Lloyd Russell-Moyle : Home
I'm Lloyd Russell-Moyle the Chair of the Woodcraft Folk which is a progressive education movement in the UK. We are part of the International Falcon Movement - Socialist Education International. I have worked in Student Unions as President and Secretary-Treasurer, was Vice Chair of the British Youth Council and Study Peace Studies at Bradford University. I'm the Treasurer for the Education Not for Sale Network which is a anti-capitalist network of student activists.Lloyd Russell-Moyle : Twitter
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Thursday, 26 March 2009
A march for Free Education but NUS fails to step forward
On a cold February morning about 60 students from Bradford set off to London to make their mark in the start of the free education ahead of the government review on University fees.The Demonstration which was organised by left wing and liberal unions was the first national march in over 10 outside of NUS.
Last April the NUS leadership dropped its 10 year old stance for free education instead for a fight for a fairer funding system. As I have argued in these pages before the only fair funding system is free education.
Just under 1000 students marched through London the national demonstration against fees and marketisation organised by an alliance with socialists, anti-capitalists and free education campaigners, as well as over 20 student unions and the NUS Women’s, LGBT and Black Students’ Campaigns. (For a full list of the sponsoring organisations, see www.studentdemo2009.org.uk.)
There were decent turn outs from a number of Unions, but only a small number. This is an indictment of NUS and the majority of student union leaderships, who refused to have anything to do with the demo and in fact no doubt worked against it.
Despite this, the fact that the demonstration took place was progress. Such is NUS’s inactivity that there has not been a national student demo since 2006; without this initiative, that three year gap could have lengthened to four years, five years or even longer. (It was also the first time that a national free education demo has been organised independently of NUS since the Campaign for Free Education demos of the late 1990s.) The fact that a broad variety of left-wing student activist groups were able to work with student unions in a democratic organising committee to organise the demo bodes well for future action. We have learnt important lessons which can put into practice next time.
Bradford has had a long history for fighting for free education; we supported non-payers during the introduction of fees. We have got strong policy against all fees (that’s home, EU and International). In the last article of the Bradford Student I argued the case for Free Education, I called for our Vice Chancellor (the head of Bradford Uni) to do only noble thing and call for free education as I believe he personally supports. He still hasn’t, failing a generation of students!
In the Guardian Wes Streeting, the NUS president replied to criticism about not supporting free education despite NUS for a principled stance for free education. He says “"The NUS is standing alongside several other trade unions today to protest against 1.5 million cuts in adult education places.
"If the student movement gets campaigning tactics (over fees) wrong in 2009 there will be no chance of stopping the lifting of the cap.
"Some people say we have small ambitions but a fundamental overhauling of the way the system is funded isn't small.
"We've made a bold and brave decision to focus on how graduates contribute and eliminating the market rather than getting rid of fees, which is unfeasible."
The economic climate would make it unrealistic to argue for the abolition of fees, he said.
"It looks like cloud cuckoo land. The fight has got to be to ensure the market in fees doesn't go further and to defend investment in universities and colleges. That's a campaign we can win."
In the same article the newly elected President of Susses University Union, Tom Wills stated "The NUS's policy is flawed logic – you don't win concessions by trying to appease the government, you need to put pressure on them.
"With the march, we want to put this on the agenda and make sure free education is talked about on every campus, especially next term as the review raises the temperature on the debate around tuition fees. We need to make fees an election issue."
He said the fact that several student demands were met after the sit-in protests on campus was "inspiring".
"With the economic crisis the future is already uncertain and students want to feel part of shaping that future," he added.
In April students around the globe will take action for free education, Bradford is getting read to force the University to unequivocally come out against fees, if you want to join the campaign then please contact me on ubu-ust@bradford.ac.uk or come in to the students’ union.
Labels: education, Education Not for Sale, ENS, National Union of Students, UBU, Universy of Bradford, Universy of Bradford Union
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Stop the War meeting and Occupations
Over the last few weeks, and going in to months now occupations about Gaza have been happening up and down the country. This amazing act of solidarity has seen almost 20 Universities occupied from Scotland to Brighton even spreading to New York.The movement needed to come together - share ideas, and exchange views. That was what I thought Stop the War Coalition was hosting at their student meeting. Unfortunately that's not what some of the StWC comrades thought - to them it had been billed as an event to build StW groups on campus on the back of occupations.
At some points of the meeting this confusion was used to hijack all occupations to create a national StW committee. Whether this confusion was deliberately instigated or was just due to the mix of people at the meeting I will (for the sake of argument) take the latter.
Due to a reluctance of some occupations to join this committee and a number of people calling for a further discussion of how we build from the occupations, Sussex comrades lead the call for a further meeting. This was to discuss further building of the occupations network (in a loose way) and to this end I agree so with other ENS comrades backed the calls and helped instage a discussion at the end of the Conference only for it to be later hijacked by Revo and other factions.
We meet at ULU (the University of London Union) to further discuss what to do next. However the issues got inflated and confusion entailed.
I realise that the StW needed to consolidate its own networks and if only this had became clear at the conference then maybe we would not have needed this further discussion. I fully support that every campus should have an active Stop the War Group, and in the understanding agree that they need a national body/ committee elected by branches - this however had not been clear.
By the end of the side meting at ULU, I don't know if people were clearer or more confused by what had happened. Frustration as always at these meetings had grown and people wanted to
leave.
I have a lot of respect for comrades from all the divide. For example Rob Owen, although lambasted, often puts in valuable inputs, and although I disagree I think that without the factions in some sense we would be weaker.
With heat rising I don't think that other appreciated these "inputs"and a few started walking out - factions trying to get their own way, the meeting ended with a understanding that some organising needs to come out of the occupations (the same situation that we were in at the start !)
If the meeting will motivate people to go back and mobilise, if the meeting means that people communicate on the email list and we get moment for a national day of action on Palestine then it would al be worth it - if not it was just another factional bitching session.
Labels: education, Education Not for Sale, International Politics, National Union of Students, Palestine
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Report for Unoin Council
Well what a year it has been, we have had a stronger Welcome week, a packed programme and more engagement. I want to draw councillors attention to three things.National
We have just had the elections of the National Union of Students Delegates as well as other positions, I think that these went well and I want to extend my thanks to the fantastic team that ran the elections.
I also note that after the Extra-Ordinary Conference we will have a referenda for NUS, I intend to convene an elections committee to help run that elections and expect to hold it before the new year.
The
Over the last few years the
Labels: National Union of Students, UBU, Universy of Bradford, Universy of Bradford Union
Sunday, 21 September 2008
End of Freshers week and what a week.
As the Bradford welcome week comes to an end for another year I look back at a set of events that set the mark for development.
Many of us here like to think that Bradford is unique in its make up of students and also the style it runs the Union. From having no president (we have a flat executive of 6 full time and 6 part time) to having almost 50% Muslim students UBU is one that leads the way in alternative ways of working.
During the week we held two free Iftaar events open to all students, a ceilidhs, the Trans tea party and much more we made a programme second to none - so why do I think more can be done?
I truly no longer believe that Unions can rely on their traditional commercial services. We need to be entertaining our students in different ways. Every day pubs across Britain are closing and Student Unions cannot and shouldn't be amune to this.
Apart of diversifying the services that Unions offer, I believe that they need to be exploring mutual solutions to expansion and governance of their commercial activities.
A Union in it's very core should be to protect, defend represent and support their members (in this case students). The problem is that so many SU's and officers get bogged down in the administration and running of the commercial activities.
NUS's recommended solution to this is getting in "externals" to run the whole student union and setting up trustee boards. However this is quite the wrong direction. Apart from undermining the very principle that unions should be controlled by their members it is dangerous giving such poer to an unknown external. When the modal of externals, boards and capital is falling around us the cooperatives provides the modal that we should follow.
This is member lead, member run - but what are members?
I would challenge that for commercial services they should be run by workers cooperatives with managements boards made up of equal workers and students (as most of the workers are still students, students have the majority). It is workers cooperatives that meet the ethical needs of their memebrs and treat employees well.
With this model, the services are kept mutual, the Union still have "control" in terms of its memebrs are the commercial services members (on the whole) and the services are run for and by students - not officers, bureaucrats or externals.
There are so many other examples of how alternative solutions could be used but not one suggestion of the like from NUS - only the same old tired mantra about external trustees - something that will eat away at our credibility.
Labels: education, National Union of Students, UBU, Universy of Bradford, Universy of Bradford Union
Call for a national demonstration against top-up fees and for living grants, spring 2009
Please support this statement and get involved in organising the demonstration I am part of Education not for Sale a campaigning and anti-capitalist part of the student movement in the UK to find out more then please go to http://www.free-education.org.uk
Education – a right not a privilege
No to fees – A living grant for every student – Tax the rich to fund education
For a national demonstration at the start of 2009
This academic year could see the lifting of the £3,000 cap on tuition fees in higher education. Meanwhile, student debt and poverty are already spiralling, students face soaring costs of living and the market dominates our education system from school to college to university.
After years of underfunding for post-16 education, the Government brought in tuition fees and then top-up fees. Worsening the already existing inequalities in higher education, fees are greatly accelerating the development of a competitive market between universities, with a tier of well-funded and prestigious institutions and another of less prestigious, underfunded ones. Along with the absence of decent student grants, they rule out the possibility of seriously expanding access, force most students who do get to university into debt and push many into casualised, low-paid jobs. Lifting the cap will, of course, make all this worse. Meanwhile most further education students have always paid fees and never had grants.
Top-up fees will be in the headlines this year, but fees are not the only issue. Though Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish university students studying in their own nation, and FE students under 19, do not have to pay fees, they do not receive a living grant and are also forced into poverty and debt.
International students are exploited to subsidise higher education institutions through higher and higher fees, while postgraduate study is limited to a small elite through a more and more restrictive funding system.
Women, black, LGBT and disabled students are affected and disadvantaged disproportionately by the growth in student poverty and debt.
As our education is commodified and most institutions are run more and more for profit, the wages, conditions and rights of our teachers and other education workers are also coming under attack.
We believe that NUS is allowing the Government to get away with these deeply unpopular policies. This year, despite the review of the cap on fees, NUS is not organising a national demonstration – not even one for its needlessly bureaucratic “alternative funding model”, let alone the abolition of fees and living grants that students need. Its planned “day of action” – scheduled for 5 November, the day after the US presidential election, hardly the best time to get attention – is a start, but inadequate.
That is why we, students’ union officers and student activists, are seeking to organise a national demonstration in the first three months of 2009, around the following demands:
- No raising of the cap on top-up fees;
- Halt and reverse the growth in international students’ fees;
- Abolish all fees in HE and FE – free education for all;
- A living grant for every student over 16 – at least £150 a week;
- Stop and reverse marketisation in our schools, colleges and universities – tax the rich and corporations to fund education.
We are seeking to organise this demonstration in alliance with trade union activists fighting back against wage freezes, job cuts and privatisation; with other anti-cuts and privatisation campaigns; with young people’s and children’s organisations; and with others who believe that education should be open to all as a human right, not a privilege open to a minority based on wealth.
We call on NUS and autonomous campaigns within NUS to support the demonstration.
* Please add your or your union or campaigning group’s name to this statement by emailing education.not.for.sale@gmail.com.
Signatories so far (all pc):
Aled Dilwyn Fisher, LSESU general secretary
Heather Shaw, Sheffield College SU president
Martha Kunda, Sheffield College SU general secretary
Lloyd Russell-Moyle, University of Bradford Union secretary-treasurer
Maryam Ahmed, Leeds University Union equality and diversity officer
Adam Farrell, University of Sussex SU education officer
Joseph O’Connor Meldau, University of Sussex SU campaigns officer
Alan Bailey, University of Salford SU VP representation; NUS LGBT Committee
Sofie Buckland, NUS Women’s Committee; NUS NEC 2006-8
Gemma Short, Laura Schwartz and Evangeline Ramsey, NUS Women’s Committee
Kath McMahon, Edinburgh University Students’ Association council
Alex Wood, Aston Students’ Guild equalities officer; People & Planet Management Committee
Chris Marks and Stephen Wood, Hull Left Forum
Jennie Killip, University of Manchester SU women’s officer
Ellie Reyland, University of Manchester SU welfare officer
Labels: education, Education Not for Sale, ENS, National Union of Students, UBU, Universy of Bradford Union
Friday, 11 July 2008
A bright future for UBU but will NUS get it right?
I've just come out of the University Council meeting where the Union presented it's way forward for both services and finances.
It was I would say a success but it still has its dangers along in the process of greater collaboration for the Union and the University. I have always believed in reform I think that our Union need to be changed to reflect the students of the future, I believe that we need to fashion a new world.
But this is different from the NUS proposals for their internal reforms and this is why:
Five years ago an organisations which I had been one of the founding members of was going though many changes - as members we voted a no confidence is some of the leadership and the AGM had t be cancelled as it fell in to farce. The Trustee's had asked the membership to approve the auditors, accounts and them without any prior documentation.
This was due just as much to neivaty as it was to democratic deficit, our organisation was only 3 years old and we where still finding our feet. That year we sent through some real hard reforms, things changed, they still are not perfect but the members became part of the governance, they controlled the organisation.
Meanwhile a year later the other national youth body (British Youth Council) was going under an equally difficult reform. Reform that was pushed through by the chair of the organisations. Now I have a lot of respect in what they did in re-forming the BYC, but there is a big problem. At first the measures where needed, the organisation had lost staff, moral and could even end up shut. Members spent their time arguing over petty issues rather than achieve change.
Neither situation was great, but as a member of both we felt like we had made a difference to the UKYP - we had set it up and would run it with our youth workers. At BYC the reforms where different they weren't from a ground swell of people, its wasn't a grass roots movement it was an academic exercise in "good governance".
five years later and if you went to either board they would have the same "power" they are as undemocratic as each other (the UKYP got a little more democratic and the BYC a little less). but one was lead by the members and one wasn't, its the direction that we must look at.
Its the same with NUS, a project developed in a office will always fail, a plan in board meetings will never succeed if its not brought to the members to bring them along. NUS governance needs changing, a "review" is needed, but it should sent NUS on a direction of opening up, becoming less centred on the head office and more on the students, instead we have something that cements power, decides policy by officers not members and sets the agenda on what will get people better jobs not members better lives.
Yes reform is needed but only when its done with the membership not without.
Labels: Education Not for Sale, ENS, National Union of Students, Participation, UBU, UK Youth Parliament, Universy of Bradford, Universy of Bradford Union
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Education Not for Sale – Campaigning on what matters.
At the first committee meeting of the new ENS we discussed things that actually matter. ENS was reinvigorated at its “Reclaim the Campus” Conference held last month at Birkbeck College the conference defended in to factional infighting, leading to me calling for us to save the left before we reclaim the campus (see previous NUS entries).
This meeting however got to the point, not only that I was left feeling with a sense of direction, enthusiasm and passion. The committee meeting which was billed as an open meeting had most committee member plus about 5 others who where not elected to the committee but wanted to see some action. I went as I was in Brighton and hadn’t made it back to Bradford the night before due to a headache. Making the most of this detour to my plans I thought that I would get stuck in.
The meeting was first of all held in an atmosphere of open and pleasant debate. There where people from different backgrounds attending from trots to anarchists and the others in between. I ended up being duped in to becoming the Treasurer! I always love becoming the money man, and seeing that at the moment I’m doing it for three organisations, why not add another to my bow!
More importantly this meeting convinced me it was something that I want to be involved with. I think that the left needs to be organised and united in the student moment but have been so unhappy in the past when its has seemed to be dominated by political groups.
I may be a labour party member and believe the labour needs to organisations but I’m by no means bounded by any party, I think that my students must come first. That is why I’m convinced that ENS is the body to lead the left forwards. I’m not saying that they (I should say we now I guess), should take on the forces such as SWP/Respect but that we should be the bridge between them and the unorganised left.
The meeting discussed the importance of a conference to gather a plan for action, it talked about direct action and protest and it most of all talked about the need to work with others. We must play a role, a facilitating role and sometimes take a second seat to the larger groups but we must unite everyone to fight fees.
I’m convinced that not only students but pupils, young people and children must also take a stand. We must build a coalitions of young people who will be effected by fees as well as those presently paying them.
The meetings not perfect and we probably talked to much on some issues and could have been better on others, but we are getting there. We will work our way and achieve victory – we have been reclaimed!.. …nor now.
Labels: education, Education Not for Sale, ENS, National Union of Students, Universy of Bradford Union
Saturday, 7 June 2008
Students fighting Climate Change
University of Sussex Students' Union held the national gathering of students for Climate Change and the Student Movement this weekend. The meeting was really an achievement for a students' union to hold such an event.
The speakers on the days where really great. I was totally impressed in how Sussex had managed to get a range of speakers on the left and climate change activists. We need to gather a radical range of student activities to make sure that we as a student movement make progress on this issue.
I was really taken by the way in which the speakers in the first session spoke about communicating the message well. David Wasdell provided an interested account of how we need to grasp the nettle. On some quick research David's background and style is contested by some. I however am cautious to just take the word of the Internet, so often used by the right to discredit our comrades.
I do not think that the message should be discarded, other scientists at the conference seem to agree on the basic science and i think that although his back ground may be "dodgy" as some bloggers have tard him as having this should be put to one side.
The message was clear and agreed, we need action.
Labels: climate change, National Union of Students, Universy of Bradford Union
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Reclaim the left
Education Not for Sale (ENS) and its incarnation as the broad platform is something of much debate at the Reclaim the Campus conference at Birkbeck College.
On Saturday about 50 students from around the UK representing radical students from up and down the college gathering to work out the terms of engagement for their next steps after defeating the Governance review at the NUS conference (see my earlier post)
However in the rush to make an organisation that is ready to fight the neo-liberal incursions of the NUS leadership the principle of a broad, left wing, even socialist body was again somewhere lost.
Some members of AWL (Alliance for Workers Liberty) which has in the past been a dominant force in, put forward that idea the ENS should become a membership organisation. Although this was defeated the end result was still a constitution which put at its heart a system of centralism, dividing people rather than coming to common consensual view points.
The groups which where there was a group of individuals, anti-capitalist greens, revolution, AWL and CPGB (Communist Party of GB) with observers from the largest left faction outside of ENS which is Student Respect (SWP). Half was through the conference, after discussing our principles and voting down a plan to make us Marxists in our founding principles the CPGB declared that they would be withdrawing from the debate and pulling their motions. They would not be joining ENS but would be looking to work with the organisation.
Organisation is I guess where for me the problem lies. I don’t want part of another organisation. I don’t want something the suffocates how we can react and go about our work. We need rules of engagement don’t get me wrong, even in some anarchism rules of engagement, be it unwritten sometimes, are still important parts of how we interact. By a Constitution, an Organisation, and a committee smacks to me as something that will only end up going wrong.
I like broad coalitions, where agreement is reached through consensus, where it can br found we all work together and are stronger, where it can’t we go our ways. How I cry can a collation work if you are voting other members down. If we have policy that we establish but not everyone is on board. All that happens is you create another origination, not one that encompass brining people together but ones that brings only splits it’s the old two trots three view argument.
There was a moment in the proceeding when we started to talk about the name of us, in a “People’s front of Judea, Judean Peoples front” moment we where arguing not on what we should do but a new name for this “newly established organisation.
I think that working together is important, and that the founding principles of ENS are something that I whole heartedly support, however with now procures rules and a constitution, do I have the energy to engage in this as well.
Part of my main problem with NUS is that is takes you away from you students too much, with trustee boards, corporate trainings or other conference activities one barley gets time to just work in the Union transforming students lives for the better. Will the ENS just be another body to get tied up in and sap ones energy away. I truly hope not!
Labels: National Union of Students, UBU, Universy of Bradford Union
Sunday, 6 April 2008
National Union of Students? or Factions!
What review I hear you cry! Well that my be exactly the point. The NEC (or well the Labour and OI part of the NEC) pushed forward plans for reform of the Union. This was after united calls for a review of how the Union works. No one was challenging that the Union must change but a review took place costing allot of money and consulting with few students and maybe (its disputed) some officers in member unions.
Anyway, the result was changes that would have in reality made little difference, but in some area would have improved things and in others would have made them worse.
For constitutional changes to take place the conference must get 2/3 of the floor, and after a recount and some procedural wrangling it was confirmed that it didn't get this.
The problem was that most of the time the changes weren't even being discussed but on both sides bashing of each other and faction fighting. This really doesn't help the national union. I am generally a supporter of many of the leadership of NUS but when they lost the vote they acted badly. Gemma the President stood up and gave a load of vitriol at loosing, it made her seam like a bad looser and I think made allot of people ashamed that they had even thought about voting for the changes if this was the kind of person behind it. I think that in this case it was a close call but the leadership let conference down!
Anyway, ill say more later on when I get some time.
Labels: National Union of Students, Universy of Bradford Union
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