Clare Solomon is failing miserable on Newsnight

[waterlooroadisadocumentary]

Can students really not get anyone better to represent the, she is hardly doing a good job of representing the educated

[Guacamole]

Bugger forgot it was on.

[LadyBlaBlah]

Both the student folk are like characteurs of student types.

One is wearing an army coat

The other may as well be wearing a bow tie

[waterlooroadisadocumentary]

I thought the same LadyBlaBlah

[Drhelen]

clare Solomon did a great job against Paxman and Hughes. Someone has to stand up for normal students who understand that massive debts will put off loads of working class kids from applying. women in particular will fear balancing having a family with the additional debts of £18k plus in fees. People wanting to study medicine like me will end up with MASSIVE debts - when are they going to feel they have enough to start a family? Wwe need more protests!

[waterlooroadisadocumentary]

If you are going to end up earning a doctor's salary you will be able to pay your fees.

While I agree with the fees I do not want to stop anyone protesting, however if the protests take the turn they did the focus is going to be on the protests not the cause.

Why did you think she did a great job, she was inarticulate and avoided answering questions. I am sure she criticises politicians for not answering questions.

[stoatsrevenge]

If you are going to end up as a teacher you will not beable to pay your fees,

[waterlooroadisadocumentary]

I am a teacher, I would happily pay my fees over the lifetime of my career.

[waterlooroadisadocumentary]

I did think the questions about her age were pointless.

[campion]

An average student she ain't.
In all that hot air she was so desperate to spout,she forgot to mention that she was chucked out of the Socialist Workers' Party

Maybe they couldn't get a word in, either!

[Chil1234]

I went to uni back in the eighties and qualified for a grant of a whopping £1500 for the entire year. There were no tuition fees back then but most of the working class kids like me that attended ended up with big overdrafts, CC bills and loans to make up the shortfall for accommodation, food, books etc.... all provided at market rates, unlike the student loans of today. Middle-class kids didn't qualify for the grant and just had bigger overdrafts. Posher kids on my course simply rang home and 'Daddy' sent them a big cheque or bought them a car etc.

Point being that it's always been pricey for working class kids to go to uni and posh kids have always had a fall-back. Lower-income groups are going to qualify for help. Middle-class families will now do what US families have done for a long time and create a 'college fund' when their kids are born. After my experience at uni, that's exactly what I'm doing for my son...

"Free" higher education has been a myth for some time

[telsa]

I didn't think she was that bad, given that she is trying to think outside of the logic that they all accept - from the cowardly NUS leader who is so dead set on being an MP - just hasn't decided whether to be Labour or Lib Dem yet, to Hughes, who wouldn't even acknowledge Claire, except to patronise her, because she doesn't speak the lingo of liberalism to Paxman - who is just asked entirely irrelevant personal questions.

[Ryoko]

That woman should shut up, and grow up (she's 37) and get a fucking job, life isn't fair deal with it.

Bloody students shut up and put up, you don't pay it back until you are earning over 21k anyway, no one has a problem buying a car and paying for it in installments, but they scream bloody murder when they are asked to do it with the further education that will benefit them in the future, if they are as passionate about the subject they study as they are they are about the right to do so at the tax payers expense we wouldn't have so many of them bitching about there not being jobs out their worthy of their greatness.

I have no sympathy for people who are either taking the piss to avoid signing on/getting a job/so bloody high and mighty no one will want them or are going to be sitting in a fancy middle class house in ten years time moaning about the feckless unemployed poor people having the audacity to take their hard earned tax money to pay for food.

[Callisto]

I have zero sympathy for these students. Higher education shouldn't be free.

[Ryoko]

Not saying it's entirely selfish, but the majority are in it for money or to delay working hence the reason why there are so many mickey mouse courses, while hard subjects that need people like Science and Physics are screaming out for people to take the course.

Fact is you can't turn round and say fuck the unemployed they are all scum who will never amount to anything so punish them. and then say we should sub students on the off chance some of them might do something useful in the future .

Life is a bitch and it should be equal for all either way, help everyone or make everyone help themselves, end of.

[KathRo]

Clare Solomon has just said she supports criminal damage is okay when protesting!

[Siasl]

I was appalled by her comments supporting criminal damage.

She is a fairly typical example of a professional rabble rouser. Not working for a living (age 37?), living off her 'members' donatives to further her obsolete far left political motives.

How did London students fall for her? I doubt she is representative of the average student.

[Butterbur]

"Not working for a living (age 37?)"

Aren't there quite a few posters on this site who have gone to uni late? What's wrong with it?

[Bodydouble]

She also lives in a housing association.

[earwicga]

Clare Soloman did a brilliant job in campaigning to get Boris to keep his promise on Rape Crisis centres in London. I wouldn't write her off so quickly.

[forevervacuuming]

Those who say Clare Solomon should get a job as she doesn't know what it's like to work for a living need to look into how student unions work.

Her presidency is her job, presumably while also being a registered, deferring student.

She may not be the exact average but the University of London has had a strong history in teaching mature students for 150 years so she is representative.

[bettymoody]

she was shit on Jeremy Vine too

[slug]

Much as I agree with the student protests I have to (slightly shamedfaced) admit that when it comes to Clare, who I know personally, I have to agree with Ryoko. Sometimes she does the students cause no favours at all.

[susie100]

She was awful and did nothing for her cause at all. Sort of person that has lost all sense of reality - its just a few windows. FFS.

My father was at the protest with his students, they left in disgust at the hijacking.