Full Name: Will Battersby
Age: 19
Course & Year of Study: Economics, Second Year
Talk to us a little about your background…
I was born in Vienna but grew up in London, and then Kent. Personal experience in the labour market combined with the history of my family within the class struggle led to me developing radical views.
As a result, last September I joined the International Marxist Tendency to join the struggle against capitalism and all its horrors.
Why do you want to be SU President?
I believe that the Student Union can be used as a weapon by students to organise, mobilise, and democratically decide how they wish to transform higher education.
There is no limit to what we as students can achieve if we are able to effectively organise ourselves as a mass movement.
What are your policies, list 5-10 key pledges?
As President I pledge to transform the SU into a militant union democratically run by students. Following this, we would fight hand in hand with other SUs around the country as well as campus unions to:
- Abolish tuition fees
- Reverse funding cuts
- Remove all private interests and companies from campus
- Replace university bureaucracy with democratic bodies made up of staff and students to run universities for social good not profit
- Cap rents at a running cost price
- Immediately cut university ties to arms companies
What makes you different to the other candidates?
The fact that I follow in the footsteps of Lenin as well as other leaders of communist and working class movements means that no other candidate will be as bold in their approach, as ambitious in their demands, or as confident in their beliefs.
What do you think are the main three problems facing students?
High tuition fees, the cost of living crisis reflected in extortionate bills, and a disconnection with university management.
Three things the University does well?
Interval. Bar One. The University Arms.
Forge has reported extensively on the SU’s campaign to reverse the cuts to Zoom Cards – Sheffield’s discount bus & tram travel scheme for young people. Would you continue this effort, and is there anything you would do differently?
This is an effort that obviously must be fought and won and I would support it in every way that I can.
However, the fight must extend beyond this single issue.
The SU must put students in a position of power over institutions like Travel South Yorkshire where our best interests are never sacrificed for profit.
What are your interests outside of student politics?
The field of Marxism extends beyond politics. Delving into Marxist economics, philosophy, and history offers a fascinating description of how the world around us works.
Also, football.
Talk to us about your future… what do you want to do after uni?
Follow in the footsteps of my family and work within the working class movement.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
I don’t like making predictions about my future when so much uncertainty exists.
However, as long as I still have the use of my eyes in 10 years, I can guarantee that I’ll be reading and watching football regardless of where I find myself.
Who would play you in a film of your life?
Ryan Gosling because I’ve been told that when wearing my flat cap I look like him from The Notebook.
You can time travel to any year in history anywhere in the world. Where, when and why?
1850s London so I could go out on the lash with Karl Marx.
What living person do you most admire and why?
I disagree with him on many issues, but during the strike wave of summer 2022 I was greatly inspired by Mick Lynch and the way he handled himself in the face of opposition from the press, the bosses and the government.
You’ve just been elected SU president. How do you celebrate?
Drink enough lager to drown a small village.
What’s your favourite thing about Sheffield?
The people. A lot of university cities have locals that are resentful of students but I never get that impression here in Sheffield.