Student Broad Left

There is no other candidate better qualified to lead the NUS International Students’ Campaign than the current London Met SU VP Education, Syed Rumman.

Syed is standing to take on the Tory government’s vicious policies against international students, their racist scapegoating and their savage cuts which are destroying Britain’s education system and public services.

In response to the enormous cuts offensive against students and the huge assaults on the living standards of the majority of society, a concerted opposition needs to be mounted.

Those waging the attacks want us all to be divided so that the opposition to austerity is weak. The left must try to ensure they are unsuccessful and that the movement against austerity is united.

The current NUS leadership is not in favour of opposing the massive attacks on students. Only the left is offering a way forward – for a fighting NUS that actively defends students against cuts, fees and attacks on our living standards.

The National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts National Conference is taking place this weekend in Birmingham (8 & 9 December 2012).

The Student Broad Left looks forward to this opportunity to unite the student left to take on the Tories, austerity and fight for the alternative – free education.

The motions we are putting forward to the discussion are: 1) We need left unity to demand a fighting NUS: take on the Tories & austerity 2) Bring Back EMA! 3) Venezuela shows there is an alternative: free education as a right 4) Fund Education Not War – Scrap Trident, Scrap Fees!

By Matt Stanley, NUS NEC & President of Midkent College SU

Yesterday the NUS announced that the national student demonstration will take place in central London on Wednesday 21 November. Below we share an article from NUS Black Students' Officer-Elect, Aaron Kiely, setting out the next steps for #Demo2012.

The next Student Broad Left national planning meeting takes place on Saturday 30 June, starting 11am prompt (feel free to come any time from 10.30) at Conway Hall, central London.

The meeting will be an opportunity to discuss how we can continue to build campaigns against cuts, fees, racism & war and for liberation, equality and international justice.

In light of the biggest attack on students and wider society for generations what will NUS do? Shall we have another year of standing idly by doing almost nothing? Or is it time to radically change direction and begin to defend students against the government’s assault? I believe that now is the moment for NUS to take the fight to the Tories and defend students.

Earlier this week a number of Further Education students wrote to NUS President Liam Burns – who is seeking re-election at this year’s conference – to support the call a national demo to defend FE students from fees and cuts. They are still waiting for a response.

The NUS leadership, led by Labour Students, built a right wing coalition at Conference which succeeded in rejecting all proposals that NUS lead a fight-back against austerity. Candidates that support NUS doing nothing to defend students won all of the full time elections at the conference – including the NUS Presidency and all of the Vice President positions.

Whilst the student left did not leave this year’s conference victorious, we did succeed in polarising NUS National Conference around the key issues facing the student movement. The key dividing lines were:

· Should NUS accept or fight cuts to education? · Should NUS stand for free education or a lifetime of student debt? · Should NUS remain silent or challenge the rise of racist scapegoating?

Last weekend’s National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts (NCAFC) Conference failed to agree a serious way forward in the student fight-back against austerity.

In the wake of the Tories’ Autumn Statement which launched fresh attacks on ordinary people last week, the emphasis of the NCAFC conference was not how to build the biggest and most united campaigns possible against fees and cuts, but rather on how to exclude people.

Yesterday over 10,000 students marched against the Tory-led government’s attacks on education in a noisy and angry national demonstration organised by NUS.

With freshers week underway or just around the corner at colleges and universities across Britain now is the perfect time to start promoting the national demo amongst students.

The NUS Black Students’ Campaign has these produced a fantastic, customisable for local details, #Demo2012 posters to be distributed throughout the student movement.

Order free posters for your campus now by contacting NUS Black Students’ Officer at aaron.kiely@nus.org.uk with your name, position, college/university, postal address and phone number.

Over 100 national and local student leaders are calling upon the NUS to start organise the national student demonstration on Wednesday 14 November in central London, on Parliament and under the banner of defending education. Add your name to the supporters by emailing aaron.kiely@nus.org.uk.

At NUS Annual Conference last week delegates from across the UK overwhelmingly voted for NUS to take the fight to the Tories and hold a national demonstration against fees, cuts, privatisation and student debt.

It is now important that students show their support for NUS calling the national student demo in London, on Parliament and against the Tories.

PLEASE SHARE THE FACEBOOK EVENT AND INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS to build the pressure and momentum for the NUS demo to take place in London, against the Tories.

We are delighted that NUS VP Higher Education and Presidential hopeful Usman Ali is fully in support of NUS organising a national demo to defend students in the autumn of this year.