LLANDUDNO -the Yarmouth, Brighton and Blackpool of North Wales- is hardly the place you expect the future of the National Union of Students to be decided. Yet next week over seven hundred delegates, representing the student population of Britain, will be gathered there to debate fundamental questions.
What is to be the new leadership of the NUS? What response are they going to make to the attacks by the college authorities on the rent strikes and the grants campaign? What attitude will they take to the question of the EEC? These are the key questions facing the NUS conf erence.
At the last national conference, the executive promised many things, but there is a saying that actions speak louder than words. For all the bluster of the Communist Party dominated leadership, they have Tailed completely to carry out their "election promises.
ANTI-INTERNMENT The most important campaign that the NUS took up was that around anti-internment. Steve Parry promised mass pickets, petitions, and thousands outside the Home Office on 28 February. None of that happened. The importance of the Irish campaign -even if it was on the confused basis o. the CP 'bill of rights, "phased withdrawal", and the end of internment- cannot be stressed too much.
Meeting in November amidst the wave of press hysteria after the Birmingham bombings, the delegates passed a motion opposing the intro duction of the Jenkins law. But a hundred motions and fine speeches from the Margate promenade are useless unless they are matched by action. But the Scottisi NUS, dominated virtually to a person by the CP. did not even take it up, and the 'picket of thousands' was finally called off in dissarray.
In the women's campaign the national executive have consistently refused to recall the womens conference until November, despite numerous requests. It has been left to the London Student Women's Action Group to call a national conference of the college worens groups, on 3 May. If the leaders refuse to Jead then the membership has to do it for them.
No doubt the next issue due for a dose of reformist rhetoric will be the anti-EEC campaign. The debate at Landudno will not be for versus "against". It will be on what basis the NUS thinks Britain should get out. The NUS, which was at the forefront of the anti-fascist campaign, has a clear position on the likes of the National Front and Powell. But they have to be consistent. The national conference must reject all class collaborationist campaigns The Scottish NUS, according to the executive report, have already given substantial "financial and plysocial support to the Get Britain Out Campaign. They claim this is fine provided they do not speak on the of the ruling cluss. But by giving any support to Get Britain Out they give it credibility in the eyes of the mass of students. This rot has to he stopp od, The NUS should launch an appcal for a campaign of workers, stadcut and soch or to *no vole. But more than that the NUS should make it clear what sort of Europe it wants ited States of Europe.
VICTIMISATION The real acid test at Llandudno will be over the reaction to be made to the provocations of the authorities in using the police and the law courts at Lancaster and Surrey universities. The Vice Chancellor at Surrcy called his action a 'watershed" in the fight to smash the rent strikes, of which 28 are still going on. That is true defeat at Surrey will demooralise the other rent strikes and encourage the authorities to take the offensive.
But the rent strikes cannot be separated from the whole grants campaign. At the moment, due to the lack of any other action, they are the grants campaign. More than that, the authorities realise they must break the resistance of stud ents if they are to have any hope of trying to force through more rent and price increases in the summer and autumn terms. The defeat and demoralisation of student militancy is a vital first step to cutting back even further in higher education. This conference has to organise national and local direct action in response to the vice chancellors.
Over the last year the present executive has had ample opportunity to show theis ability to lead the student movement —and failed. Now the NUS stands at a crossroads. In the clections for the national executive the liberals, and their kid brother the Radicul Action Group of assorte Students at Lancaster University vote at a mass meeting to deland the occupa which was eventually broken up by the police. How will the NUS leadershio react of years. The present executive, in not giving the NUS a clear lead in down every time the night and cap italist press agucaled, have opened the door into which the right have stuck a foot.
LEADERSHIP ationary slate. The other main revolutionary force inside the NUS.
We consider this to be a sectarian ary and other independent socialist forces was necessary to offer a real challenge to the reformist national leadership. The IMG candidates in the elections will make this one of their central points also be proposing policies that can -a Socialist Uncampaigns of direct action to fight the cuts, arca campaigns to involve the smull colleges, and links in actstruggling against redundancies, low pay and the social contract. We will argue that the only solution to the ravages of inflation on our grants can be a stiding acale of grants. We victimised rent strikers in Lancaster and Surrey. These are some of the moves that have to be taken if the NUS and the grants campaign is to make the correct turn at the cross THIS TEA ALES Pritred by Prestogate Lid., Reading, Berkshire Tories and liberals, are both standing slates for the lirst time in a number the grants campaign, and by backing The lack of revolutionary leadership is all too evident. For that reas on the IMG called for a single revol WEEKLY Labour's