Students Slam Broad Left, Occupy

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Students ready to fight: Broad Left ready to divert the struggle have already been instructed to include a series of broader demands draw up plans for a full-scale occup- arainst the cuts - for a slidine scale Students at Essex U iversity will this week stage a two-day occupation of the university in protest at the government's proposed fee increases.

This token occupation, however, is seen as merely the prelude to a full-scale occupation to be launched next term against the increases, and against all education cuts.

This decision, which was coupled to an explicit condemnation of the protest diversions of the Broad Left leadership in Essex anded despie national rom passed despite opposition both Tories and the Broad Left.

PART OF CUTS

The heavily-amended motion further pointed out that though these fee increases are so far aimed specifically at overseas and selfsupporțing students, they must also be seen as part of the government's policy of cutting public expenditure.

The resolution adopted therefore called for a sliding scale of public expenditure as the only way in which such cuts can successfully. be resisted, and this was coupled to the decision to elect an "open the books" committee to investigate "the University's plans and proposals re education cuts"

The students' willingness to fight was confirmed a week later when a 600-strong Union meeting rejected a Tory stratagem designed to call off the occupation.

. Already there have since been signs that the Broad Left Union Executive would dearly love to call off the action, but the determinFOLROSE ation of the students leaves the Executive little roomn for manoeuvie.

In a feverish effort to regain some of their lost credibility among students, the Broad Left have had no option but to support the occupation - despite their initial opposition to it.

• But this "left turn" must be seen for what it is. It is not a demonstration of the Broad Left's willingness to lead struggles. On the contrary, it is an attempt to take control of the occupation in order to defuse it, to syphon off student milltancy, and channel it into "negotiations" and talks.

They feel they can support this occupation precisely because it is a purely protest action lasting only lor two days.

The real battles will therefore begin next term. The Executive ation : whether these plans will materialise remains to be seen.

The students at Essex have, like students in Middlesex Poly, onl Teeside and at Kent, indicated their readiness to fight; the Broad Left have everywhere revealed that they are both unwilling and unable to lead such a fight.

Only a principled leadership fighting on a clear programme can carry this struggle to a successful conclusion.

Such a programme must take as its minimal demands:

1) the rejection of all proposed fee increases;

2) the reduction of the present level of overseas fees to the 1976-7 level of home student fees.

On the eve of the Blackpool Conference of the National Union of Students the policies of the Communist Party and left reformist leadership have been starkly exposed by the liquidation of the NUS's Travel Service and the printing companies Uniprint and Photomech.

But the programme must also of public expenditure and a sliding scale of grants in order to defend educational services and students' living standards against the ravages of inflation.

COMMITTEES

In both cases, the amounts needed to match inflation must be determined by elected committees of trade unionists and students.

Only by fighting on such a programme will the reactionary policies of this Labour government be defeated.

Left of operating commercial companies in order to create Union consciousness.

This argument is blown sky-high when the Union, which is supposed to be campaigning against unemployment, is itself sacking wotkers.

NON-UNION

Of the 200 workers made redundant most are women and very few are even in unions. In fact the

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NO TO EDUCATION CUTS