International Students for Social Equality meetings in Britain

The International Students for Social Equality is holding a series of meetings in the UK to advance a socialist programme in opposition to the cuts in higher and further education by the Labour government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The government has announced education cuts totalling £900 million. This is only the tip of an iceberg. The Institute for Fiscal Studies says the cuts may reach £2.5 billion. Leaders of the Russell Group of 20 leading universities have stated that at least 30 universities could disappear and others face possible meltdown. The cuts would send at least 14,000 academics to the dole queue.

A record 477,277 students took up a university place this autumn, a 5.6 percent rise on last year. But an additional 139,520 students failed to win a place. Savage cuts are already being implemented at universities and colleges throughout the UK. The government has initiated a review that is expected to recommend that annual tuition fees be allowed to increase to between £5,000 and £7,000 a year from the current level of £3,225.

Education cuts are part of a wider assault on all the social programmes and gains won by the working class over decades, to make working people pay for the raging economic crisis and the multibillion bailouts handed over to the bankers and the super-rich. This can only be opposed through a mass political mobilisation of students in alliance with broader sections of working people. Students wishing to discuss this should attend ISSE meetings on your campus.

Wednesday 10 February3.00pmRoom 1.11Franklin-Wilkins BuildingWaterloo CampusStamford StreetSE1 9NH

Wednesday 10 February7.30pmMeeting Room 1University of Manchester Student UnionOxford RoadManchesterM13 9PR

Tuesday 16 FebruaryBoyd Orr BuildingUniversity Avenue7.00pmGlasgowRoom 507CG12 8QQ

Thursday 18 February4.00pmRoom AS01Shawcross BuildingUniversity of SussexBrightonBN1 9QT

Wednesday 24 February7.00pmThe Rutland Arms86 Brown StreetSheffieldS1 2BS

Thursday 25 February7.00pmRoom G6, Tower Building Perth Road DundeeDD1 4HN