NUS Week

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THE NATIONAL Union of Students has called a week of action in early March against the government's plans for a 4% limit on grants increases.

Although this does not affect that many of the NUS membership as about 70% of FE technical college students don't get grants, it still desrves our support. Instead of fighting for a grant for all, or for a general week of action against the cuts, the NUS leadership will use this week as an excuse for no other action on cuts.

At the last NUS conference, the Left Alliance leadership helped defeat a motion calling for direct action against the cuts, such as using occupations.

Despite these 'leaders' many students have taken action against the cuts." The London Student Organisation has been in the forefront in organising support for direct action. The occupations at the Polytechnic of Central London and other smaller colleges such as Southall Tech, point the real way forward. The large demonstrations against the cuts show that there is a will. ingness to ight, b ck when adequate lea, ership is given.

We should build for the NUS week of action if we want to build a genuine revolutionary socialist leadership in NUS. A step in this direction is the setting up of the magasine 'London CallWhy haven't we got a mass revolutionary youth

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CLASS FIGHTER movement? The answer to that question lies in the leadership of the labour movement.We argue that youth must be a part of the labour movement, that's why we're a part of the Labour Party Young Socialists.

But many yuong people ask 'Why should i be part of the labour movement? What's it done for me?' The truth is that the leadership of the trade unions, the TUC and the leadership of the Labour Party are doing nothing for us. The picture most of us have of the labour movement isn't one of socialists determined to get rid of capitalism, but more one of the EVERY DAY we see more attacks on youth from the by little. They spend most of their time holding back avyso was want ibrarige ine bosses system little Tories; cheap labour, the growing certainty that we any action that threatens capitalism. won't be getting a job when we leave school, the The TUC argue against militant action to kick out the increase in police harassment and the withering Tories. Len Murray, TUC General Secretary, has 'asked' Geoffrey Howe, Tory hatchet man at the These attacks are taking place all over the bosses' Treasury, for a 'budget of hope'. In return for this world. In Ireland, there's mass unemployment, rep- 'budget of hope'. Murray has offered an incomes ression from the British army of occupation; West policy. Mr Murray, the democrat, has gone above the Germany, a massive housing shortage, thousands of heads of the trade union rank and file who are opposhomeless youth and even the Americans who we were ed to incomes policy leven under a Labour governbrough: up to envy their high living standards, face ment]. mass unemployment and the threat of being conscrip- And if the Tories decide to take no notice of the poor ted into the army to put down the workers and peas- grovelling Murray? Poor Len pleads 'If you ignore us, then you also turn your backs on those people who These attacks are not being made just because the desperately want to work but are being denied the bosses are nasty and don't like us. The reason is that chance to do so by your policies of despair'. What a their system is in a right mess. In fact, its bank- threat! rupt. And the Labour Party leadership? Their alternative They think they can get out of the mess, not by is to wait till the next general election, while they vote spending their millions, but by putting down the against the Tories in Parliament and call them names. working class. They want to make us accept unemp- Anyonw who opposes this policy which means we sit loyment and cheap labour schemes to get their rotten back and let the Tories smash us up is against 'ParliaBut while these attacks go on, there is a courageous threaten to close the LPYS down if we don't toe the mentary democracy' like Peter Tatchell. And they fightback. There were the riots last year, triggered off line. by the Tories attempts to 'swamp' high crime areas Well, Messrs Murray and Foot, we are different with police; there's the growth of CND and partic- from you. We want socialism and we are not prepared ularly the youth section, refusing to accept the bosses' to grovel to the bosses. We are not prepared to be lead barbarous 'future'. And there's the youth who have into defeat by the likes of you. The riots last year and fought back in Ireland, giving their lives to get the the growing numbers of youth on the dole queues are looking for answers and a fightback. So we'll fight in But how many of these fights have been directed the labour movement for democracy and accounttowards solving once and for all the problems of the ability and new leaders. That process has already working class, by doing away with the bosses' system started in the Labour Party and that's what you're so The riots turned out to be a few weeks of anger We have an answer to the witch-hunts - the fight for answered by locking us up or finig us. YCND likewise socialism. And we'll fight for that, to turn the LPYS will fail unless the youth in that campaign are won to into a mass revolutionary youth movement that will the broader fight for socialism which goes hand in offer youth a real alternative to the misery of the from Wallasey YS, is standing as the Class Fighter candidate for YS representative on Labour's National Executive Committee.

Invite him to speak at your YS branch. 8. Troops out of Ireland now! Political status for Republican prisoners. Repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Support the Labour Committee away of the education system. ants of Central America. system 'back on its feet'. British out.

and establishing socialism?

hand with building a mass CND. sinnnas that want tantanan frightened of.

bosses' system.

DAVE CURTIS, ex-YOPster, of his election address.

Any idea that the military regime in Poland is going to let up is loony.

On February 19th, Jerzy Urban, a Polish government spokesman, threatened that 'sinister slogans' encouraging resistence to martial law could lead to even tighter military rule. In other words, 'When we knock you down, stay down or we'll really put the boot in ' This sinister slogan is one that has been appearing on walls and in leaflets all over roland; "the winter is yours, but the spring will be ours.?

Urban says, 'Martial law had corked the imp inside the bottle and 'if the slogan was put into effect in any form whatsoever, the cork is bound to be pressed ter is in deeper and harder' . The authorities had already put on a big show the previous week by arresting 3500 people and fining thousands of others for breaking the curfew.

The fence straddlers in the labour movement in Britain who dredge up any excuse not to come out in = Class: Fighter Page 3 They 'don't want to be seer on the same side as Reagan or Thatcher' . Or they comp lain that trade union rights are under attack in Britain too. Funnily enough thes never seem to get round to doing much about Tebbil and his union-baiting laws either.

The struggle in Poland is