‘Hundreds of students’ could walk out in protest at Trump state visit

Hundreds of students could walk out of universities, schools and colleges on Wednesday to protest over Donald Trump’s state visit.

Socialist Students, a student activist group, said it has organised 30 local protests around the country on Wednesday as the US president arrives in the UK for his second state visit.

Adam Gillman, a recent college graduate and national organiser for Socialist Students, told the PA news agency around 200 students have signed up to organise walkouts locally.

“I don’t know the exact number, but I would say we would see a lot of students walking out tomorrow,” he said.

“It could be hundreds, it could be thousands of students walking out and that would have a big effect.”

Mr Gillman, 19, said he and students planning to walk out wanted to protest over Mr Trump’s position on Gaza, attitudes towards the climate crisis, migrants, and billionaires in the US.

A team of experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Mr Trump will be in Windsor until Thursday, when he and the first lady, Melania Trump, will head to Chequers to meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife, Lady Starmer.

He will not visit Parliament.

Thousands are also expected to take to the streets as part of the Stop Trump Coalition, which Socialist Students hopes to join up with after it gathers for its London protest at Cavendish Square Gardens.

Mr Trump is “being rolled out the red carpet by our Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who at the same time is also attacking young people by raising tuition fees at universities”, said Mr Gillman.

The Government announced last year that tuition fees would rise to £9,535 for 2025/26 after being frozen at £9,250 since 2017.

“Students think that it’s important that students at schools, colleges and universities get organised and are standing in solidarity with young people fighting back in the United States, in Palestine, and all over the world and saying, ‘as young people we will fight back’,” Mr Gillman said.

“I think this has huge potential, and I think young people are going to send a message to Trump and a message to Starmer that we won’t put up with this,” he added.

Mr Gillman said Socialist Students attracts students who feel the Labour Party is not fighting for young people, and there may be more organised walkouts in the future to protest against the Government.

“We’d like to see the Government who fought for the interests of young people. What we’d want them to do is fully fund our public services, get youth clubs back, abolish tuition fees, fight for maintenance grants,” he said.