Tag: news

Introduce real maintenance grants for all!

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Adam Powell-Davies, Socialist Students national organiser

The Labour government has announced that it will bring back maintenance grants for tens of thousands of students from ‘low-income backgrounds’ who opt for so-called ‘priority courses’.

Labour has not yet announced how much grant money students would receive, nor whether the grants would be paid on top of the existing maintenance loan allowance. But if the introduction of grants means that some of the poorest students have more money in their pockets, and leave university or college with less debt, then that is a victory.

Reintroducing maintenance grants, even in this very limited current form, was mentioned nowhere in Labour’s general election manifesto last year. This latest announcement has to be seen as a concession to the widespread anger that has developed against Labour since then, as millions of working-class and young people correctly see Starmer’s government as doing nothing but continuing the Tories’ war and austerity agenda.

Jeremy Corbyn

Labour’s hand has also been forced by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s ‘Your Party’ announcement. As leader of the Labour Party, Corbyn inspired millions of young people with his offer of free education: scrapping tuition fees and introducing maintenance grants for all. A new party fighting for free education as part of a socialist programme to transform young people’s lives today would gain massive youth support – and Labour knows it.

Just the prospect of a new party fighting ‘for the many, not the few’ has Labour under pressure. At the same time, there is the prospect of a new round of national strike action in further and higher education, as the University and College Union (UCU) launches ballots this month. Now is the time for students to join the fight – to go on the offensive and fight for what we need by making the super-rich pay, not workers and young people!

We could start by demanding the government rolls out its maintenance grant plans immediately, rather than waiting until ‘the end of the Parliament’ as is currently planned. We should also demand that grants are made available for all courses, not just so-called ‘priority courses’ deemed most important by big business and their politicians.

Another important battleground will be the level of grants paid to students. The current level of maintenance support for students is woefully inadequate, whether that comes in the form of a loan, or as a mixture of a loan and a grant (as is the case for Welsh students studying in Wales, for example). A student receiving the maximum maintenance loan would still need to work 20 hours per week to meet a “basic standard of income”, according to the Higher Education Policy Institute.

Explaining the targeted rollout of maintenance grants at Labour conference, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson declared: “Students’ time at college or university should be spent learning or training, not working every hour”. Great! In which case, let’s make sure that maintenance grants are made available to all students.

Let’s also make sure these new grants cover the full cost of living and studying. That would also stop student loans saddling us with a lifetime of debt after we graduate.

The shareholders of the FTSE100 companies get payouts of around £85 billion every year. Instead of charging a levy on international fees to provide grants to a fraction of ‘home’ students, students should unite in a mass movement to demand free, fully funded education for all, paid for by taking the wealth from the super-rich.

Funding Not Fees

These are the kinds of ideas Socialist Students societies will be fighting for on campus with the ‘Funding Not Fees’ campaign this term. As part of this, we will be organising lobbies of MPs ahead of the 26 November Budget, for them to raise an amendment calling for free, fully funded education, including the introduction of living maintenance grants for all students.

We will also be raising the campaign in Your Party meetings between now and the founding conference, to make sure the call for free education forms a key part of a new mass socialist party giving a voice to young people and the working class.

Under pressure, Labour re-introduces some maintenance grants. Now let's fight for free education for all - make the super-rich pay!

Fees up, costs up! Students can’t make ends meet

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Fight for free education!

Robbie Davidson, Manchester Socialist Students

Young people are bracing for yet another tuition fee attack from Keir Starmer’s austerity machine. Last year’s tuition fee rise, the first since the Con-Dem government tripled fees, may be the first of many, as the pro-big business Labour government tries to placate the markets by making us pay.

The broken funding model of marketised education, along with rocketing housing prices and collapsing services, has already plunged students into a cost-of-living crisis. Bereft of a political voice fighting in our interests, students on average have to work 20 hours every week on top of our studies just to cover our essential needs. The maximum maintenance loan of £10,544 covers just half the costs a first-year student faces.

Politicians and university bosses continue to make us foot the bill for their deepening crisis. Over 40% of UK universities will be dropping into deficits next year, with fee rises, staff cuts and worsening teaching standards to plaster over the central issue: there aren’t enough resources invested in education.

Some universities and private landlords have made a killing with an 18% increase in student rents in the last two academic years alone. Students have nothing left to give, 65% of us already cut back on food spending and other essentials to make ends meet. So the message from the campuses is clear: no to the cost-of-living crisis!

Polls suggest a Corbyn-led party would actually win a general election amongst 18 to 24-year-olds. No wonder there’s been enthusiasm amongst young people since Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana announced steps towards setting up ‘Your Party’. The Corbyn-led Labour Party electrified students and young people with the commitment to free education.

Socialist Students believes the launch of such a party would be a welcome challenge to establishment politics. A new party involving campus activists and trade unions to launch a serious fightback against both the failing marketised funding model, and the rotten capitalist system behind it would be a massive step forward. Thousands of cash-strapped students could be prepared to fight for a socialist programme for education: including an end to fees, grants not loans, an end to redundancies and the complete renationalisation of higher education.

No to war: Help build the walkouts against Trump

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Socialist Students members building the Trump walkouts on the national Gaza demo in London, 21.06.25

Hannah Ponting, Liverpool Socialist Students

It is no secret that Donald Trump’s second term as president spells out even further chaos for the world. His bombing of Iran is an alarming escalation of an already explosive situation. He has bragged about doing “monumental damage” in Iran, but all he is doing is creating monumental fear and instability.

He has disgustingly backed up the Israeli state’s slaughter in Gaza, calling for it to be made into a holiday resort dubbed the ‘Gaza Riviera’.

It follows his aggressive use of trade tariffs – particularly in relation to China – which has already worsened international tensions. On top of this, Trump has demonstrated his willingness to trash the climate for his own interests, calling to “drill baby, drill” more fossil fuels, and withdrawing the United States from the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement in 2020.

The chaos Trump brings is a reflection of a system that prioritises profit first and foremost, at the expense of the working class and young people. Trump’s capitalist agenda offers no real solutions for ordinary people in the US and instead, through his international aggression, actively endangers people across the globe.

This is why Socialist Students has launched the Youth Walkout Against Trump campaign in preparation for ‘Day X’ – the day of Trump’s second state visit, the date of which has not yet been announced. To give students in schools, colleges and universities the opportunity to organise and protest against Trump’s visit and the capitalist system which it reflects.

But this isn’t simply about one man. Trump is a symptom of capitalism – a system which prioritises profit above all else, fuelling war and inequality worldwide.

In order for us to effectively oppose Trump, it is necessary to oppose the capitalist system he represents, and instead present an alternative way forward, against wars and austerity, and towards socialism.

Sofia Pandolfi, college student in West London

Socialist Students is building for youth walkouts against US president Donald Trump’s planned visit to the UK. At our campaign stall outside West London College in Hammersmith, we had a strong response from students, teachers, and people passing by.

Many students were keen on demonstrating their opposition to both Trump, and Keir Starmer, who has invited him. With our leaflets on the youth walkouts, we explained to students how they could get others in their college to participate, and how they could prepare for a walkout.

People applauded our initiative. Walkouts support our fight for workers and young people to unite against Trump, and also the capitalist system he is part of.

By campaigning for the Trump walkouts among students in schools, colleges, and universities across the country, we can build an organised, national response against his visit.

Leeds – building walkout on my first stall

Dylan, Notre Dame Sixth Form College student

I took part in a campaign stall protesting Trump’s visit to the UK. It was my first stall.

I was able to hand out many leaflets, targeting students. We were able to get five students to leave their details to help with organising the protest, as well as handing out almost all of our leaflets.

I talked to many who were curious, yet had limited knowledge on politics. But they acknowledged that the current state of affairs is tumultuous, and may start to affect their lives. One man was worried and conflicted on the war between Israel and Iran.

Some of the apolitical rhetoric has not just come from ignorance, but from a lack of left representation in politics. This has left the majority of the youth with a ‘why bother’ attitude, as they believe their vote is powerless, and that no current party can truly capture their views.

MidKent College – anger at Trump and Starmer

James Gretton, university student

Socialist Party members promoted the youth walkout against Trump to students at MidKent College in Medway. At our campaign stall, students opposed to Trump likewise opposed Starmer. They organically connected the dots that both leaders favour the capitalist class, exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis for everyone.

But a common response from MidKent students was how Trump and his consequences are confined to the US, not concerning the UK. But Trumpism is accelerating the capitalist crisis. And Trump’s far-right populism threatens the rights of various groups, including students.

In times of capitalist crisis, world leaders hope their people won’t fight back. Students and workers, including at MidKent, can disprove that with a socialist fightback.

Solidarity with workers and young people in California

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Walk out against Trump!

Socialist Students stands in solidarity with workers and young people in the US, facing down President Donald Trump’s state repression. We are organising students at schools, colleges and unis to walk out against Trump on Day X – the day Trump visits parliament, on the invitation of Starmer and the King.

Protests have erupted in Los Angeles, California against the deportation of migrants, under the orders of Trump, by immigration authority ICE. The Trump administration has sent in the National Guard, a military force, to put down protests. Workers and young people have faced tear gas, rubber bullets and explosives from state forces.

Hypocritically, both Trump and Democratic Governor of California Gavin Newsom have called for an end to violence, while forces under their instructions carry out acts of brutality.

During the protests, David Huerta, President of California’s largest trade union the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), was arrested. The union is currently organising a strike of 55,000 LA county workers.

Trump and other capitalist politicians want to cut across a united working-class fightback. With nothing positive to offer working-class and young people, Trump’s policies are aimed at whipping up division – carrying out cuts and attacking the rights of women, trans people, migrants and others.

These events show that his attacks will provoke protests, in the US and internationally.

When Trump comes to visit Britain, we are ready to show we stand with the working class in the US and internationally, not with Starmer’s Labour government rolling out the red carpet for him.

It’s important we start organising and building for the walkouts now so that, the moment Trump steps foot in Britain, we can have a united show of strength. To get involved and help us prepare for the walkouts, get involved and join Socialist Students. Help us build a socialist alternative to capitalist chaos.

Liverpool Hope Uni students and staff protest job loss threat

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Thomas Butler, Liverpool Socialist Students

Staff at Liverpool Hope University are the most recent victims of the nationwide university funding crisis.

University management has confirmed that dozens of staff members will be made redundant across social sciences, humanities, education and creative arts. Not only this, but over a hundred staff members have been sent letters informing them that their job is at risk, meaning staff members will have to wait months with this threat dangling over their heads to even know if their job is secured or not.

In response to such a frontal attack on workers, two days after this announcement, over 200 students and staff protested at Hope University outside the vice-chancellor’s office, whose salary reportedly stands at £264,723.

The message of this demonstration couldn’t have been more clear. Students are appalled at this treatment of lecturers and staff.

Every worker or student who spoke was rightfully completely against these attacks. How can the university cite financial shortcomings when it has individuals on a quarter of a million pounds a year? The university claims these draconian attacks are necessary. It should open the books for its own workers and students to see where the money is going.

Regardless of the financial situation, this is not an isolated case. There is a funding crisis among many universities with hundreds of jobs at stake elsewhere. Hope University isn’t the first and it won’t be the last to be struck with cuts, with many universities actively running deficit budgets.

The only policy Labour has offered is increasing the burden on students with increased tuition fees for the first time since 2012.

The real solution is simply funding, not more fees. The Labour government must provide education with the adequate funding it so desperately needs. Despite what the Labour government has repeatedly stated, there is an abundance of wealth in society. With private energy companies alone making £120 billion in profit in the past years – five times as much as Rachel Reeves’s fiscal ‘black hole’ – the money workers need is clearly there. These companies should be nationalised under democratic workers’ control and their wealth used to protect workers and students. If the Labour government won’t do this then the trade unions should form a new party that will.

Staff and students unite against Bradford uni cuts

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TJ Diniz Mota, Leeds Socialist Students

Socialist Students held a successful day of action on 13 May, building a visible and defiant stand against devastating cuts proposed by university management.

Many shared sadness and disbelief at the university’s decision to axe its media and television course during Bradford’s tenure as the UK City of Culture. Culture means little to profit vultures.

There are proposals to stop their flagship chemistry course, close down the university nursery, and slash 300 jobs – an eye-watering 20% of the workforce.

The protest was backed by the University and College Union (UCU) branch. And staff from across the university came out in support.

Further solidarity was shown online by Unison union at Leeds uni, which promoted the protest in the days prior. Supporters of Bradford and Shipley Trades Union Council also attended.

Anger is growing

This action was the result of weeks of consistent organising. Through weekly campaign stalls, online promotion, and raising the issue at local trade union meetings, we heard the frustration and growing anger from staff and students.

Support wasn’t just garnered from the university community. Cars going by our action blared their horns in support, crowds across the street shouted their sympathies, and passers-by commended our efforts.

All of this just goes to show the growing awareness of austerity and the national crisis in higher education funding. Uni vice-chancellors are earning more than the prime minister, and making decisions at the cost of student’s futures and staff livelihoods.

There was overwhelming support for strike action in Bradford UCU’s indicative ballot. Socialist Students continues to organise, raise awareness, demand no redundancies, no austerity budgets, and free, fully funded education for all. Because a post-16 education is not a commodity.

Youth unemployment: blame bosses not young people

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Tom Gibson, Bradford Socialist Students

One million people aged 18-24 are not in active employment, training or education, and have to rely on benefits or family support to ensure they don’t fall behind on rent, food and other costs.

Keir Starmer’s Labour government’s response to rising levels of unemployed young people – further attacks on the welfare state. This won’t increase employment but will instead drive more young people into poverty, making it harder to find job opportunities, particularly for those with disabilities.

As someone who has finished their degree and is actively trying to find work, it has been tricky. Even finding part-time work has been a struggle. In addition, finding financial support outside of the disability benefits which I receive (under attack by this wretched government) has been very tricky.

Young people are actively trying to find jobs or educational opportunities but, thanks to years of austerity, the decline of industry and the marketisation of universities, as well as rising housing prices and inflation, our living standards are rapidly plummeting. The capitalist system views young people as a resource to be super-exploited with low pay and bad conditions so pushes anti-welfare anti-education policies to “get them to work”.

Being out of employment or education shouldn’t mean being condemned but instead helped, both in regard to education and employment. There should be easier access to training programmes and an increase in well-paid public jobs. Unemployment and disability benefits should be increased and made easier to access. Being able to return to education, a luxury often only the richest can afford, should be accessible to all who want to learn a new subject or change their career path.

I am proud to be in Socialist Students which stands up to the capitalist narratives around young people, and fights for a system that would enable us all to live a stable and happy life. It’s not ‘shame on young people’ that so many are unemployed, it is a shame on our rotten capitalist system. While young people are stuck in low-paid jobs, substandard education or forced to rely on unemployment benefits, the richest in society are getting richer. The wealth and resources in society could provide decent jobs and decent living standards for all, if that wealth was used to democratically plan society for all our benefit instead of the profits of a few.

Socialist Students win free societies & more democracy at Herts uni

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Herts Uni Socialist Students featuring Morgan (middle)

Morgan Tritton, Hertfordshire Socialist Students

We started Herts Socialist Students in November 2024 and were frustrated by the inaction of the students’ union (SU) on our campus. At the University of Hertfordshire the SU has repeatedly defended the university’s actions over the interests of its own members – students ourselves. There is no real separation between the university and the SU which often echoes university management.

We investigated the SU’s governance, transparency, and action plan. We found little evidence of advocacy on urgent issues such as the cost-of-living crisis, tuition fee hikes, accommodation conditions, violence against women, and campus safety. What we did find, however, was stagnation – a culture that prioritises protecting the image of the university over fighting for the needs of the student body.

We raised our concerns at the November 2024 student council meeting. It took four months, and the submission of a formal motion, before any action was taken!

In April 2025, we submitted three motions: to improve SU governance and transparency, to allow free society memberships and open meetings, and to demand action on violence against women on campus. Prior to this, there had only been one motion passed in the last two years. We faced attempts to resist, delay, water down, or dismiss the motions entirely from SU staff. They downplayed safety concerns by citing a lack of official reports and claimed transparency had now been addressed and further student oversight was unnecessary.

We responded in full, challenged their narrative, and two days before the council meeting, the SU backed down. All three motions were debated and passed overwhelmingly. We came in force to a student council meeting to highlight inaction and received a positive response from students.

This fight is far from over. We are in contact with the SU President and Women’s Officer and will be meeting in the coming weeks. Our passed governance motion requires monthly officer updates, motion tracking, and scheduled council meetings, basic measures that should have existed already, and we will make sure these happen.

We are fighting to repoliticise and democratise our SU. We are organising not just for better policies, but for a shift in power on campus from unelected managers and bureaucrats to the hands of students ourselves, alongside representatives of staff unions. We must continue to scrutinise our SUs and question: who benefits from keeping students in the dark? Who benefits from an unorganised student body? University managements and the relationships they have with pro-capitalist politicians and big business.

The failures of Herts SU reflect a nationwide crisis across higher education, faced with a funding crisis universities constantly put their finances above the interests of students and staff.

As part of the Funding Not Fees campaign, we must confront every institution on campuses that facilitate poor student and staff conditions and rising costs for students. Compromised and undemocratic student unions, acting as extensions of university management, must be challenged as part of a broader fight for free, fully funded education, and fighting democratic student organisations must be built.

Letter to NUS: Building a united movement for fully funded, free education

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The following is the text from a letter sent from the Socialist Students steering committee to Alex Stanley, Vice President Higher Education for the National Union of Students (NUS), on Wednesday 9th April.

Dear Alex Stanley,

As you will know, there is a major funding crisis in higher education which is hitting students, staff, and local communities. Over 5000 redundancies have been planned by the vice-chancellors this academic year, with up to 5000 more to come according to the University and College Union (UCU). Students continue to suffer from a devastating gap between our living costs and maintenance support, and our futures are stalked by uncertainty in a volatile world of increasing war, climate crisis and poverty.  

In response to the funding crisis in post-16 education,  UCU has launched the ‘Stop the Cuts’ campaign, which includes a national demonstration in London on Saturday 10th May. Socialist Students will be rallying as many students as we can to the UCU demonstration, because we think this event – organised by the largest trade union in higher education, as part of a national campaign against the crisis of marketisation – can be a vital staging point for building a united student and worker movement for fully funded, free education. But that is also why we believe NUS must do everything it can to seriously build for this demonstration.

We call for:

  1. NUS to encourage all students’ unions to arrange free or low-cost transport to Central London on Saturday 10th May, including financially supporting students’ unions to do so if necessary
  2. NUS to issue the call to all students’ unions to actively promote the UCU demonstration among its members – including: emailing details of the demonstration to students; organising leafleting sessions; and postering across campus
  3. NUS to produce a public statement in solidarity with the UCU ‘Stop the Cuts’ campaign
  4. NUS to hold a national online meeting, open to all who wish to attend, on the topic of, ‘How students can unite with staff for fully funded, free education’

We recognise that NUS has begun campaigning around funding for education, and welcome the ‘A Fair Deal for Our Future’ campaign, which includes the demand for better maintenance support. However, we believe student leadership has to go much further in raising what is needed for a genuinely fair and free education system for all. Socialist Students has launched the Funding Not Fees campaign this year, raising the following set of demands:

  • No to Labour’s tuition fee hike – scrap fees and cancel student debt
  • Living grants, not loans
  • Stop all cuts and closures on campus. End low pay and casualisation of staff
  • Divestment from arms and big business – no place for profiteers from war and exploitation on our campus

We would appreciate the opportunity to discuss further what ideas and strategy are needed to mobilise students alongside staff in a movement for free, fully funded education. To this end, please could we arrange a meeting at the earliest possible convenience between NUS representatives and members of the Socialist Students steering committee?

In solidarity,
Socialist Students steering committee

Cardiff students rally against uni cuts

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Cardiff students rally against job cuts. Photo: Rhydian Witts

Aris Prevost, Cardiff Socialist Students

Cardiff Students Against Cuts hosted a rally outside of the Main Building at the Cathays Campus on 12 February to demand that Cardiff uni vice-chancellor Wendy Larner and the University Executive Board stop the 400 proposed job cuts.

Preceding the rally was a town hall meeting between students and the vice-chancellor, which was predictably a farce. Larner over run in her initial speech, dodging every single question that was asked, and left 15 minutes early.

While Larner showed the cowardice of the higher-ups in the Cardiff uni management, the rally showed the resilience and solidarity that the students, staff, and trade unions have. While it was a cold and slightly wet affair, over 100 people turned up, with several speakers including students and staff from courses being cut completely. It also heard from the Vice President of the Cardiff University and College Union (UCU) branch, as well as representatives from Unite and the Trades Union Council, who are both Socialist Party members. A strong theme running throughout the rally was how vital the cut courses were for Cardiff, especially music in the Wales, the ‘Land of Song’.

Staff-student solidarity

Socialist Party member Dave Reid rounded off the speeches. He urged students to fight back against the cuts through solidarity between the students and the workers, backed by the trade council.

Cardiff UCU is balloting for industrial action. It is vital that if and when they go on strike, that us students stand on the picket line with staff. It is only through class solidarity that we can mount a fightback and stop these cuts.

Only the beginning

This rally is only the beginning, we are having weekly meetings hosted by Cardiff Socialist Students to decide our next steps campaigning.

We demand that Cardiff University stops the 400 job cuts, for the vice-chancellor and executive board to be sacked and replaced with workers who understand the day-to-day workings of the University. We call on the Labour governments in Cardiff and Westminster to treat education like a public good and to fully fund higher education.

We demand:

  • No job losses, no course closures at Cardiff University
  • The university board to use available reserves to plug the current gap and demand sufficient funding from the UK government to maintain courses and departments at Cardiff University
  • Open the books at Cardiff University to see where the income is being spent and the investments made
  • End the commercialisation of university education – return it to a public service rather than a profit-making business
  • Democratise the university. For a board to be elected by university workers, students, the local community and trade unions. And for the vice-chancellor to be on the same wage as a head of department.
  • Proper funding for all universities, take the wealth off the super-rich
  • Eliminate tuition fees, and reintroduce maintenance grants for all
  • End low pay, job cuts, and ‘casualisation’ of higher education workers
  • Funding Not Fees