Theory and analysis

KCL Justice For Cleaners: the fight goes on!

On Friday 24 November, the cleaners of King’s College London, alongside 40 sympathisers and supporters, met to discuss the next steps in their struggle to be brought back in house and achieve better working conditions. Like many other universities, King’s has contracted out its cleaning services. The cleaners are therefore technically not employed by the university, but a parasitic outsourcing company called Servest, and so have significantly worse terms and conditions relative Read more…

By Marxist Student, ago

Southampton Vice-Chancellor announces attack on staff wages

On 14th November, the Vice-Chancellor announced a ten-year plan of “restructuring” for the future of Southampton University, merging eight university departments into five. This is claimed to be a move to improve the uni’s standing in the league tables. This in practice just amounts to smudging numbers and statistics around to make it look like things are better than they are, whilst not actually solving any of the problems at the university. Read more…

By Marxist Student, ago

Capitalism and imperialism in the European Union: Macron’s plans for Greece

  With grand rhetoric about the values of ancient Greek democracy, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, welcomed his audience in Athens on the hill of Pnyx in September this year. He told the crowd that after everything the Greek people have had to endure, he would bring “democracy, sovereignty and trust”- statements that are as vague as they are untrue. After praising the Greek prime minister Tsipras’s austerity reforms, Macron assured the Read more…

By Marxist Student, ago

Uni of London: bring workers in-house!

    On Tuesday 21st November, SOAS Marxist society and Socialist Appeal supporters, along with several hundred other demonstrators, attended the protest called by the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) University of London branch in support of bringing outsourced workers at the Senate House back in-house. The demonstration was lively and dynamic, with music and drums, a sea of red flags and home-made placards, and a fast-paced march around the Senate House Read more…

By Marxist Student, ago

Warwick Cut the Rent: the fight must continue

A couple of weeks ago Warwick Students’ Union announced that after working with university management they had negotiated a decrease in the planned rent rise of 3% in the cheaper accommodation, down to 2.56%. And they had managed to keep rent rises in a few other blocks in line with inflation at 3%. Whilst any victory for rents, wages, working hours and all struggles of this kind should be embraced by Marxists, Read more…

By Marxist Student, ago

KCL Marxist Society resolution: justice for KCL cleaners!

The Marxist society at KCL just carried the following resolution unanimously, and took a photo showing our support. Every society should do the same ?! KCL Marx Soc resolution: Justice for KCL Cleaners! The KCL Marxist Society notes: King’s College London cleaning staff are employed by the contractor Servest, under whom they receive lower wages, less favourable working conditions and reduced paid holiday compared to in-house members of staff. Last year, a Unison-led Read more…

By Marxist Student, ago

1968: year of revolution – Marxist Student conference 2018

The year 1968 is etched into the historical memory of students and workers. It was a year in which class struggle swept the globe and raised the political horizons of millions of workers and young people. Student struggle kick-started many of the mass movements around the world that year. In the USA protests against the Vietnam War swept school and college campuses, draft-card burning was widespread, and university occupations were forcibly broken Read more…

By Marxist Student, ago

UK Youth Parliament sing “Oh Jeremy Corbyn” in House of Commons

On Friday, during a UK Youth Parliament sitting of the House of Commons, members of UK Youth Parliament sang rounds of “Oh Jeremy Corbyn”. With an average age of 15 in the Youth Parliament, we once again see the incredible impact of the Corbyn movement on winning over young people. By promising to seriously tackle issues affecting those under-18, including better and free education, ending low-wage, low-skill employment, lowering the voting age, Read more…

By Marxist Student, ago

Give young people the vote

Corbyn’s Labour Party have tabled a motion to lower the voting age to 16. The key reason for tabling such a motion, and for Theresa May opposing it, is that the last election saw two-thirds of 18 to 24-year–olds support the Labour Party, with turnout for the age bracket skyrocketing from 43% in 2015 to over 66%. Corbyn’s left-wing programme has won the hearts and minds of millions of young people throughout Read more…

By Marxist Student, ago

Free Education Now – Expropriate the Rich!

Next Wednesday 15 November there will be a demonstration in London calling for free education. Marxist Students will be there and we hope as many people as possible will be able to come along. We want to see free education, full living grants for all students, and an end to education cuts. The demonstration has been organised under the banner of ‘tax the rich’. We want to see the rich and big Read more…

By Marxist Student, ago

The October Revolution 1917: the seizure of power as it happened

It is October 24th: the eve of revolution – though nobody knows it yet. There have been rumours of an imminent uprising against Kerensky and the Provisional Government for days, but (helped in no small part by the efforts of Kamenev, Zinoviev and Stalin to stall events) the Bolshevik leadership is still wavering. Prominent Bolsheviks begin to arrive in Petrograd for the imminent Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets. Suddenly, the telephone rings. Read more…

By Marxist Student, ago

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