Labour Students
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Labour Students, often referred to as NOLS (from National Organisation of Labour Students, the former title), is an independent student organisation affiliated to the British Labour Party. Members join Labour Clubs in their own universities or colleges which affiliate to the national organisation.
The organisation has a membership broadly politically similar to that of the Labour Party and officially believes in the same values as codified in Clause IV of the party rule book.
The group has never been representative of all students who support the Labour Party. In the 1970s and early 1980s, many left-wingers joined the Broad Left - an alliance with Communist and Liberal students - instead, and groups such as the Militant Tendency maintained their own student networks. More recently, some Labour Students groups have shrunk considerably, while a significant proportion of groups such as the Campaign for Free Education and the Student Broad Left consists of Labour Party members.
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History
The Labour Party's previous student organisation - the National Association of Labour Student Organisations - had been (except in Scotland) taken over and destroyed by Trotskyists in the 1960s, leaving the party without any student organisation. In 1970 a group of Labour Party members sought to remedy this by creating 'Students for a Labour Victory' to co-ordinate campaigning in that year's general election. That organision became NOLS and held its founding conference in 1971.
NOLS immediately became a battleground between mainstream Labour Party members and the Trotskyist entryists of the Revolutionary Socialist League (publicly known as the Militant Tendency). The RSL had captured the Labour Party Young Socialists at the turn of the decade and were determined to do the same in NOLS. A brief period of RSL control was overturned by the mainstream in 1974.
In the late 1970s NOLS decided to break with the Communist Party of Great Britain-dominated Broad Left and run an independent slate of candidates in NUS elections. NOLS subsequently openly held the presidency of NUS from 1982 to 2000 and from 2003 to 2004 (see below).
Politics
Labour Students tend to be broadly supportive of Tony Blair's New Labour Government's policies. However, Labour Students have taken a stance opposing the Government's planned introduction of university "top-up" fees. Many Labour Students members are also members of the Labour Party and are involved with the day-to-day organisation and work of the party.
Labour Students currently has policy supporting fair trade, refugee women and the Democrats in the US Presidential elections and an end to child poverty.
Democracy and organisation
Labour Students has three full time sabbatical officers who work at Labour Party headquarters in London; they are joined by twelve other members on the National Committee. Labour Students also has seven member policy forum and a three member steering committee. The policy making bodies are National Conference and National Council, both held annually to which each Labour Club is entitled to send delegates.
Within Labour Students there are separate women's, LGB, Students with Disabilities and Anti-Racism campaigns. There also exists a separate organisation for Labour Clubs in the constituent nations known as Welsh and Scottish Labour Students respectively.
Labour Students is a member of the International Union of Socialist Youth.
National Union of Students
Labour Students is one of the most powerful factions within NUS. After gaining control of the NUS in 1984, every NUS president until 2000 was an open member of the group. In 2000, facing defeat Labour Students decided not to select a candidate for NUS President choosing instead to run Owain James (who was an ordinary member of Labour Students) as an independent. The organisation officially regained the presidency in 2002, but in 2004 again lost it, for the first time to a challenge from the left by the Campaign for Free Education, who criticise Labour Students for not doing enough to oppose student fees.
Labour Students currently retain six places on the National Executive Commttee including the position of Vice President (Welfare), the Part-Time LGBT (Open Place) Officer and the Presidency of both NUS Scotland and NUS Wales. However both the Vice President (Welfare) and the LGBT Officer lost their bids for re-election so from July 2005 they will be reduced to four places.
Labour Students tend to support more targeted support for poorer students rather than universal grants which distinguishes it from other groups within NUS. Partly as a result of this and other issues, and the multiplicity of far left groups in NUS, Labour Students is seen as being on the right of the factions within NUS and tends to ally with independents.
External links
- Official website (http://www.labourstudents.org.uk)
- Unofficial website (http://www.LabourStudents.org)