OCTOBER “I would combine with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong” | The paper of Cambridge Left Group
roup FREE
education cuts
Under New Labour, over £500m was cut from the
Higher Education (HE) budget by the unelected Lord
Mandelson. The Con-Dem coalition government is
looking to further these cuts to over £1bn, with
university vice-chancellors being warned of reduction in
funding of 35% or more. Meanwhile, 19 of these vice-
chancellors ‚earn‛ more than £300,000 per year, and
Cambridge raised £1bn for the 800 anniversary fund –
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enough to cover the nation-wide cuts to HE!
For those who think that Cambridge might avoid cuts
due to its ‚elite‛ status, think again. In its Budget Report
for 2010, the Cambridge University Council announced
that, ‚There is a need to consider the opportunities for
University-wide efficiency savings in addition to the
individual actions to be decided at the level of Schools
and Institutions‛. ‚Efficiency savings‛ are, of course, a
euphemism for cuts.
Here in Cambridge, recent years have seen attempts
made to close the Architecture Department and Faculty of
Education, as well as courses like Portuguese and other
languages. The cuts have already included job losses,
course closures and a reduced standard of teaching
elsewhere in the UK. Meanwhile, there is the growing
threat of increased tuition fees from the government (see
‘Tuition Fees Update’ overleaf).
In order to stop these cuts, students at Cambridge and all
other universities need to mobilise, organise, and unite
with the local labour movement to fight back against the
Con-Dem attacks on education and other public services.
Adam Booth
national fees demo
After several years of pressure from the Left, the Labour
leadership of NUS have finally backed a national
demonstration against fees. This is somewhat in contrast
to several years of opposing motions from the Left calling
for said demo. In 2009, NUS as a whole refused to support
a free education demo, leaving the Left, some unions (such
as CUSU) and NUS liberation campaigns marching alone.
The slogan of ‚fairer funding‛, which the NUS leadership
have been raising for some time, is obviously politically
inadequate in comparison to the 2009 demo’s demand for
free education. What counts as ‚fairer‛? When will it be
‚fair enough‛? How do we measure this ‚fairness‛?
On the other hand, there are aspects to be positive about:
the event will be held in conjunction with UCU, the
academic staff trade union, and draws together the inter-
connected issues of funding and cuts. The liberation
campaigns, if past experience is anything to go by, will be
raising more forthright slogans than NUS as a whole.
We must ensure that our own union—CUSU—sticks to its
guns and demands free education, generalising slogans
like ‚free education, tax the rich‛ into the wider student
movement as far as we can. The demo will be on 10 Nov in
London; more details closer to the time from us or CUSU.
Luke Hawksbee
living wage progress
University College London activists won a living wage
for cleaning staff at the end of last month. The Evening
Standard brought media pressure to bear while academics
and students used their positions to speak out alongside
cleaners themselves. The victory has put wind in the sails
of living wage campaigns elsewhere, particularly Oxford.
Cambridge had a city-wide living wage campaign several
years ago that ultimately died out, but anecdotal evidence
suggests college staff, particularly bedders, are now being
worked harder than ever. A new campaign would have to
address the difficulties of the collegiate system to succeed.
Unfortunately for UCL cleaners, the pay will be phased in
over 2 years and staff are still not set to receive all of the
benefits (like sick pay) associated with the £7.85/hr London
Living Wage standard.
Charlotte Kuehlbrandt