Leeds university: anticuts protest confronts student union

Students and teachers demonstrated together today in a proud display of solidarity against education cuts.

Side by side, seventy protesters gathered at the university entrance with banners in defence of education, whilst activists in the University and Colleges Union (UCU) gave away stickers saying “I support UCU.”

The protest was called to oppose the £35 million in cuts being driven through by management. It was also called in solidarity with teachers who are balloting for strike action.

The Leeds University Union (LUU) recently launched an email harassment campaign, targeting teachers to pressure them into voting against a strike. Many students wore gags over their mouths to show that the union was not providing them with a voice.

With shouts of “LUU don’t speak for you, we support the UCU!” the crowd marched upon the students’ union building and demanded that an anti-teacher and anti-strike banner hung from the building should be taken down. After some furious speeches denouncing the student union leadership, they ran up to the executive office to confront the union officers.

Anticuts activists then put questions to Jak Codd and Mike Gladstone, the two most ferocious anti-teacher officers. When questioned on why the union had published pro-cuts material on the union website, Codd’s reply was that the students and staff were “talking crap”. But the evidence is online for all to see.

Gladstone urged the protesters not to be taken in by “biased information” from the teachers’ union, and informed protesters that cuts were inevitable as a result of the bank bailout. He went on to say that he saw the bailout as essential to the economy. Outrageously, Gladstone seemed to be turning REVOLUTION’s slogan on its head - “Fund banks - not education.” This is a student union which seems to represent the City of London more than Leeds University students.

But another exec member, Sophia James, told students that the student union were planning an anticuts meeting in early February. Activists took the proposal with a pinch of salt. After all, the union website tells students that losses in teaching staff will not affect “student satisfaction”. The student union are oblivious to larger class sizes, less time to see teachers, and the loss of some 700 truly excellent lecturers. With views like these, how could the student union officers run an anticuts meeting, let alone a campaign?

It’s still up to Leeds University Against Cuts, and the University and Colleges Union if we are to stop the jobs massacre at Leeds University. But to do this, the anti-cuts group will have to smarten up it’s act. We need to become better organised to force the student union to backtrack further on their “education first“ campaign and, at the same time fight to oust the rotten student union officers, like Codd and Gladstone.

REVOLUTION has proposed that the anti-cuts group form a leadership committee in order to do this. It should demand:
- Opposition to all education and teaching cuts
- Defend and support staff action to save jobs
- Open the university’s financial books to all students and staff
- Kick out the pro-management student union officers!
- Build a mass anti-cuts force of students and teachers from below
- FUND EDUCATION - NOT THE BANKS!