NUS constitution: Power to the people

So, the NUS has a new constitution. After years of arguments, the structure of our national union has changed for the first time since the 1970s. In a room full of nearly 1000 student activists, nothing is ever dull. Even a discussion about organisational structures and trustee boards ended with an occupation of the stage. Fun fun.

But it passed by the required 2/3 majority. Whether or not this was a good thing is no longer the question. After such a long process, even the most hardened student hack is now bored with the debate.

But we are left in a difficult situation. Both sides of the argument made their case forcefully. If you believe the advocates of the changes, the NUS will now be so strong that it will easily bring down the government the moment they even whisper about increasing student fees. Believe the opponents and the organisation is dead.

The truth is that the NUS is still the biggest organisation in the UK fighting for the future of higher and further education. It is still our national union. It is still what we make of it. The NUS will only ever be as powerful as the passion of the students it represents. It will only ever be destroyed by the apathy of its members. While organisational structures are important, the real questions about the NUS were not answered at a chaotic conference in Wolverhampton.

But they will be answered soon. It looks likely that, in the near future, the government will attempt to lift the cap on top-up fees in England, blowing a hole in both the social mobility of lower middle-class school leavers, and the funding system of Scottish universities. The NUS's biggest failure was its defeat over top-up fees. Its greatest success was that the vote was the closest Labour had seen to that date.

At the time, the then president refused to run a non-payment campaign similar to that which defeated the poll tax. Apparently she told a colleague that she “didn't want to damage the Labour Government that much.” Negotiations with the powerful require that you speak softly but carry a big stick. The NUS is very good at speaking softly. The question it may need to answer is whether it can wield enough stick.

That is partly a question for the present national president, Wes Streeting. As a member of Labour Students, Streeting is open to criticism that he will not be willing to hit the government too hard – and he will need to prove his doubters wrong. But it is also a question for you. The NUS does not have much money. It does not have the resources of the big business lobby, or other interest groups. But it does have you. With more than 7 million members it represents more people than almost any other organisation in the UK.

When businesses negotiate with government, they talk tough, because they know they have the funds to hit the government where it hurts. If you want to make sure your voice is heard, the NUS must be able to do the same. Hopefully the new constitution will make that easier. But without students willing to engage in these fights, the NUS will be broken.