National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts Conference 2014

National Camapign Against Fees and Cuts conference

This weekend a group of activists from Bath Students Against Fees and Cuts travelled to Manchester to attend the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts conference, joining other Free Education university and sixth form students from across the country, including people from Warwick, London, Birmingham, Hastings, Manchester, Sheffield and Oxford.

Topics discussed included the future of the Free Education movement, upcoming days of action, and direct action tactics. A series of workshops throughout the weekend conference covered subjects such as safer spaces, the housing crisis, building the movement and education privatisation.
There was a strong emphasis on linking together with other "active minorites" and trying to bring the activist movement together as a whole, acknowledging educational activism as being part of a broader struggle.
 
One of the Bath activists said: "It was encouraging to see such a broad range of people gathered together in support of Free Education. It felt like a productive weekend and this movement is only going to build in anticipation of the general election in May."

"We now have links with other universities and will be working closely with them on future actions. It was very useful to speak to people and share ideas. The workshops were also very useful and there was a very constructive atmosphere."

"There was a real feeling at the conference that this is the real start of the reinvigoration of the student movement."

Bath Students Against Fees and Cuts are currently planning actions for the new year. In the meantime, if you want to get involved, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.