Regardless of your political standpoint, left right or somewhere in the middle, as a student you would be able to relate to high fees and a number of issues that governments have caused for students around the country. If you agree with the high fees or not, we are now all getting a good standard of education. However during the time period of 1979 to 1987 students were hit very hard by the conservative government. This impacted all students and student unions but Liverpool Polytechnic and its student union was arguably hit harder than any university. During this time Liverpool’s student union fought against issues that the conservatives implemented. Most of these fights occurred in the mid-1980s, the student union had its funding cut and it was on its way out. However, it survived. Art courses at the polytechnic were meant to be cut and cancelled however the student union and the city united and those courses survived. Even though we ended up with student loans, the union during this period fought against loans and managed to keep students loan free for longer.

In December 1983 the national student reported that Liverpool students had gone on strike against cuts for 24 hours, this was an action arranged by the Liverpool polytechnic student union. It was a success and it made a significant difference. The student union had no money, no funding and no hope yet it still managed to arrange a sit in against the art course cuts suggested by the conservative government. This sit in was attended by Gareth Pye, who was a student and involved with the polytechnics student union for many years from 86 onwards. He stated

“Highlights would have to be the birth of my son during an occupation of the Arts Building opposite the Philharmonic. The Poly were proposing closing the arts courses and we went in to occupation. My partner was active in the Union as well and we decided that even though 8 and half months pregnant, she was as safe there as anywhere else. When Chris went in to labour we had to unchain ourselves from the radiators and make our way to the Maternity Hospital. We continued to run the occupation from the maternity ward with the help of a couple of amazing midwives. When we met the Poly a week later I was really touched that they had sent flowers and best wishes despite our dispute.”

A great example of a fight against the odds. Liverpool students did not have grants and during this their student union guided them. The conservative government was not good to students and was not good to Liverpool students even more so. A polytechnic that was meant to close by 1986, stood strong and still stands today. Below you will see the way that the conservative government attacked students during this period and how we should all appreciate the work of our students union today. By ensuring that we not only have a student’s union and we are represented nationally by the NUS, but we have a university at all. John Moore’s or LJMU would not be here today without student activism against all these measures. Liverpool as a city and its students dared to fight against this timeline of horrors against student unions and attacks against Liverpool Polytechnic and its SU. An era of cuts against the youth of the country.

Blow by Blow: This timeline sets out important events and government decisions as they have affected students and education since 1979.

1979

• May - The conservative government was elected with a majority of 144 seats. Mark Carlisle became secretary of state for education.
• June - 1,175,000 registered unemployed.
• November - 1,355,200 registered unemployed.
• December - The government announced that ‘for the foreseeable future, higher education would be subject to level funding’.

1980

• February – Dr Rhodes Boyson, under-secretary for education, changed the way student unions were financed, from per capita to block grant funding basis.
• March – The government announced that grants for 1980-81 were to rise by 14.7% (the rate of inflation was 17%)
• April - The Education Act provided for the limitation on funding for the public sector of education (the so called capping of the pool).
• June – 1,444,000 registered unemployed.
• July – The committee of vice chancellors and principals announced the end of spending on lecturer training in universities.
• September – supplementary benefit for school leavers not paid until the term following their departure.
• November – 2,162,900 registered unemployed.

1981

• April – The government announced that student grants for 1981-82 were to rise by only 7.6% (rate of inflation was 11%).
• June – 2,299,000 registered unemployed.
• July – University grants committee announced 8% cut. 1979-80 home full time student numbers to be cut 5% by 1983-84.
• September – Sir Keith Joseph became secretary of state for education and science.
• November – 2,953,300 registered unemployed.
• December – The government announced that grants for 1982-83 were to rise by 4% (rate of inflation 7%).

1982

• May – Advisory body for local authority higher education in Wales set up.
• June – 2,664,000 registered unemployed.
• July – Sir Keith Joseph writes too the university grants committee inviting them to consider how higher education could be developed in the light of his previously announced cuts.
• October – Health charges were introduced for overseas students for NHS healthcare.
• November – 3,063,000 registered unemployed.

1983

• January - Scotland’s 16-18 action plan announced a system of vocational modules leading to a national certificate.
• March – The abolition of many wages councils controlling wages in low paid industries.
• April – New 16 and 17 year old non householder supplementary benefit claimants had their benefits reduced by £3.10 a week. Numbers affected 149,000, annual saving of £20 million.
• June – unemployed school and education leavers were deleted from the monthly figures for June, July and august.
• August – White paper on ‘rate capping’.
• October – The white paper on the abolition of the GLC signalled the intensification on the Governments attack on the local democracy.

1984

• February – The governments announced the abolition of student entitlement to the reimbursement of travel costs in England and Wales.
• April – The government announced grants to rise for 1984-85 by 4%, inflation was 5%.
• July – Many overseas students were made ineligible to claim housing benefit.
• September – The UGC refused to recommend reforms of the university system in its advice to the secretary of state.
• October – Edwina Currie MP tried to introduce a private members bill calling for voluntary membership of student unions.
• November – Sir Keith Joseph, announced proposals to means test tuition fees, to abolish the minimum grant and further increase parental contributions.
• December – Following a major NUS campaign Sir Keith Joseph withdrew plans to means test tuition fees. Proposals to increase parental contributions and to abolish the minimum grant went ahead. First ‘U’ turn of the conservative government.

1985

• January – The government introduced charges of £10 for entry clearance for all overseas students.
• April – The Jarrett Report on universities was published, advocating greater management role in universities.
• May – So called ‘licence’ agreements signed by landlords and tenants were found to be invalid.
• June – The government published a Green Paper on reform of social security. One aim was to exclude students from benefits.
• July – The cabinet rejected proposals by Sir Keith Joseph to introduce a system of student loans.
• November – The national advisory body anticipated a shortfall of 5.6% of funding for the public sector of higher education for 1987/88 following an actual 2% shortfall in real terms on the anticipated level funding for 1986/87.
• November – The value of the grant had declined by 17% since 1979.
• December - Sir Keith Joseph announced that grants for 1986/97 were to rise by 2%, inflation rate at 6%.
• December - The government publishes its White Paper. Announcing plans for the first stage of excluding students from housing benefit, supplementary benefit and unemployment benefit.

1986

• January – Social security advisory committee received the government’s full plans for withdrawal of benefits for students.
• May – The UGC announced cuts in the recurrent grant of each university for 1986/97.
• June – 3,103,000 registered unemployed.
• June – n response to the social security advisory committee report the government announced removal of students from benefits. The NUS campaigns saved £20million worth of student benefit.
• July – It was revealed that black education leavers were much less likely to get work than white education leavers.
• October – City Technical Colleges announced.
• December – The department of education in giving evidence to the select committee on education, science and the arts, accepted the grant was no longer sufficient to meet the maintenance needs of students.

1987

• January - Kenneth Baker, secretary of state for education, announced that grants for the academic year 1987/88 were to rise by 3.75% (21% decline since 1979)
• April – The government issued a white paper on higher education entitled ‘meeting the challenge’. Polytechnics and colleges of higher education to be taken out of local authority control. Revised projections on student numbers announced. New polytechnics and university funding councils to be set up.
• September – All colleges to have a code of practice on freedom of speech under the 1986 Education Act.

The government’s timeline shows all the issues students faced and how important unions were. Liverpool Polytechnic again being one of the worst hit. Student life can be testing at times but all of these problems meant that student life was nearly destroyed. Student resilience and student unions fight under the NUS meant that by 1988, student life started to get much better than it once was.

However during this time period the student union was directly attacked in a number of ways. Firstly it was proposed that student unions should be able to conduct and manage their own affairs in line with their own constitution. This happens today but did not back then. Between 79 and 87 the government sought to restrict student union activity by a number of measures. The first attack was in 1981 with a change in the way student unions were funded. The system being changed from a per capita basis to a block grant. Student union’s budgets had simply been cut. Liverpool’s was among the worst hit as by 1985 it had no money. In general, student union funds declined from their 1979 levels by 16% and they desperately needed more. This is why the protests meant so much. Student unions became more commercial rather than individuals because they had to. These cuts shaped the successful student unions that represent us today.

How student unions used their funds was criticised, however LiverpoolSU had to repair a building and pay operating costs therefore these criticisms were unfair. They were also criticised for the growth in the rise of sabbatical officers. This growth continued and now we have 4 full time officers and a whole team of supporting student staff. The SU’s fought against these aimless allegations. Student participation was and still is essential facet of university life and when in 1986 the right was given to any individual to take s student union to court and have student union policies made illegal, this further restricted activities. However LiverpoolSU continued, they continued and succeeded. We should all be very thankful for this success as what would a university be without a student union? They were directly attacked with these measures and Liverpool and all other student unions beat all the unfair measures by persistence, hard work and belief that they knew what they were trying to achieve was 100% right, it was and it was achieved during the hardest years for student unions in the history of all unions not just LiverpoolSU.