Student Broad Left

By Aaron Kiely, NUS NEC

 

The NUS Liberation Campaigns are leading a campaign for the NUS to organise a national demonstration this autumn against soaring student debt, tuition fees and education cuts.

There is little doubt that students believe that the Tories’ policies are devastating education and denying future generations the opportunities to fulfil their aspirations.

There is also agreement amongst the student movement that a key task for us is to make sure that the Tories are kicked out of power at the next general election.

Where there is a debate is on how we ensure that the Tories lose the next general election.

I do not believe the best approach is to wait until 2015 before the student movement acts. We must actively fight the Tories over the next three years in order to make this government the most unpopular government of all time. This is the only way to guarantee a Tory defeat at the next general election.

Tory MPs – alongside the Liberal Democrats – must pay the biggest price possible at the ballot box for every single further education college that is cut, every single university course that is closed and every single dream and aspiration of young people they crush. Education is being wrecked as we speak and now is not the time to press ‘pause’ on the fight back.

The student movement must unite under a banner of defending students against the Tories’ attacks on our living standards right now, because if we don’t fight back against the unrelenting, constant stream of attacks, the Tories will simply attack us even more. As the NUS Black Students’ Officer, Kanja Sesay puts it: “only by fighting will we have a chance of winning… if you refuse to fight defeat is guaranteed.”

All sections of society from students and teachers to nurses and doctors have a role to play in exposing Tory attacks and maximising opposition to them.

NUS must re-ignite the student movement at a national level – and a vibrant national demo of tens of thousands students outside Parliament is the most effective way to get our voices heard.

A national demonstration certainly is not an end in itself, but a means of putting maximum pressure on the government. Nor, is national action counter-posed to local actions. On the contrary, our local struggles to save departments and courses facing the axe will only be strengthened by a national fight back.

NUS cannot allow the Tories to get away with kicking away the ladder of opportunity by continuing to stand on the sidelines. We need a national union on the front line defending students.

That is why NUS Liberation Officers Kanja Sesay & Vicki Baars, from the NUS Black Students’ Campaign and NUS LGBT Campaign, have initiated a statement, which has attracted the support of well over 100 student leaders to date, urging NUS delegates to vote for the NUS to organise a national demo at the forthcoming national conference. The statement includes signatories that represent the broad spectrum of our student movement, including Kelley Temple, NUS Women’s Officer-elect and Matt Bond, the NUS Disabled Students’ Campaign NEC rep.

This statement follows the NUS Women’s Campaign Conference decision earlier this month to call upon and lobby the NUS to organise a national demo to defend students. A similar motion will be discussed and voted upon at the NUS LGBT Campaign this weekend.

Please add your name to the statement – shared below – to add your voice to the call for an NUS-led national fight back against the Tories by emailing kanja.sesay@nus.org.uk.

“We believe that the National Union of Students should lead the fight back against the Tory-led government’s attacks on students by organising an Autumn 2012 national demonstration in London against soaring student debt, tuition fees and education cuts.

We urge NUS delegates to vote for NUS to organise a national demo at the forthcoming national conference.”

Kanja Sesay, NUS Black Students’ Officer

Vicki Baars, NUS LGBT Officer (Women’s Place)

Kelley Temple, NUS Scotland Women’s Officer & NUS Women’s Officer-Elect

Alan Bailey, NUS LGBT Officer (Open Place)

Matt Bond, NUS NEC (Disabled Students’ Rep)

Nathan Sparling, NUS Scotland LGBT Officer

Ruby Hirsch, NUS NEC

Michael Chessum, NUS NEC

Mark Bergfeld, NUS NEC

Aaron Kiely, NUS NEC

James Haywood, NUS NEC (Soc & Cit) & President, Goldsmith College SU

Joshi Sachdeo, NUS NEC (Black Students’ Rep)

Maev McDaid, President, Liverpool Guild of Students

Sean Rillo Raczka, ULU Vice President & ULU President-Elect

Claire Locke, President, London Met University Students’ Union

Max Wakefield, Vice President Community, University of Bristol Students’ Union

Mike Williamson, Vice President Academic Affairs, Edinburgh University Student Association

Daniel Cooper, ULU Vice-President-Elect, President Royal Holloway SU

Jen Izaakson, London Student Editor-Elect

Giulio Folino, LGBT Society, & President-elect, City University SU

Leander Jones, VP Democracy & Resources-Elect, University of Birmingham Guild of Students

Kelly McBride, NUS LGBT Committee & President-Elect, University of Sussex SU

Amy Masson, Women’s Officer-Elect, University of Sheffield SU

Simon Furse, VP Education, University of Birmingham Guild of Students

Jamie Woodcock, Postgraduate Officer, Goldsmiths College SU

Stef Newton, LGBT Officer, University College London & National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts LGBT Officer

Arianna Tassinari, Co President, SOAS Students’ Union

Finn McGoldrick, NUS LBGT Committee (Women’s Rep)

Sam Coates, Co-Chair Young Greens

Ash Haynes, Co-Chair Young Greens (Women’s Place)

Alex Murray, Education Officer-Elect, Kent University Union

Edward Bauer, VP Education, Birmingham Guild of Students

Alusine Alpha, Union Secretary Treasurer, Bradford University Union

Shakira Akther, Campaigns Sabbatical Officer, University of East London SU

Sara Moon, Union Development Officer-Elect, University of Sheffield SU

Kirat Raj Singh, Education and Welfare Officer-Elect, Birmingham City University

Josiah Mortimer, Environment and Campaigns Rep, Vanbrugh, University of York

Sky Yarlett, NUS LGBT Committee

Rima Amin, NUS Black Students’ Committee

Jamil Keating, Candidate for NUS VP Further Education 2012

Hanif Leylabi, NUS LGBT Committee

Samaira Anjum, NUS Black Students’ Committee, Vice President Community & NUS Delegate 2012, Manchester Met University SU

Alex Peters-Day, General Secretary, LSE SU

Stella Fasusi, BME Officer, Kent University Union

James McCash, NCAFC & Edinburgh University anti-cuts activist

Naomi Lauren Beecroft, NCAFC National Committee & Edinburgh Uni anti-cuts activist

Emma Kerry, NUS LGBT Committee (Disabled Rep)

Andrew Tindall, Campaign Against Fees & Cuts Cymru, Aberystwyth Guild of Students

Edmund Schluessel, Cardiff University Students’ Union

Andrew Ansell, Labour Club member, University of East Anglia

Ross Speer, President, Queen Mary Stop the Cuts & NUS Delegate 2012

Ellie May, Student Councillor, London Met University SU

Imad Faghmous, NUS Black Students’ Committee & Academic Affairs Officer, Bradford University Union

Izzy John, Welfare Officer Warwick SU & NUS LGBT Committee

Neelam Rose, NUS Black Students’ Committee & Diversity Officer, Worcester University SU

Rashida Islam, Black Students’ Committee, Sheffield University SU

Lois Clifton, Ethics & Environment Officer, LSE SU

Shadia Edwards-Dashti, Stop the War Student Officer

Calum Sherwood, Co-Chair Labour Students, Bristol University SU

Tom King, Secretary Labour Club, SOAS SU

Ben Hayes, Chair Anti-cuts group, La Swap

Joshua Snape, NUS Delegate 2012, Queen Mary SU

Shabina Raja, BME Officer-Elect, Nottingham University SU

Malia Bouattia, NUS Black Students’ Committee

Rebecca Sawbridge, FE Women’s Rep, NUS Black Students’ Committee

Beverly Mettle, BME Officer, Coventry University SU & NUS Black Students’ Committee

Al Hussein Abutaleb, Black Students’ Councillor, Sheffield University SU & NUS Black Students’ Committee

Varinder Singh, NUS delegate 2012, Hertfordshire University SU

Sharareh Houshmandyar, International Students’ Officer, Bath Spa University SU

David Adley, LGBT Officer (job share), National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts

Maryam Saghir, NUS Black Students’ Committee

Ashok Kumar, NUS Black Students’ Committee

Jade Baker, NUS Women’s Committee

Nihad Ahmed, Student Rep on the Academic Board of LSE, LSE SU

Matthew Stanley, People and Planet, Midkent College

Kelly Rogers, Women’s Officer, Birmingham University Guild of Students

Ian Drummond, Campaigns Officer, Birkbeck College SU & Senator of ULU

Shelly Asquith, NUS Delegate 2012, University of the Arts SU

Kristian Bruun, NUS Delegate 2012, SOAS & NCAFC NC

Joana Pinto, NCAFC National Committee

Maham Hashmi-Khan, NUS Black Students’ Committee & BME Officer, National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts

Sherelle Davids, Anti-racism Officer, LSE SU

Fairooz Aniqa, NUS Delegate 2012, University of the Arts SU

Jamie Wareham, Harrow LGBT Officer, University of Westminster SU

Conrad Landin, Undergrad Rep on Council of Arts and Humanities, University of Cambridge

Jaswinder Kaur, NUS Delegate 2012, University of Hertfordshire SU

Gurpreet Singh, NUS Delegate 2012, University of Hertfordshire SU

Kiran Virdee, NUS Delegate 2012, University of Hertfordshire SU

Sam Browse, Chair Sheffield Student Broad Left

Suleman Salu, NUS Delegate 2012, University of Hertfordshire SU

Sebastian Chowdhury, Student Governor, Manchester College

Francesca Anderson, Officer for Students-elect, NUS delegate 2012, Lincoln University SU

Georgina Bavetta, NUS Delegate 2012, Bristol University

Samira Musa, La Swap 6th Form student

Abduttayyeb Hassanali, ULU Trustee & Heythrop College SU

Fiona Edwards, Women’s Committee, Birkbeck College SU

James Meadway, Postgraduate Students’ Officer, SOAS SU

Søren Goard, Education officer elect, Goldsmiths

Alan Borgars, NUS delegate 2012, Hertfordshire Students’ Union

Sam Playle, Queen Mary SU Research Postgraduate Rep 2012-13

Thais Yàñez, LGBT Representative & Anti Fascism Anti Racism Officer, Birkbeck Students’ Union

Edwin Clifford-Coupe, Education & Campaigns Officer-Elect, UCLU

Robin Burrett, Postgraduate Officer, LSE Students’ Union

Lukas Slothuus, Community and Welfare Officer, LSE SU

Nathan J. Bolton, President-Elect, University of Essex Students Union, 12-13

Lucy Jane Drummond, Communities Officer & NUS Delegate 2012, University of Stirling SU

Chris Page, Welfare & Rights Officer-Elect, Cambridge University Students’ Union

Aadam Siciid-Muuse, Lay-member of Union Council-elect, University of Bradford Union

Ozzy Amir, Welfare Representative-elect & NUS Delegate 2012, Queen Mary SU

Amberine Khan, Women’s Representative-elect, Queen Mary University of London SU

Sidonie Bertrand-Shelton, Gender Equality Rep and Equality & Liberation Officer-Elect, Royal Holloway Student’s Union

Ben Gliniecki, NUS Delegate 2012, Cambridge University Student Union

Bob Sutton, Vice President, Liverpool Guild of Students