Socialist Equality Party (SEP) candidate Tom Scripps was one of six candidates in Holborn and St Pancras who spoke at a candidate hustings event at Westminster Kingsway College on Wednesday. Afterwards, the World Socialist Web Site spoke with students to get their views.
Alfie said:
I thought it was really good. The questions the students asked were good and the answers the candidates gave were very informed. They all tried their best, but I thought that Tom was the best.
He answered my questions very well, and he had a clear policy, like he knew what he wanted to do, compared with the others who were very confused sometimes.
Nuclear bombs, I think they should be brought up more, especially in the UN, to get rid of them. Because they don’t help anyone at all, and in the end it’s just going to hurt all of us.
UKIP didn’t seem to have any policies. Their main policy is to stop immigration and I don’t agree with that.
I agree with a lot of the SEP’s policies, I don’t agree with all of them, I’m kind of centrist in a lot of points.
Abdul said:
I feel that the hustings was really informative, for example, when people ask the questions on the NHS [National Health Service], or the Lib Dems about the coalition and university fees. I thought that it was very informative to the younger generations.
I think that Tom was way over informative, like the way he addressed issues like Palestine and Gaza, and for a small party he was pretty good and efficient. What he did was a good way of representing smaller parties.
Leanne, a first year psychology, sociology and politics student, said of Tom’s presentation:
I think he was really passionate, like all the students agreed with him. I can’t speak for everyone obviously, but the majority, from what I could hear, agreed.
Bao, who is studying math, economics and politics, agreed:
He was very logical and factual. He had the arguments and the evidence to back up his points. Obviously, the wars, the genocide and everything that’s happening in the world is horrible.
Angel said it was good to hear from the parties in-person, adding:
I know the Conservatives felt that they are so above us that they couldn’t come to a simple high school/college. We are the young people, we are going to be in charge in the future. So if you’re not even ready to meet with us because you think that you’re so above us, speaking to only big businesses and stuff like that. I think it shows their lack of integrity as a party.
She said of Tom’s speech to the hustings:
I understood that we have a split or divide in society, like a bourgeoisie rule, and they are not accountable to the millions of underprivileged people. You just want peace not war, and they’re funding a war, putting money towards a war that they want to happen in a sense.
I agree we need a new party system. This one is outdated and only allows for a two party system. We need new people in government. It has not been working for years now. The people are tired and we need something new. The SEP has the right idea, but needs a bigger voice and I feel that running in the election would give them a bigger voice.
Ashley, who stopped to speak with SEP campaigners after reading the party’s election statement earlier that week, said:
I’ve never voted in my life. I’m absolutely disgusted with the way that the government and this world is. You can’t even watch the news or anything. I never had any intention of voting in my life until two days ago, [when] I walked past to see this [pointing to the party’s information stall]. We deserve to live in a world with no war, it’s domestic terrorism, it’s a disgrace, and so I’ll be voting all the way. We deserve to live in a peaceful and war-free world.
When asked about her views on the Labour Party, Ashley replied:
They’re all a disgrace to the human race, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t watch much politics, but I’ve heard, when I put on the news, which is always horrible things, any government that is for doing this kind of stuff... just murdering and slaughtering people, it’s a disgrace.
There’s too much blood on their hands. It’s disgusting, and they want a nuclear war basically, and because they can’t find any more excuses they are going out to other countries. It’s wrong, in a nutshell. It’s a disgrace and I really hope that we go somewhere with this.
I wouldn’t want it any other way, because we deserve to live peacefully in life. All that’s happening is that they are slaughtering innocent people, not just in this country. They’re going out and causing war everywhere else, to get other people to do their dirty work. It’s a disgrace. Our children are our future. It’s so wrong, I can’t even find words to explain.
I’ve never voted in my life, but when I’ve seen, “Build a socialist anti-war movement” and “No to genocide in Gaza”, that’s why I’ve stopped today and will vote for Tom.
Follow and support the Socialist Equality Party’s campaign here.