News from London Assembly Labour

Ken Livingstone joins ‘Save EMA Day’ demonstration

Ken Livingstone will join London students on a demonstration against cuts to Educational Maintenance Allowances (EMA) in Hackney today.

The demonstration is part of a national day of action ‘Save EMA Day’. Colleges and sixth-forms around the country are holding lunchtime protests against government plans to axe financial support that would leave many students unable to continue their studies.

The demonstration has been organised by the Save EMA Campaign and will start at BSix sixth form college and finish at Hackney Town Hall, Mare Street. There are currently 95,219 recipients of Educational Maintenance Allowance in London.

Ken Livingstone visited SOAS on 1st December and Hackney college BSix on 24th November to support student campaigns against hikes in tuition fees and cuts to EMA’s.

Ken Livingstone said: “The abolition of Educational Maintenance Allowances will deter thousands of teenagers in London from learning new skills and gaining valuable qualifications and work experience.

“The combination of EMA cuts and huge hikes in tuition fees threaten to deny opportunities to future generations of Londoners and entrench inequality.

“Now more than ever, students in London need our support to oppose these hugely damaging cuts yet there the silence from the Mayor is deafening. It’s time Boris Johnson put the interests of students before the interests of the Conservative Party.”

Other news from London Assembly Labour

• Every Labour voter must turn out today or the Tories will get away with it - 3 May 2012
• Cameron urging a Boris Johnson vote shows why we need a Labour Mayor - 3 May 2012
• Ken to woo London Liberal Democrat voters with email appeal - 1 May 2012