Campus Activism at Birmingham
On Wednesday 21 January, the YBF Media Training Team headed to Birmingham University for an afternoon of television training. Along with this, activists were treated to a talk from Tim Aker of The TaxPayers’ Alliance. Tim talked about the absurd waste of money that the EU is responsible for.
Aker says “The EU has a huge impact on the lives and finances of ordinary people both in Britain and around the world. The EU’s farming policies mean more expensive food for Birmingham students, and grinding poverty in the third world. This isn’t about obscure political arguments or philosophical debates, it is an issue of life and death, and I’m delighted to be at Birmingham to raise awareness of the seriousness of the issue.”
Jimmy McLoughlin, a third year politics student, said “It’s important that students are made aware of the Euro-sceptic debate. Our generation are growing up into a world where the EU looks set to become more and more powerful, so it’s vital that groups such as the TPA open students’ eyes to the reality behind the European Union. After all, it’s our money they’re wasting.”
After the talk, Euro-sceptic students joined in a protest to highlight the effects of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. (See picture). According to the Centre for New Europe, the EU’s trade barriers are responsible for 275 deaths every hour in the third world. This means that a person dies every 13 seconds thanks to the EU’s protectionist economic policy – which prevents African and third world farmers from competing in the free market.
Christian May, Operations Director of the Young Britons’ Foundation (which helped to organise the stunt) said “University campuses are a great place to spread an important message like this. The TPA do a superb job in highlighting financial waste, and this candle light protest against the CAP is an effective way of demonstrating the harmful effects of the EU’s economic policy.”
YBF will be hosting further such events on campuses around the country.