Leeds University against cuts: campaign steps forward

A meeting of Leeds Uni Against Cuts activists last night took positive steps towards preparing the group for an escalation of the anti-cuts campaign.

The group discussed how to engage with the wider periphery of students who are active against cuts but not yet organised. In order for the group to expand and consolidate its roots in the broader student body, it needs to have credible structures to provide organisation and accountability.

To this end, members of REVOLUTION put forward a proposal for organisation of the group’s existing working groups and informal structures:
- We should re-elect a committee who will be responsible for ensuring that the decisions of the meetings are carried out and to prepare agendas for the meetings
- The committee should be recallable i.e. a re-election can be called at any time
- We should rotate the chair weekly
- Individuals and groups within the campaign should take initiative, like banner-making or organising stunts etc, but to make sure this reflects the group as a whole these initiatives should be run past the meeting (or past the committee if it’s urgent)

The proposal was greeted positively by a majority of the room, with members of the group making important points about the need for the committee to be representative, and to be vigilant about re-election and democracy.

With support from REVOLUTION members, the group also decided to commit to launching a campaign to re-call members of the exec – principally management stooges Mike Gladstone and Jak Codd. The group hopes to launch the petition next Monday after demonstrating at LUU’s Annual General Meeting.