Election the Labour leadership of the National Union of Students (NUS) argued that students should avoid "rocking the boat" with too much campaigning "Work for a Labour victory instead" they told us. At represent us was stupid, to a air of everything in their power to get rid of the Tories as quickly as possible. Instead Stephen Twigg, President of NUS, is saying that John Patten, Secretary of State for Education, is a man with whom students can do business! The NOLS leadership is so keen to 'do business' with Patten, they are even considering supporting a graduate tax rather than fighting for a decent living grant. Patten is an enemy of studenis and education. Patten is after all the per son whe hos planned the end of state funded education as we know it -the opting out of schools and colleges from local control. Now the government is threatening to break up student unions. They want to end the 100% membership of NUS by forbidding student unions from affiliating to NUS, and to make students pay to join their local or national student unions. The Tories aim to put the services of student unions up for compulsory competitive tendering. The Liberal and Labour-right NUS leaders have responded in a crazy way. They have all but stopped any campaigning work, and attempted to cut the democracy of the national union. This will not defend NUS. It isn't the radical campaigning work of the NUS In NUS the main threat the Tories hate. There is dispose of student unions because thev keep money away from capitalists, and because student unions have the potential to lead a strugcle to deiend education. Studenis need NUS. The B AR RE only way to defend and improve education is through student and trades unions. That means we need to stop the attacks on student unions with united action against the Tories. We cannot rely on the weak leadership of NUS. That is why it is so important to build a mass student campaigns which can overcome the general apathy of the NUS bureaucracy.
We need to fight for a better education for all. Building a militant and fighting student base in every college also means uniting the left in the college. United discussion and active work is needed to give a socialist leadership and a winning strategy to students. Unity can be held together only with the experience of col laboration. comes from the right. none. The Tories want to There is an urgent need for open, pluralistic alliances of socialist students involved in campaigning in the colleges. Build unity in action. Demonstrate to defena our right to unions!