At least 3000 students protested in Brighton this afternoon against fees and the abolition of EMA. It was a brilliant demonstration organised by the students themselves.
What was striking was that the march was primarily composed of 6th formers and working-class younger students. Whilst there were some higher education students present, the biggest HE contingent appeared to be lecturers.
What was also striking was the complete absence of NUS, who most students now seem to see as something to be bypassed and ignored.
At the end of the march many students marched to Brighton Town Hall, where Sussex Police decided to throw their weight around and practice their "containment" techniques. Perhaps the Chief Constable could explain the need to deploy full riot gear, batons and dogs against children.
But this was a big, militant march and it won't be the last.
This middle-aged trade unionist was proud to be able to tag along!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
1 comment:
The NUS have long been pretty useless in campaigning for students.
As it is controlled by Labour students when the Labour government got in the NUS didn't want to embarass them and so sided with the government rather than the people it is supposed to represent, the students.
It seems that successive presidents have been too scared to do anything that might jeoperdise their future careers as MPs.
And so the NUS has subsided into nothing.
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