The marvellous movement of the students last November and December was truly inspiring. Tens of thousands of students along with teachers, lecturers and parents were mobilised to halt the Tory attacks on education. It peaked with the “Battle of Westminster” on the 9th of December (the day the bill increasing fees was voted on in the Commons) when thousands of angry students clashed with riot police and mounted officers in Parliament Square. Protests spilled across the whole of central London where several groups demonstrated in different parts of the capital’s centre, playing a game of cat and mouse with the police, who were struggling to keep up with the young and energetic students.

The events of the past month represent an important shift in the understanding of British students. Having grown up knowing only economic boom, in a period characterised in politics by widespread feelings of disillusionment, a generation of university and school students, previously labelled as “apathetic” by the media, stood up and made their voices heard. Their message is simple and has found an echo across many layers of society: “We will not be forced to pay for a crisis we did not cause!” This wave of protests and occupations has swept even the most deeply entrenched prejudices of the last period from the political landscape, leaving many (both on the right and the left) trailing in its wake.

October 12th was a dark day in the history of British education. Lord Browne’s review, set up to find ways to offload the burden of higher education from the state’s balance sheets, went significantly further than what had been expected.

Ed Miliband was announced as the new leader of the Labour Party on Saturday 25th September at the Labour Party annual conference, having beaten his older brother David in the final round of voting by the narrowest of margins (50.6% against 49.4%). By positioning himself to the left of his brother, Ed Miliband managed to win, mainly thanks to the votes of hundreds of thousands of trade union members, indicating that the rank-and-file in the labour movement are yearning for a leadership that truly represents their anger and frustration over the ConDem cuts.

The mood amongst students is a “barometer” for that of society as a whole. The famous events of May ’68 in France demonstrate clearly what is meant by this: protests by students in Paris led to repression from the police, which in turn resulted in a generalised revolt of the working class.

In 1987, Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Prime Minister, declared in an interview that, “there is no such thing as society”. It is therefore fairly ironic that 13 years later, David Cameron, the new Conservative Prime Minister, has announced his plans to create a ‘Big Society’ in Britain. Throughout the general election coverage, Cameron had avoided mentioning any specifics on what was meant by his vision of a Big Society, but now Cameron and his new best friend Nick Clegg, have outlined what is in store for the country.

The General Election on May 6th is undoubtedly the most significant election since New Labour came to power in 1997. For many of today’s youth, this election will be the first in which they can vote. Significantly, this generation of young people will also be the first voters who were born after the reign of Margaret Thatcher. The upcoming General Election, therefore, will be partially decided by “Thatcher’s children”.

The Militant Student is a new paper written by students, for students. The intention of government and big business to cut education, training and jobs to service the bankers debts, means that we are left with little option but to organise and fight. The situation that looms before us shows that capitalism today is at a dead-end and offers no future for workers and youth. This is the Statement of the Miltant Student Editorial Board in its founding edition.