London Poly delegation leader THIS MONTH'S Extraordinary NUS Conference ended in chaos as the Kinnockite leadership of the union blatantly flouted every constitutional rule in the book to push through its proposals for reform.
The two 'debates' were on the aboliTon ma Conee replacement with regionalsation.
Democracy was doomed right from the very start though. Only three at what may have been the last Winter Conference of the union. the National Organisation of Labour Students (NOLS) proposal to abolish Winter Conference toi on a card vote, when & did not receive a two-thirds majority.
Mysterious
Undeterred by constitutional rules. te following momeng saw tie oureducrats put the resolution for a revote. This time they won - after 13,000 votes from Stratholyde had mystenously disappeared overnight.
An extraordinary conference of NUS can only be called at the request of 25 colleges or more. Only 19 cut of 35 such requests were ruled vald by charged with running conferences).
When a proposal was mace 31 & February NEC meeting to suspend conference arrangements, pending NEC members - including National President Saven Iwca - walked out making the meeting inquorate.
When it was raised at the conMarch 21, 1992 After December's debacie, activists from Tyne Tees launched a national Campaign for Democracy in NUS. Their pettion against both the revote and the extraordinary conference was ignored by Twigg and his co-thinkers on the New, gospke naving support from activists in over 100 colleges - substantially more than those caling for the conference in the first place. Even the Socialist Worker Student Society (SWSS) rotused to condemn the conne s CHestucsl foolishly believing that at that stage the reforms could be fairty debated.
Political fight
Given the level of anger, there ma well be an attempt to try and take NUS to court over the issue. While it is highly Ikely that the constitutional breaches are in fact ilegal, it would be a mistake to take this path.
All it would mean would be that the political Sight necessary to tackle the bureaucrats would be diverted into desobiising legal wranging It would Iso fuei the fires of those who want t. destroy NUS VOLS have got to be kicked out of the driving seat of NUS. An NEC has to be elected that wil not accept Walworth Road - and possoy a new Larow more han plit te neega, Now more than ever len-wing nus waoersrio, one wat call mobilise students to defend education delend union democracy - the only way to defend the national union.