Tag: student

Capitalism means war – Fight for socialist change

On By adamgillmanIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Gone forever is the world where capitalist regimes – chief among them the US regime – could confidently pretend to defend ‘justice and democracy’ internationally.

The brutal state execution of anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis. Trump’s kidnapping of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro. Threats of escalating trade wars in pursuit of acquiring Greenland. Trump’s to-the-point honesty in declaring his actions a defence of the economic and strategic interests of American imperialism, illustrates the dangerous and volatile world that capitalism in its era of decay and decline has created.

The brutal truth of the cut-throat competition, conflict and war inherent to capitalism – which capitalist world leaders previously promised us had been consigned to the dustbin of history – is being reasserted. All the capitalist world leaders are scrambling to rearm, in many countries funded by even more brutal cuts to public spending.

The Middle East is increasingly in turmoil. Over two years of genocidal slaughter in Gaza by the Israeli state has been aided and abetted by all the ‘good and the great’ of the capitalist world, including Starmer’s Labour.

Following the so-called ceasefire in Gaza last October, the Israeli army continues to kill Palestinians. It has been reported that between 10 October 2025 and 15 January 2026, the Israeli government violated the ceasefire agreement 1,244 times, pushing the death toll over 71,000.

Trump has since unveiled his proposed ‘Board of Peace’ to rule over Gaza. At the time of writing, representatives from 35 nations have signed up, which is dominated by Trump and his political allies in the US. Unsurprisingly, there is so far no representation whatsoever for any Palestinian body – or for that matter representatives of the working class of any country.

Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ will not deliver peace for the Palestinian people, let alone a decent quality of life, with genuine national and democratic rights.

Needed is the building of workers’ strength through the development of mass independent workers’ organisations – trade unions and parties. Through mass struggles with the aim of removing capitalism in Israel-Palestine, an independent, socialist Palestinian state can be realised, alongside a democratic socialist Israel, as part of a voluntary, equal socialist confederation in the Middle East.

In Britain, we also need a political alternative to all the pro-war, pro-austerity capitalist parties. A party which is rooted in the most powerful force for socialist change in society, the working class, and its organisations – the trade union movement, with over 6 million members.

Building such a mass workers’ party, armed with a programme for socialist change, would not only be able to challenge Starmer’s war and austerity agenda, but could give solidarity and assistance to the struggles of the long-suffering masses of Palestine and the Middle East as a whole.

Socialist Students Conference 2026

Organising the student fightback for socialist change

Saturday 14 February, University of Manchester

Herts uni sit-in wins for Gazan student

On By adamgillmanIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Charlie Cunningham, Herts Socialist Students

Two Herts Socialist Students members organised a sit-in in December to advocate for a Palestinian student, who had been denied an offer by the higher-ups at the University of Hertfordshire, for discriminatory reasons.

The student had been granted a series of phone-call interviews to assess their English language abilities, rather than sitting a conventional English language test, due to their circumstances living through the genocide, and currently living in a camp in Gaza.

No management understanding

However, these interviews put them at an unfair disadvantage. Management failed to show any understanding for the student’s lived experiences:

  • Damaged infrastructure in Gaza, causing poor phone reception
  • Immense pressure of their family’s and their own future at stake
  • Inappropriate and inconsiderate questions, such as “what’s your favourite food?”, and “what do you like to do in your spare time?” to someone suffering through starvation and frequent displacements

Herts Socialist Students recognised this institutionalised racism against international students, and decided to take action, acting as last-minute unofficial advocates for the student’s case.

By sheer luck, we met the heads of the uni’s International Office in person. They told us there was nothing we could do. We informed them we would not leave until we had the opportunity to advocate properly.

After several meetings that day, we convinced them to give the applicant a third interview, with questions that were trauma-informed, and took their circumstances into account. They passed with flying colours.

Mass movement

The fact that two students were able to have such a large impact on their decision highlights the sheer disregard for the lives of international students, which was demonstrated with the original decision. The uni insisted it was not negotiable, until it was.

We can stand up to oppression, and unchallenged unelected bureaucrats on campus. If only two students were able to have such an immediate impact, the possibilities for mobilising on other issues are huge.