Student march: Thousands protest education cuts in central London

Over 15,000 students and lecturers marched through central London today demanding the government ensures access to free, quality education.

The demo organised by the National Union of Students (NUS) saw protestors gather near Parliament holding signs which said: “No fees, no cuts, no debt”.

Speakers including Owen Jones and NUS president Malia Bouattia voiced their opposition to the Higher Education Bill, which will allow universities in England to increase their tuition fees in line with inflation.

Ms Bouattia said: “The government is running at pace with a deeply risky ideologically led market experiment in further and higher education, and students and lecturers, who will suffer most as a result, are clear that this can’t be allowed to happen.”

“This week, before the bill has even been properly debated in parliament – let alone passed – universities are already advertising fees above £9,000.”

She added that she believed over 15,000 students and lecturers were in attendance.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn appeared in a short video pledging his support for campaigners, while Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack took to the stage to back demonstrators.

The NUS has called on students to boycott the National Student Survey - an annual census the union claimed will allow the Government to hike tuition fees further.

The union's vice president for higher education Sorana Vieru told the crowd: "This huge upheaval of higher education is not about the needs of students, but about the needs of businesses.

"Its mantra is education for profit, not for public good."

Left-wing Jones also spoke, saying: "A society that fails to invest in education, that fails to invest in young people, fails to invest in it's own future."