Left, but not a let-down

Submitted by Matthew on 8 April, 2015 - 11:27 Author: Beth Redmond

I am standing as part of a National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts slate. We stand candidates in NUS elections to make the hard-left visible in what is otherwise a politically vacuous space.

For many students, NUS conference [21-23 April, when the elections take place] is the first political event they take part in. Leaving them to believe that that is the be-all-and-end-all of the student movement is irresponsible. We hope to draw them towards the free education campaign and get them involved in left-wing activism outside NUS.

When we stand candidates who are also grass-roots activists, and therefore accountable to a movement, that sends a message to delegates that full-time officers are not special, as many people would have you believe.

The other left candidates include Hattie Craig, the NCAFC candidate for Vice President Higher education. She is a principled and thoughtful activist who has been part of the backbone of the student movement over the past year, and from her time as a Sabbatical Officer at Birmingham. She was disciplined and suspended for being part of an occupation there, so she has shown she isn't afraid of standing up to the bureaucracy and management.

NCAFC has also endorsed Shelly Asquith for Welfare. She has a very strong record of campaigning for workers' rights on campus, and is currently in an occupation on her campus, University of the Arts London, fighting cuts to foundation courses.

We are also backing Abdi Suleiman for Union Development, who is less close to NCAFC but a credible left-wing candidate. There are other “soft” left candidates standing whom NCAFC voted not to back.

The main demands I am raising are issues to do with migrants' rights and free education; NUS has good policy on both but chooses to ignore it. As president, I would continue building activist groups on as many campuses as possible, forging a militant struggle against the attempts of campus managements and the government to divide us. Whatever government gets elected I would fight for these demands. That commitment is especially important if Labour got elected, as part of building a labour movement fightback.

A few full-time officers cannot make the big, sustainable changes needed to overhaul the way our education system and society is run without a strong, grass-roots movement driving them forward.

Another focus is to combat repression of student protest on campuses. This year saw activists at Warwick being threatened with tasers and assaulted with CS spray. NUS should be calling for cops off campus and organising solidarity campaigns for those who are inevitably victimised.

Other key issues are international ones, solidarity with Greece and Kurdistan. In the debate on Israel-Palestine, I will support solidarity action other than BDS consistent with support for an independent Palestine alongside Israel. Sanctions and divestment could be useful, but overall the boycott campaign is about branding Israel as an illegitimate national entity.

People think being “left” means saying so out loud enough times or focusing solely on supporting BDS, but never really following through on things like organising direct action against cuts to course closures and supporting workers' struggles. In reality, left wing officers have been a let-down this year. Many forget that they are privileged to be paid to do activism full-time.

If you are not going to conference this year, find out who your delegates are and convince them to vote for us.

Tweet on the hashtag #nusnc15 and share our Facebook page.

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