Charlie Winstanley (Blackburn, Blackburn College): In the aftermath of this year's National Union of Students conference, a series of unexpected victories have placed the left and independent student groups in a position of daunting agency over the future of the Union. The sinister Governance Review (the central project of the Labour students 'vision' for NUS over the past two years) has been rejected; and despite hard talk about returning with the Review again at next year's conference, the Leadership of the National Executive know that another blatant attempt to force through undemocratic legislation so openly could further undermine their now damaged control over the Union. On the back of the left's victory over the Review, other surprise successes (on motions opposed to military intervention in Darfur and in favour of occupations and civil protest in event of a military strike on Iran) lead the Student Respect group to gain the 1st and 3rd highest votes for the Block of 12 elections, firmly establishing a left base within the NEC. Mumblings and murmurs about creating a united left movement from the 'Save NUS Democracy' campaign were prevalent in the post-Review caucus, for the first time offering the realistic prospect of building a united, alternative vision of student politics to that of the dominant political groups.
But taking that into account, the overall hegemony of Student Labour and their 'independent' allies is still unquestionable. Despite Student Respect's successes in the Block elections, other groups opposed to the Review fared less well (both 'Education Not for Sale' and 'Student Broad Left' lost existing Block seats). And, though losing the Review was a massive defeat, there is no reason to doubt that Labour students will make good on their plans to bring back "reform" to next year's conference agenda (whether in the form of the Review or not). The NEC leadership successfully passed a motion supporting the eventual incorporation of NUS as a charity this year (removing its political independence) and will most certainly wage more attacks upon NUS's core structure in coming months.
The battle for NUS has just begun, and those on the sidelines can expect to see more skirmishes for control over the next few years. But for the results of this conflict not to already be a foregone conclusion, groups acting independently of the New Labour cabal need to capitalise on the unity achieved in opposition to the Review and maintain the organisation and communication links forged through their latest fight. NUS democracy has been saved, for now, but under the current leadership of the Union it won't be safe for long.
