Green Party leader Caroline Lucas MP spoke at the UCU and NUS demo on Victoria Embankment at 4pm yesterday, just before going into parliament to vote against proposals to increase tuition fees.
During her speech, the Brighton Pavilion MP said:
"This is nothing other than the privatisation and marketisation of higher education, and an attack on the aspirations of young people in this country. These so-called reforms are trying to turn our universities into businesses, and students into consumers, and that is why we will fight them every step of the way."
She continued:
"We are here because we are completely committed to fighting a government that can find billions to bail out banks and fight illegal wars, but cannot find the money to fund our education. And that's why today doesn't mark the end of a campaign, today marks the next step in a growing grassroots movement for change."
"But there is a political party which is completely opposed to the privatisation of education. Completely opposed to tuition fees. And that is the Green Party," Caroline Lucas announced, to cheers from the crowd.
She concluded:
"This government loves to say that they would like a big society. Well Cameron and Clegg, this is what the big society looks like. This big society is getting more and more powerful, and we will be there every step of the way."
Click here for the full text of Caroline's speech.
Click here to see the YouTube video of Caroline speaking.