By Joe Rukin
On Monday 27th January, student union officers from across the country met at the University of London Union to discuss the implications of Charles Clarke's White Paper on student funding, with NUS leadership promising a rapid response. A month on, we now know what that will be.
Many union activists were already disgruntled and slightly alarmed by what had happened when the white paper was announced. It was on the same day as the NUS Annual Reception at the Houses of Parliament where former NUS president Charles Clarke had been keen to say just how relevant NUS was, just after delivering his white paper which showed just how irrelevant he evidently considered the union's campaign to be. NUS Online was keen to play up
his praise;
"Speaking at the reception Charles Clarke expressed tremendous respect for NUS and gave full endorsement of all our work. He said he wants to forge a real partnership with the student movement and that he hopes to work with NUS on issues we consider to be outstanding."
"In the White Paper Clarke makes it clear he values the relationship with NUS. He wants to work with us to discuss the broad future of UK universities, and to stimulate more discussion on campuses. He finished by saying that NUS' work shows that involvement in students' union politics and campaigning can make a big difference, and he wished NUS the very best of luck for the future."
A further consternation to union activists had been that that same day, NUS had chosen to send out one of their few mailings not concerned with a students' splash plastic account. However as Private Eye pointed out, it had little to do with the white paper;
"The union has been strangely muted in its disapproval of the scheme, hedging its "deep concern" about debt burden with a keen welcome back to the maintenance grant and the shifting of up-front tuition fees. Part of the reason for this is a proposal in the white paper which has received little publicity; that the NUS itself should take over responsibility for reviewing University teaching standards, publishing a "user friendly" guide to the best courses and least-dull lecturers in town. Naturally, Clarke plans to "target pay resources to those universities which reward high-quality teaching", which gives the union an unprecedented level of power in the funding and decision-making process."
"On the day the white paper was published, proposing debts of up to £30,000 for all graduates, the NUS emailed every student on it's mailing list. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? CAN YOU COMPLETE THE KEBABATHON?" it screamed, over a link to an official NUS Online game which allowed members to "help guide student Danny Timpson home after a night out on the shandies... without dropping his kebab"
At ULU, it was announced that a National Lobby of parliament would take place on 5th March and several other options were discussed. One firm proposal was to have a shutdown, and of course the idea of demonstrations was considered. Mandy Telford repeated a couple of times "If another national demo is what you want, it is what we will have." Whilst the NEC had been moving towards a national demo, several speakers from the floor (the ones who Penny Hollings wasn't on first name terms with) suggested that regional, or even City-wide demos should be coordinated for as part of a national day of action, on a weekend date, allowing maximum participation not just from students but also from schoolchildren and their families who are the ones who will be most immediately affected by the white paper. This was backed heavily by many unions who said they simply couldn't afford another national demo. The idea of occupations was raised, but it was stated that although advice may be given, this would not form part the official NUS campaign.
Strangely enough on that day at ULU none of the NEC took the opportunity immediately afterwards to make their way 300 yards to the Institute of Education, where Charles Clarke was taking part in a debate organised by the Guardian. After limping off stage when it was occupied, he made the made the slip of labelling his proposals to charge fees after graduation a 'Tax'. Will Straw took the seat reserved for student representatives, and despite slips he has made in the past, his stance this time was rock solid- for progressive taxation.
However what happened next had many union officers scratching their heads. A week or so passed, and despite the fact that many unions had asked for a series of regional or city-wide demonstrations, no-one was given that choice when a ballot was sent out to constituent members. Ben Wood, President of Durham Students Union said;
"We got a simple A4 fax, Asking if there should be a national demonstration in March or not. There was a list of NEC members who supported it, but that was it. We had spent the bulk of what was left of our campaigns budget on getting to ULU, and even a regional demo in Leeds is three hours away, I couldn't believe there was no choice for regional action. I just couldn't send it back, but in the end sent back a different fax as I didn't think the question was fair. I would prefer to be able to organise something in Durham. We would be able to get 1500 to turn out in Durham. We just couldn't do that with Leeds or London and we couldn't afford it. We can do something with a lot more impact locally. The fax didn't even really ask a question, rendering the whole fact it was a 'ballot' a farce."
Just about 100 of the 700 constituent members responded to the ballot, with many FEs complaining that they never received the fax. Out of the respondents, many ballots were spoilt, but the vote nevertheless supported a second national demonstration in London. However it didn't end there. At National Council at the Britannia Hotel in Coventry on the 18th, the decision to have a national demo was overturned. With the rationale that NEC members should abstain from a vote to cancel the demo to 'Let the students representatives decide', the Labour representatives on national council who had seemed such vocal supporters of such an action handily absolved themselves of any blame when it was overturned 15-17.
Daniel Murphy, NUS LGB Officer was not impressed;
"Labour Students showed their true colours again today, which like the rest of their party appears to be blue. Labour Students disingenuously voted in favour of a second national demo, stating 100% support for bringing the fight against government to government. Unsurprisingly all Labour Student at National Council didn't vote on this position ignoring a national referendum of the membership of NUS. It would seem that a Labour party under attack from the trade unions and the anti-war movement is afraid of future protest action from students. NOLS have taken their 30 pieces of silver or their euro equivalent of a cushy job and sold students down the river. When Judas sold out he hung himself. Labour students have put students on the end of the rope instead."
Despite the fact her factional abstention caused the demo ballot to be overturned Telford, along with Chris Weavers were keen to absolve themselves of blame, sending out a fax to presidents putting the blame squarely at the feet of the faceless national council;
" National Council comprises of representatives from all sectors of our movement and is the second highest decision making body, only Annual Conference has more power. At this meeting, national councillors, on behalf of their regions, voiced concerns that had been expressed at regional conferences the week before about the effectiveness of a second national demonstration. Regional representatives led a successful motion demanding that local action would be more beneficial at this stage of the campaign."
So what do we have now? Well according to Telford & Weavers "We have a clear mandate.". Besides the lobby on March 5th, NUS are trying out a new tactic- a billboard poster campaign. This has already drawn criticism due to the cost and the fact at a time when the media are 'all over' subject of top-up fees, a billboard campaign will do little to move the campaign up the news agenda. There will also be a week of mass action across the country between 15 - 21 March 2003. What this will entail is uncertain, but the shutdown is sure to form part of this week. The week of action will hardly qualify as a 'rapid response', coming as it will two months after NUS made that promise, but more importantly for the like of Weavers, Telford and co, two weeks before they have to face re-election.
Anyone wanting more details should contact Vicky Whitney, Campaigns Co-ordinator at NUS on 020 7561 0555.
NUS Online, NUS tells students to unite, to fight, to win
Guardian, Student leaders ready for action
BBC, Students planning one-day shutdown
BBC, Students debate fees action
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Funding Campaign- Tools, Information & Advice.
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Charles Clarke has now delivered the White Paper which will map out student and university funding in the future.
As expected it contains a lot of bad news, with debts of over £20k planned and funding cuts in other areas which will see us move closer to a two-tier system of Higher Education.
So here is a resource centre for student activists to help oppose the proposals.
White Paper Summary & what you can do
 | Left A poster template for
the national lobby. To access a word version RIGHT click here and choose 'save target as'
Right If you can get them done, here's a template of a postcard to send to MPs. Click Here to see more |  |
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Amnesty International say a letter is worth ten protesters,
so here's the easy way to get a letter to your MP. You may not believe this, but not all MPs have published email addresses.
However, you can go straight to a web based fax form just by entering your postcode. More Info and Petitions
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