Student Left Network

Last updated

Student Left Network (SLN)
FoundedFebruary 2010
Type Advocacy group
Focus Tuition Fees, Higher Education, Further Education, Free Education
Area served
United Kingdom
Method Civil disobedience, Demonstration, Direct action, Occupations, Research, Student activism
Website anticuts.com

The Student Left Network (formerly National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts or NCAFC) is a membership-based organisation of activist students and education workers campaigning against tuition fees, education cuts and privatisation in the United Kingdom. [1]

Contents

History

National student campaigns for free education in the UK have always existed; the first organised group was the Campaign for Free Education (CFE), founded in 1995 in opposition to proposals by Labour Students for the NUS to abandon its opposition to the abolition of student grants. CFE was disbanded in 2004 by NUS President Kat Fletcher, and took a year re-emerge as Education Not For Sale which was founded by left wing anti capitalist students. [2] In 2009 ENS jointly organised (with Socialist Students and Socialist Workers' Student Society) the first student demonstration for free education in 5 years but with low turnout and a proposal in 2010 by UCL Free Education Society to establish NCAFC, ENS was folded into a newly established the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC). [3]

The organisation was founded at a convention at University College London in February 2010 on a platform of campaigning for "free, fair and funded public education for all", paid for through the taxation of the rich and big business. NCAFC also has semi-autonomous campaigns in Scotland and Wales. [4] The organisation played a role in the 2010 UK student protests, calling several days of action following the National Union of Students organised demonstration on 10 November. [5] It was estimated that up to 130,000 students took part in the 24 November 2010 day of action across the UK. [6] The organisation also undertakes research into education funding. [7] [8] [9]

2010 UK student protests

NCAFC logo used until 2018 NCAFC logo.png
NCAFC logo used until 2018

In 2011 NCAFC organised a march through central London, supported by the National Union of Students and the University and College Union, in opposition to the government's Higher Education White Paper. As many as 15,000 students took part, with the Metropolitan Police pre-authorising the use of plastic bullets in the light of the violence after the previous year's protest against student fees. BBC reporter Mike Sergeant described the policing on the day as "quite extraordinary... It's the most tightly controlled march through London that I have ever seen". [10] The government later withdrew the HE Bill. [11]

In 2014, NCAFC organised another major national demonstration for free education, this time in collaboration with the Student Assembly Against Austerity and the Young Greens. [12] Organisers claimed that the demonstration saw 10,000 students march and that the event was the largest mobilisation of students in Britain since 2010. [13] Following the demonstration, NCAFC organised two separate nationwide days of action for free education, on 3 December 2014 [14] and 31 January 2015. [15] The first gained wide publicity after accusations of police violence at a student occupation at the University of Warwick [16] and the second saw students marching in Brighton, [17] Sheffield [18] and Norwich [19] among other cities.

These marches were followed by a demonstration co-ordinated by NCAFC at the Labour Party Conference in Birmingham in protest at the party's stance on Higher Education funding. [20]

Despite significant gains for left wing candidates at the 2015 National Union of Students conference, [21] [22] candidates standing on the National Campaign Against Fees Cuts slate saw limited success. NCAFC's candidates for President, Beth Redmond, and Vice President Higher Education, Hattie Craig, widely regarded as presenting a 'hard left' face inside NUS in comparison to many of the other left-wing candidates, were not elected into full-time roles. [23] [24] However, NCAFC's candidate for Vice President (Welfare), Shelly Asquith, was elected, and Beth Redmond and Hannah Webb were elected to the NUS Block of 15, meaning the NCAFC have maintained a presence on the NUS National Executive Council [25] as well as maintaining a strong presence in student unions and in autonomous areas of NUS.

In November 2015 the NCAFC organised another national student demonstration in London under the slogan: "No Borders, No Barriers, No Business". The demonstration aimed to connect the fight against cuts to maintenance grants affecting the million poorest students and issues of migration and the refugee crisis. [26] Organisers claimed 10,000 students from across the country joined the protest.

The demonstration was marked by a clash between police and protesters outside the Department for Business Innovation and Skills when protesters attempted to storm the building. This was followed by what organisers claimed was a use of the controversial kettling containment tactic on Victoria Street, before thousands of students broke police lines and began an unscheduled demonstration through the Victoria area that continued into the evening. 12 demonstrators were arrested over the course of the day. [27]

Rebrand

In 2018, the organisation relaunched itself as SLN [ citation needed ], with a "Student Activist Weekender" in September and a formal rebrand in October. Campaigners spoke about the need to "unite students to campaign collectively against our universities and against the government". [28]

SLN held its inaugural National Conference at the University of Sheffield in February 2019. [29] It voted to break from the dominant 'soft left' Liberation Left faction in NUS due to its position on NUS reforms and on Brexit, and instead campaigned for two left-wing candidates, and actively stood candidates against incumbent officers Zamzam Ibrahim and Eva Crossan-Jory.

Affiliated organisations

Related Research Articles

National Union of Students (United Kingdom)

The National Union of Students of the United Kingdom (NUS) is a confederation of student unions in the United Kingdom. Around 600 student unions are affiliated, accounting for more than 95% of all higher and further education unions in the UK. Although the National Union of Students is the central organization for all affiliated unions in the UK, there are also the devolved national sub-bodies NUS Scotland in Scotland, NUS Wales in Wales and NUS-USI in Northern Ireland. NUS current President is Larissa Kennedy.

Student activism Work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change

Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political events.

Labour Students

Labour Students was the official student wing of the Labour Party of the United Kingdom. It was a network of affiliated college and university clubs, known as Labour Clubs, who campaigned in their campuses and communities for Labour’s values of equality and social justice.

Liberation Left

Liberation Left is a factional grouping operating within the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom.

National Union of Students (Australia)

The National Union of Students (NUS) is the peak representative body for Australian higher education students. As of 2020, there are 21 student unions in Australian campuses affiliated to NUS. A student union is eligible for membership by its classification as a legitimate student representative body at any Australian post-secondary training provider and the payment of Union fees by the union according to the number of full-time study units of its students.

LSE Students Union

The London School of Economics Students' Union is the representative and campaigning body for students at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Like other Students' Unions, it also funds and facilitates student activities of campus, including societies, sports clubs through the Athletics Union (AU), the Media Group and Raising and Giving (RAG) charitable fundraising initiatives. It is the only SU in Britain to have a weekly Union General Meeting (UGM).

Resistance: Young Socialist Alliance Political party in Australia

Resistance: Young Socialist Alliance (RYSA) is the youth wing of Socialist Alliance, an Australian eco-socialist and anti-capitalist political party.

The Organised Independents are a grouping within the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom.

Socialist Students is a socialist organisation with branches in universities, further education colleges and sixth form colleges in the United Kingdom. Socialist Students was established in the late 1990s by members of the Socialist Party (SP) who had built support for the Save Free Education Campaign amongst students in the battle over the introduction of fees when the Labour Party under Tony Blair was elected in 1997.

No Platform, in the UK, is a form of student boycott where a person or organisation is denied a platform to speak. The British National Union of Students (NUS) established its No Platform policy in April 1974. Like other No Platform policies, it asserts that no proscribed person or organisation should be given a platform to speak, nor should a union officer share a platform with them. The policy traditionally applies to entities that the NUS considers racist or fascist, most notably the British National Party, although the NUS and its liberation campaigns have policies refusing platforms to other people or organisations. The policy does not extend to students' unions who are part of NUS, although similar policies have also been adopted by its constituent unions.

The National Union of Students, Union nationale des étudiants (NUS/UNE) was a national university and college student organization in Canada from November 1972 to May 1981. The Union represented over 350,000 students in post secondary education. Donald Thompson, Sidney Shugarman, Pierre Ouellette, Myron Tiechko, Daniel Palmer, Dawn Hassett, Doyle Brown and Ian Boothe are listed as the first directors.

Scottish Young Liberals is the Youth and Student wing of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Reformed from the Scottish Young Liberal Democrats in 2008 and Liberal Youth Scotland in 2017, the organisation has taken a prominent role in party conferences. Its membership is open to any member of the Liberal Democrats living, working or studying in Scotland and is either under 30 years of age or in full or part-time education above that age.

Free Education for Everyone Student campaign in Ireland

Free Education for Everyone (FEE) was an Irish student campaign group which was set up in September 2008 in University College Dublin (UCD) to fight the proposed re-introduction of university fees. FEE was active in Ireland's main universities, including University of Limerick (UL), University College Dublin (UCD), Trinity College, Dublin (TCD), NUI Maynooth (NUIM), University College Cork (UCC) and NUI Galway (NUIG), and Queen's University Belfast.

Aaron Porter

Aaron Ross Porter is a former president of the National Union of Students in the United Kingdom; he was elected with a 65% majority and took office in June 2010 for one year.

2010 United Kingdom student protests

The 2010 United Kingdom student protests were a series of demonstrations in November and December 2010 that took place in several areas of the country, with the focal point of protests being in central London. Largely student-led, the protests were held in opposition to planned spending cuts to further education and an increase of the cap on tuition fees by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government following their review into higher education funding in England. Student groups said that the intended cuts to education were excessive, would damage higher education, give students higher debts, and broke campaign promises made by politicians.

Anti-austerity movement in the United Kingdom Early 2011 series of major demonstrations

The anti-austerity movement in the United Kingdom saw major demonstrations throughout 2010s in response to Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government's austerity measures which saw significant reductions in local council budgets, increasing of university tuition fees and reduction of public spending on welfare, education, health and policing, among others. Anti-austerity protests became a prominent part of popular demonstrations across the 2010s, particularly the first half of the decade.

Anti-austerity movement in Ireland

The anti-austerity movement in Ireland saw major demonstrations from 2008 to 2015.

Peoples Assembly Against Austerity

The People's Assembly Against Austerity is a political organisation based in the United Kingdom that advocates the ending and reversal of the country's government-instituted austerity programme.

The Alliance for Workers' Liberty (AWL), also known as Workers' Liberty, is a Trotskyist group in Britain and Australia, which has been identified with the theorist Sean Matgamna throughout its history. It publishes the newspaper Solidarity.

The Schools Action Union (SAU) was a British students' union for school children active in the early 1970s. It formed at the Free School Campaign (FSC) conference of January 1969 from attendees who did not want to follow the non-political path chosen by the FSC. The SAU set out a list of aims that included the abolition of corporal punishment in schools and the transition of all schools to become comprehensive and co-educational. A number of journals were published and the union, which became dominated by Maoists, organised significant school strikes in May 1972. The SAU dissolved in 1974 but the abolition campaign continued and saw corporal punishment banned nationally in all state schools in 1986; though non-comprehensive and single sex schools continue.

References

  1. What is the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts?
  2. "E.N.S – Education Not for Sale, An Overview". The Badger. University of Sussex Student Union. 6 October 2008.
  3. Ismail, Sacha. "A history of the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, 2009-2013". www.workersliberty.org/. AWL. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  4. "Nations and Regions". NCAFC. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  5. Politics as usual has failed. Students must take direct action, The Guardian, 22 November 2010.
  6. Student protests: school's out across the UK as children take to the streets, The Guardian, 24 November 2010.
  7. Vice Chancellor high pay report - anticuts.com, 16 April 2012
  8. More Russell Group academics 'earning six-figure salaries' - The Daily Telegraph, 19 April 2012
  9. Top universities 'doubled pay for senior staff' - BBC News, 20 April 2012
  10. Thousands march in student protest over university fees, BBC News, 9 November 2011.
  11. "HE bill 'to be shelved indefinitely'". Times Higher Education. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  12. "Students' fight for the right to free education | @guardianletters". 19 November 2014.
  13. The Guardian (19 November 2014). "Student protest over tuition fees ends in scuffles with police" . Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  14. National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (12 March 2015). "Live Blog: National Day of Action". anticuts.com. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  15. "March for Education in your city...ROUND TWO" . Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  16. The Guardian (3 December 2014). "Warwick University students accuse police of attacking tuition fee protest" . Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  17. "Brighton March for Free Education: No Fees, No Cuts, No Debt!" . Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  18. "Bath Marches For Free Education!" . Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  19. "Norwich students take part in march for free education". 2 February 2015 via 01/06/2015.
  20. "LIVING GRANTS NOT A GRADUATE TAX! DEMAND LABOUR COMMITS TO FREE EDUCATION!" . Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  21. Jarvis, Chris (3 May 2015). "Rebuilding the Student Movement - The Left Takes NUS" . Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  22. Socialist Action (2 May 2015). "Left victories mark start of new era for student movement - NUS Conference 2015 report" . Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  23. "Megan Dunn elected as new NUS President". 22 April 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  24. "NUS Vice President Higher Education election 2015 count sheet" (PDF). Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  25. "NUS National Conference Results and Count Sheets" . Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  26. Sketchley, Hannah (4 November 2015). "Why Students Are Marching Against a Government Waging a War on the Young and the Working Classes". Huffington Post.
  27. Smith, Mark; Tran, Mark; Smith, Mark (4 November 2015). "Police arrest protesters at march against scrapping of student grants". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  28. "Launching a new student left". Workers' Liberty.
  29. "First SLN National Conference Announced!".