The Blackpool conference marks a watershed for the student movement.
The decisions in past years to expand services at the expense or uniting tne membership to support the political campaigns of the union have led to the present crisis situation.
The Federation of Conservative Students, who two years ago had only 13 conference delegates, will arrive at Blackpool assured of the support of nearly 200. if they hold their fire against the present Broad Left leadership of the unien, it will only be because the Executive majority has made concessions to them.
The solution that the Broad Left leadership will seek to the current precarious financial, position of the union will be unity at any price. In terms of the Tories' demand, it will be acceptance of the basic premise that the cohesion of the union will be built by a downgrading of the resources put into campaigning and a greater emphasis on those services still remaining.
But such 'agreements', as embodied in the joint statement made between the Broad Left, the Tories and other student organisations after the announcement of crash, lead students dangerous blind alley. The Broad Left seem to refuse to realise that a union which does not devote the bulk of its re sources to campaigning in defence of students interests will necessarily be a divided one.
ALLIANCES The Broad Left leaders" failure to change course does not arise from a worship of services as such, but from their overall understanding of what alliances students must form to defend themselves.
During the campaign for an increase in the student grant, the strategy of the executive was with the Vice Chancellors and college principals and to WIl Duoic (Dress oDInIon. Ins uneasy alliance came apart when students took arrect action mune concoes me sup port of their claim and against increased hall fees and cuts.
Since the election of the Labour Government, the emphasis has changed. The THE NATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS conference this weekend will be a stormy affair. The collapse of three NUS service companies has destroyed the strategy of the The role of the NUS leaders during last summer's occupations of teacher training colleges against unemployment and cou cation cuts bore all the hallmarks of this strate ne numoer or occubduons was unprecedented in the history of the student movement. Yet the NUS refused to place any demands on the leadership of the National Union of Teachers to sup-port the struggle by implementing NUT policy of a fight through classroom action Tor class sizes or 30 or less in oract to employ jobless teachers and meet educaBona nece The NUS Executive refused on the basis that it would harm' relations between the NUS and the NUT. But what "harm' would have been done by a policy which could have given a perspective for the 20,000 teachers now on the dole?
Now the Broad Left's svstem of alliances has reached out to include the Tory students, who have ted massively off the demoralisation that the Executive's failure to give a lead independent or the likes of Jones and Scanlon has produced.
up a In order to fight the right wing inside the NUS it is necessary to win students from the policies of the Broad Left. Inevitably this will bring accusations from the Communist Party that the far left are endangering the unity of the NUS. But this demagogy should union who have fought consistently against ine unreal or the renE WIE It is not the far left who have signed joint statements with the Tories; it is not the far left who have put forward the disastrous policy of relying benefits of services to ensure the unity of the union.
At the same time, for any groups or individuals to put themselves forward as This is the alternative to the Broad Left in th manner of the National Organisation o IS Societies seriously ignores the number of independent militants who can be won to such an alternative at the present time in the colleges.
Differences in overall programmes can be resolved through struggle. opportunity exists now to unite all those prepared to fight on the basis of a rejection of the Broad Left's past policies and alliances with the Tories, and the necessity of a union based on politica. campaigns that fights for unity in action with the working class and the trade UnIOHS PAUL BROOKE [IMG Student OrganiSCE THE BROAD LEFT'S compromise with the Tories will aid developments toward. a right-wing take over of the NUS, and even start to threaten the existence of a unified student movement of the union, including the base of the Broad Left, must be that political campaigns can unite the student movement. The ownership of private service companies, subject to the massive pressures of the economic crisis. serves to endanger the viability of such a union.
programme of action to meet that threat not blind students including:
the basis of a fighting campaign against the Labour Government's attacks on students, in alliance with all those workers fighting those policies.
the Labour Government to re-employ all the sacked workers and restore services on the basis of state finance.
left who would But an Swansea took mass support for and services to overwhelmingly agreed.
However Have The challenge to this bloc from the left air imes sna road services The left has to be able to present a plan. * The fight for unity of the NUS on of the conference. * For an immediate cash injection by