The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts published proposals for the left to raise in and around the National Union of Students. Workers' Liberty was involved in drafting these proposals but, having discussed further, would like to suggest some additions. NCAFC publishing a programme is a useful basis for discussion in the student movement beyond NUS conference too.
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The government's review and the student movement
In response to the latest announcements from the Tories, we should say that we do not want to fiddle with the details of their review of post-18 funding. Instead of "welcoming" it NU should join with the pro-free education, anti-marketisation etc opposition to the government, in particular Corbyn’s Labour Party, to seize the day, turn up the pressure on the government and prepare for its replacement. NUS’s “contribution” to the review should be an escalating program of protest and direct action under demands for universal living grants, abolishing fees, scrapping market mechanisms, etc, to create a post-16 section of an integrated public education system (NES), funded by taxing the rich and nationalising the banks.
The political framework
The existing introduction should be redrafted on this basis, but in addition two comments on the original:
Firstly we need to go beyond a criticism of capitalism and make the case for socialist aims and socialist education, for fighting for a different world. The need for bold socialist policies can also inform other points, eg in the point about mobilising against climate the demand to nationalise the Big Six energy companies. We should build on the call to tax the rich by including the demand to expropriate the banks and reorganise them as a public service, using resources to guarantee decent education, jobs, services, housing, etc for all.
Secondly, we need to stress the question of linking the student movement and student activists up with the Labour Party and fighting both to elect a Corbyn government and to put pressure on it to win stronger, more radical demands, for instance on giving some content to a “National Education Service”. It also seems important for NCAFC candidates to link themselves to the "Corbyn movement", the fight in Labour, etc (not exclusively, but prominently).
Fighting for education
The statement calls for “free education [and] living grants for all, funded by taxing the rich and won through direct action and demonstrations”. Given the unwillingness of NUS and many SU officers to take action, this should be more specific. We suggest: a first term national demonstration in London and a second term demonstration (probably with a slightly different emphasis) in another (probably Northern) city. Plus a coordinated wave of direct action, including occupations. To “Tax the rich” we’d add “and big business”.
It would surely be worth talking about last year’s national student demonstration, NUS’s refusal to support it and the left (in particular the NCAFC’s) role in organising it.
The proposal from Ana Oppenheim for a conference to discuss what we mean by a National Education Service is good and should be included.
To launch a campaign to save FE, NUS should convene an emergency campaign summit, seeking to bring together FE student unions, UCU and other FE union activists and community campaigns, to produce a clear charter of demands and plan for action.
Similarly, NUS should convene a conference of student unions, Cut the Rent type campaigns and other housing campaigners to produce a set of demands and campaign plan on rents and housing.
Democracy on campus
Cops off campus needs to be explained or it is an empty slogan. We would suggest the demand that police should not be allowed on university and college campuses without permission from the student union. This should be fought for institution by institution and as a law, as in parts of Latin America.
“Defend the right for political organisation and action campus” is crucial, but vague. We would suggest: “Fight to defend and extend the right to organise, protest and speak on campus”. It is important to not be afraid to explicitly defend free speech as part of defending students' and workers' ability to organise and fight. There is also a case for specific demands about the right to organise societies, hold meetings, invite speakers, etc, as well as access to rooms and resources.
A maximum pay ratio and top management pay crap is good, but it should be posed as one of the first steps in democratising institutions.
International solidarity
“Support Palestinian liberation”, by itself, is odd. Why only/in particular the Palestinians? What about eg the Sahawri, the Tibetans, Kurds and other oppressed peoples? There are very immediate issues the left could campaign on, for instance the Kurdish struggle. Only mentioning Palestine seems to be an example of a knee jerk culture in NUS of supporting what seems trendy. We need to think things through and be consistent. We need a consistent approach of combining struggles against foreign oppression with support for the oppressed and exploited, workers, students, women's and LGBT struggles, etc, everywhere in the world.
Democracy in NUS
"An end to cliques and bullying" is vital, but it needs to be acknowledged that such things exist on the left as well as the right.
Beyond that, more detail on democracy would be good. We’d suggest increasing SUs' conference delegate entitlements, adding an extra day to conference, scrapping Zone conferences (and replacing them with cheaper networking/discussion/education events) and introducing a two day second conference devoted entirely to discussion policy. We would also suggest some changes to the NEC: guaranteeing a decent amount of time for discussing motions/proposals at every meeting and restoring funding (for eg travel) to Block of 15 members.
There should be at least a reference to the need to democratise student unions too.
Lastly, there is an urgent need to put pressure on other candidates and activists who see or present themselves as being on the left in NUS to adopt similar demands, or indeed clear political demands at all.
