Students - Who Can YOU Vote For?

Students are angry and this was clearly seen as 50,000 demonstrated in London this week in the largest protest against the coalitions planned cuts to public services. While the UK government continue their mantra about cutting the deficit, the same ConDem government is happy to burden university students with a lifetime of debt.

The Liberal Democrats have come under fire for breaking their pledge not to raise tuition fees, Nick Clegg doing the media rounds in a desperate attempt not to lose anymore in the opinion polls (currently 11%). Students feel particularly sold out by Lib Dems, they were meant to be the party students could feel safe with - after all it was the Lib Dems who opposed Labour's introduction of tuition fees. But students have found the Lib Dems have opted to clinch a piece of power and sacrifice students in the process.

There is no safe haven for students in the Liberal Democrats, so does this mean students should return to the Labour Party again? The answer is an emphatic NO! It was Labour who introduced tuition fees in the first place, creating the foundation for class divide of the haves and have not's. It was Labour who let students down again and again as it clung onto power. Pandering to the markets and  private investors was a deliberate privatisation of our education system. Voters can not trust Labour, who would have introduced MASSIVE public sector cuts had they gained a fourth term in office. Instead, your local Labour councillors can be found wielding mini Tory axes and cutting public services instead of standing up and opposing them in deed and not just word.

Maybe students could feel safe voting Conservative? For those of us who are old enough to remember the damaging policies of Thatcher in the 80's, we clearly see that the 'new' look Tory party is no different from the old. It's ideological polices seek to damn the poor and reward the rich, with students being made to pay for education as the Tories move to a more elitist university system.

At the next local election students could be forgiven for not wanting to vote when they look at the Tories, Lib Dems and Labour and see three parties who are hell bent on forcing students into long term debt through tuition fees and cuts in public spending on education. Yet there is a political party that clearly says "No" to education cuts and tuition fees, it is the Socialist Party that speak out with students up and down this country. In Coventry - while every Labour, Tory and Lib Dem councillor voted through a £4.5m cuts package, only the Socialist Party councillor, Dave Nellist, voted against the cuts. Many people are getting angry about the cuts and a new workers party is welcoming people as they join the growing Socialist Party. Union candidates, those in the community and Socialists are seeking to field as many candidates in the next election, offering student voters an alternative to the failed capitalist policies currently being forced on voters.

To find information about TUSC visit the official website HERE, read more about the campaign for a New Workers Party HERE.

Youth Fight For Jobs is a website that campaigns against tuition fees, and Socialist Students can be found up and down the country - click here to find the nearest meeting place for Socialist Students.