2. Campaign to Defeat Fees

The vote was unanimously in favour at ISR conference 2007. No abstentions.

Proposed by Matt Dobson

Students everywhere are angry about getting into huge debt from paying fees and then not even getting a decent university experience. A wave of anger swept across

campuses after variable fees were introduced in England in September 2006. This added to the general discontent felt by students, the burden of fees and debt with cuts and closures, commercialisation, privatisation and lack of contact hours with lecturers.

The New Labour government's agenda is driving towards a two tier, Americanised market driven education system. Access to good quality higher education is becoming a privilege for the rich. Fees will go up to £10,000 if the Vice Chancellors get their way,

Big Business is making super profits out of higher education, students will be graduating with debts of over £20,000.This situation is going to get worse and worse unless we organise a fight back.

Socialist Students has launched the Campaign to Defeat Fees to put forward a fighting strategy for building a mass movement of students and workers to defeat the government's attacks on education. Unfortunately the New Labour led NUS leadership has failed to build a mass movement by actively linking up with workers and the trade unions against fees and for free education.

The Campaign to Defeat Fees aims to build a mass campaign to defeat fees based on mass action democratically involving university and college students, the trade unions and everyone who stands for free education.

Already this campaign has had an enthusiastic response from students in over 100 universities, colleges and schools across the country. This impact led the NUS to publish a message of support for the campaign on its website. The Campaign to Defeat Fees aims to fight for the NUS to fulfil the aims of this campaign. Already the campaign has given a glimpse of what is possible through building a mass campaign. The Campaign to Defeat Fees February 22 day of action mobilised hundreds of students from over 50 universities, schools and colleges. Socialist Students and ISR must use every opportunity to build the Campaign to Defeat Fees and to push the NUS into organising national action that involves the participation of thousands of students.

ISR aims

To continue to build the Campaign to Defeat Fees by energetically trying to involve the widest possible layer of students and workers in the activities of the campaign through democratic organisation and discussion.
To fight for the NUS to actively unite in struggle with workers and fulfil the aims of the campaign. To fight for the NUS to call, with the trade unions, a national, midweek demonstration in London under the slogans "no to all fees, cuts and privatisation, fight for free education" that is properly built for through mass campaigning.
To continue to do regular stalls and petitioning in universities, schools and colleges and organise regular meetings to explain the issues and organise activity.
To organise "days of action" in the form of protests, lobbies, stunts, demonstrations, taking the campaign to all the university campuses, further education colleges and schools in the local areas. To organise action on a city or town wide basis linking up with the trade unions building up to regional and national action.
To approach trade unions and workers to become active in the campaign and to explain to students that only a united struggle alongside workers can defeat fees and New Labour's attacks.
To approach all students who are campaigning and struggling on campuses linking up the CDF with other campaigns taking up issues students face on campuses.
The Campaign to Defeat Fees is an explicitly anti privatisation campaign that fights for free fully funded, publicly owned education at all levels. The onus is on Socialist Students members to put forward a socialist alternative to New Labour's attacks on education explaining that a permanent end to attacks on education is only possible with the socialist transformation of society where education at all levels is publicly owned, democratically run and fully funded to develop people's skills and talents.

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What We Stand For

No to the war and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Troops out now.

No to trident and all nuclear arms.

No to low pay and bad working conditions. For a living wage for all.

For trade union rights and for democratic, campaigning unions.

For free quality education for all. No to top-up fees and yes to grants and a higher EMA for all students.

Defend democratic rights, including the right to strike and protest. No to ID cards.

For publicly funded, high quality youth facilities.

Stop all forms of discrimination; equal rights for all.

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No to privatisation.

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For progressive taxation on profits and wealth.

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