consider, however, is the gutting of the education sector that has taken place over the last 20 years at their own hands.
The National Education Union (NEU) warns that there will be a £630 million real-terms cut to school funding in the coming year. As much as the Burnham government pays lip service to the importance of apprenticeships and technical skills, without funding these subjects will have to be dropped by schools.
University students are not only being fleeced by ever-increasing student loans, but they are paying for a worse product as university services keep getting shut down. The University of Gloucestershire, in my area, is currently selling off one of its campuses, which includes an extensive library. The staff are not taking this lying down, however – earlier this year they went on strike for fair pay, not having had a real-terms pay-rise in 17 years.
Compare these cuts to Labour’s proposed £15 billion increase on military spending, a number which the Tories say isn’t high enough! Worse yet, a ‘Defence Universities Alliance’ has been set up by the Ministry of Defence, which aims to ‘build the highly skilled workforce needed to support the UK’s future defence capability.’
It is clear that the capitalist class doesn’t care to invest in our education, and young people need to join the fightback against them to make our voices heard.
I’m building walkouts to fight for a future which has high-quality free education for all, fully funded and democratically controlled so its not big companies like in the defence industry calling the tune.
Billy Jones, Gloucester
…against the cost-of-living crisis
Like everyone in the country, young people today are facing soaring food prices amid the worsening cost-of-living crisis. Even for those that have found work, inconsistent hours and low pay mean that the bulk of our income goes on the basic essentials.
As a full-time student in part-time work, maintaining a healthy, balanced diet is a constant struggle. Quality ingredients are expensive and time-consuming to prepare, not to mention a long bus journey away. I often find myself defaulting to a diet of baked beans, meal deals and frozen pizza.
Supermarkets continue to rake in huge profits, with Tesco reporting an increase of 8.5% over the course of 2025. Food prices have risen in turn by roughly 38% since 2020. Anger over this surge prompted the Labour government to suggest a voluntary price caps on essentials, which was predictably met with frenzied resistance from the bosses.
Our food security is being undermined on multiple fronts. Domestic food production has taken a hit, with wheat yields falling by over 10% due to the extreme heat and widespread droughts.
Internationally, Trump’s war on Iran and the resulting closure of the strait of Hormuz has cut off an essential trade route for both fertiliser and food. Ukraine, crucial for global food production, has cut grain export forecasts by 12% due to Russian attacks on seaports.
Production costs will continue to rise, being passed on to consumers in order to maintain the profits of billionaire shareholders.
For those not born into wealth, this country has nothing to offer besides a failing welfare system, unstable work and skyrocketing prices on essentials, disproportionately affecting young people. While we can barely afford to put food on the table, the wealthy are diverting billions to fight their wars. It’s time to take our future into our own hands and take the wealth off the super-rich. Walk out on 20 November!
Daniel Bassey, York Socialist Students
…for real jobs
Young working-class people today face an unprecedented situation where our living standards are lower than that of the previous generation.
Record levels of youth unemployment (16.4%) paint a grim image for prospects for young people leaving education. This stat doesn’t even show the full image, many young people also find themselves in exploitative zero-hours contracts. We are the majority of zero-hour workers overall. Despite the promise to ban zero-hours contracts, the Labour government is still dragging its feet (see page 10).
We need decent jobs and decent pay. The money being poured into military spending could be put to use on things we actually need. Socially useful jobs fixing our crumbling infrastructure would be a start.
Thomas Butler, Liverpool Socialist Students
Get organised and fight for socialism
To fight for our futures, and all the reasons to walk out, we can’t do it on our own – we need to get organised. Socialist Students have groups at universities, colleges and schools across the country. We are campaigning and want to build the types of organisation we need: campaigning, democratic, and linked up with others across the country.
For those of us at school or college, that might mean building a fighting student union. A student union is a group of students who discuss the issues affecting them and collectively take action to change things.
This means democratically discussing and deciding what issue to campaign on and what actions to take collectively to do so.
Student unions could call for an end to repressive measures, like unfair uniform policies. Demand affordable prices for canteen meals and school trips. Support education staff when they take strike action. Protest against racism, sexism and all attacks on young people.
The first step could be calling a meeting, either at a break in the canteen or after school in a local café. You can then discuss with your classmates about the next steps, like organising a campaign stall and how to start building support for the 20 November walkouts.
To fight for our futures we need to fight for socialism
Capitalism puts the interests of a tiny few and their short-term profits above the expense of our futures. As capitalism goes further into crisis, our living standards are on the chopping block. We need to organise for a socialist alternative.
Under socialism, the working class, which makes society function, would take control of the vast wealth and resources, and democratically plan what we produce and how it is distributed for the needs of us all, rather than what makes the most profit for the super-rich.
This means we could make sure that everyone’s needs are met, with high-quality genuinely affordable council housing, free public transport and so much more.
Scrolling online, we see the horror taking place in our world.
From the onslaught on Gaza to devastating wars in Ukraine and Iran. Climate chaos, pollution in our rivers, fire and extreme heat. As our planet spirals into chaos, companies that sell weapons or pollute our planet make record profits, at the expense of our future.
There’s little support for our mental health, made worse by repressive measures in schools and colleges, such as the locking of toilets or isolation, treating us like we’re prisoners, when we should be learning. Underfunding means lack of support, fewer specialist teachers, our school dinners becoming lower quality and unaffordable, fewer school trips and broken facilities that go for months without being fixed.
Outside of school and college, the high cost of living means we have to pay more and more for stationery, transport and food. Our youth spaces are being closed, and leisure centres costing more has meant we have little to do.
But it doesn’t have to be like this.
The super-rich have their political parties, media and organisations to further their interests. Workers have trade unions where they discuss issues and take collective action to increase their living standards. If others can organise, why can’t we?
We need campaigning student unions in our schools and colleges, where we meet with our classmates and take action over the issues that affect us. Individually we can be angry but collectively we can take action.
We also need to organise against the profit-first capitalist system. Capitalism’s main incentive is to create as much profit as possible at the expense of our futures. We need a socialist society where working-class people collectively run society for the needs of all and the environment rather than the super-rich.
This is why Socialist Students in this country is a part of international youth walkouts on Friday 20 November. Socialist Students calls on school, college and university students to walk out of their institutions on 20 November to send a message that we will fight for our futures, against this capitalist system.
There are over 20 organisations across Europe involved in the international youth strikes. Those in Germany led a strike of over 50,000 school students walking out against conscription earlier in the year, and in Italy there have been tens of thousands of students taking action annually. This time we can be part of it. There are many issues affecting our future, the point is to take action on 20 November to change it!
Socialist Students – which organised walkouts of school, college and university students last September in protest against Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK – is one of twenty European youth and student organisations planning action.
The International Youth Strike has been launched by a coalition of anti-war youth and student organisations from ten European countries, including the UK. The coalition includes youth and student sections of political parties, national students’ unions, independent socialist youth organisations and anti-war campaign groups.
The ‘strike’ is being organised in response to what the coalition describes as a historic acceleration of militarisation across Europe. As governments commit hundreds of billions of euros to military spending, organisers argue that young people’s futures are being sacrificed to finance preparations for war.
Organisers have pointed to this summer’s European wildfires as burning evidence for why young people need to get organised and take action for their futures. 20 November was the date chosen for the International Youth Strike, as the final scheduled day of this year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Turkey – a day that many young people will see as yet another ‘talking shop’ while governments gear up for war.
Socialist Students was one of the organisations present at an assembly held in Cologne in June, where the aim for an international youth strike on 20 November was initially agreed.
Socialist Students national secretary, Adam Gillman, said: “By building the international youth walkouts this autumn, we hope to be part of building an international youth movement for socialism, not the war and permanent crisis that capitalism means for young people’s futures. We have been inspired by the example of students fighting against the threat of conscription in Germany, and want to strengthen and spread the youth fightback to Britain.”
Socialist Students members will be out building for 20 November over the rest of this summer – putting up posters, giving out leaflets and calling public youth meetings in towns and cities across the UK – in preparation for the start of the new term in September.
‘Has discipline gone too far in schools?’ This is the question raised in the BBC Radio 4 documentary: ‘File on 4 Investigates – Strict schools: Taking discipline too far?’
The documentary has many examples of what students face in secondary school. Launceston College has uniform inspections and silent corridors.
One student said: “You’re not allowed to pick up a pen unless you’re told to.” If you do this twice, you’re sent to intervention.
In intervention, students sit in silence, watched between plastic dividers for most or all of the day. Intervention can be used for acts such as speaking in the corridor, your top button not being done up, and losing focus.
“Zero-tolerance behaviour policies” have been implemented by school managements to control pupils. When there’s little funding for an education students need, it’s far easier to send pupils to a room than to have the staff to be able to help them develop.
Throughout history, students have played a role alongside the workers’ movement in campaigning to change things.
Students have organised against repression. In 1972 students organised in a students union, walking out of schools in London and protesting against corporal punishment in schools. Corporal punishment was ended in London in 1974, and nationally in 1986.
Student unions need to be rebuilt, so students can fight alongside workers. A student union gives students a way to discuss the issues and take collective actions, such as walkouts, to change things.
All across the world, young people are facing attacks on our futures, not only with repression in school, but increasing militarisation, wars, climate change and attacks on our living standards, while this capitalist system plunges further into crisis.
In 2019, hundreds of thousands of school students internationally walked out against climate change. Last year, Socialist Students led hundreds who walked out against Trump’s state visit to Britain.
Socialist Students is part of an international campaign for youth walkouts to ‘fight for our futures, not their wars’. We are helping to organise, school, college and university students to walkout on Friday 20 November.
Becca Bayman, University of Liverpool Socialist Students
The consequences of climate change are blasting us in the face. Britain is in its fifth heatwave this year, drought conditions are spreading and temperatures soaring, again.
Wildfires are burning – stretching cut-back fire services, and farmers are harvesting smaller yields early. Around 3,000 excess deaths were associated with heatwaves in England during May and June, the UK Health Security Agency estimates.
Millions of workers are forced to work in sweltering heat and live in cramped, poorly ventilated homes. Unite-organised bus drivers in north and east London are set to strike over unsafe working conditions.
This is a world where extreme heat, flooding, and rising food costs are the ‘new normal’. Young people face our futures shadowed by the looming threats from climate change. 85% report being worried about climate change, 75% expressed fear for the future, according to research published by the European Youth Portal. We deserve a stake in our futures!
Yet those with their hands on the levers of power continue to put profits first. Oil giants Shell and BP doubled their profits in the last quarter as they hike prices for us.
Politicians serving the interests of the super-rich bosses have shown they will not act to save our futures. Labour prime minister Andy Burnham has told Donald Trump he is ‘open-minded’ about allowing fossil fuel giants to extend drilling in the North Sea.
If the energy companies were nationalised under democratic workers’ control, workers would be able to decide what is best for their industry, consumers, and the planet.
A transition away from fossil fuels must not mean throwing workers onto the fire through cuts to jobs and services. Their knowledge and experience should be used to plan the transition and build a new energy system without the need for profit – with jobs, pay, terms and conditions upheld with trade union agreement.
The technology and resources exist. We must take the wealth off the super-rich and use it to transform energy production and build clean, affordable energy for all.
And imagine if this was done in every sector. Instead of production being driven by profit, we could plan around what people need while protecting the planet. Ultimately, only a socialist transformation of society can make this possible.
35 universities have become founding members of a new initiative launched alongside the Ministry of Defence, the ‘Defence Universities Alliance’, which aims to use the resources of universities around the country to ‘strengthen research and innovation and build the highly skilled workforce needed to support the UK’s future defence capability. After almost 100 universities applied, Manchester and Liverpool were among those chosen to be founders.
This is happening in the midst of the worst funding crisis the higher education sector has ever seen, with nearly half of UK universities presently running at a deficit – whilst young people more broadly are struggling with crises of unemployment and the rising cost of living.
On his way out of office, Keir Starmer announced an annual ‘defence’ spend increase to £80 billion by 2029. Andy Burnham, Starmer’s successor, has since then indicated support for increased military spending at the expense of welfare spending. This is alongside similar, and in some cases more extreme, moves in other countries. Our universities have made clear that they seek to be a part of the capitalist class’s drive towards militarisation.
Wanting to help build a fightback against a system in crisis, that offers no future to young people, Socialist Students recently joined a Europe-wide youth assembly in Cologne with other anti-war youth and student organisations. The outcome of this meeting was an agreed international youth strike on Friday 20 November. Over twenty groups from eight different countries have agreed to support and build for the strike so far. This includes German youth organisations who recently helped lead a strike of 55,000.
We are pleased that Liverpool Guild’s [equivalent to a Student Union] officers have come out and opposed the university’s actions, and we hope they will join us in November. Liverpool Socialist Students believes that the resources of the Guild should be used to build among the widest possible layer of students at our university, while making contacts with officers in other student unions to seek support from other universities, particularly those directly complicit in the drive toward militarisation.
Help us build towards the strike on 20 November under the banner: “Fight for our futures, not their wars.”
On Friday 20 November, students and young people across Europe will be striking in opposition to capitalism, war and racism as part of the International Youth Strike, “Fight for our future, Not their wars”. Tens of thousands of young people are set to walk out and protest across Europe on November 20 – and you can be a part of it.
Socialist Students are alongside other organizations, helping students build for November 20. If you’re interested in building a youth strike at your school, college, University or in you’re local area then fill out the form below to get in touch with Socialist Students to help build the strike.
Socialist Students 