Tell University of Birmingham Guild to support the demonstration outside the Tory party conference in Birmingham on the 7th of October and the TUC demonstration in London on 20th October. 

Students do not live in isolation from what takes place in society around them. The Guild’s Women’s Association, Disability and Mental Health Students' Association, and Black and Ethnic Minority Students' Association - together representing an overwhelming majority of Birmingham students- want the Guild to support these demos because austerity disproportionately affects these groups. If you take into account the effects of rising unemployment, the cut in housing benefit to under 25s, £9000 fees and the introduction of a market into education, workfare, and a huge host of other policies there is only a very small layer of the most privileged students that are not adversely affected by the government’s attacks. 

The Guild is a political organisation, it takes decisions based on what its values should be, and acts on them in the interest of its members. These decisions are inevitably taken even though some members of the Guild do not agree with them; otherwise the organisation would never be able to do anything ever. This autumn two demonstrations are coming up that directly coincide with our values and are in the interests of our students. When students have come out on demonstrations or taken action on their issues they have been consistently supported by unions because they recognise that we are both part of a movement. It is time for the Guild to recognize this and to actually start acting for the values it is meant to represent. We call on the Guild to publicly support these demonstrations, provide coaches where necessary and to make every effort to persuade Birmingham students to attend.