View source for Liberation Left

{{primary sources|date=February 2008}}
{{Infobox non-profit
| name = Liberation Left
| image = Liberation Left logo, 2016.png
| type = Student Union 
| tax_id = 
| founded_date = {{Start date and age|1997}}
| founder =  
| location = [[London, UK]]
| coordinates = 
| origins = 
| key_people =
| area_served = The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland
| focus = 
| method = 
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| non-profit_slogan = 
| former name = Student Broad Left
| homepage = {{URL|studentbroadleft.org.uk}}
| dissolved = 
| footnotes = 
}}

'''Liberation Left''' (formerly '''Student Broad Left''' or SBL) is a factional grouping operating within the [[National Union of Students (United Kingdom)|National Union of Students of the United Kingdom]].

The group was formed in 1997 as a split from the Campaign for Free Education (CFE) and first contested NUS elections in 1998. It is characterised by its vocal support for the NUS Liberation Campaigns, [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] rights and for free-to-student, state-funded education, and its determined [[Anti-racism|opposition to racism]], [[Islamophobia]], [[fascism]], and [[Anti-war movement|war]]. The group describes itself as a "network of [[Left-wing politics|left]] activists campaigning for a [[Progressivism|progressive]] [[Student activism|student movement]]", and has [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]], [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green]], and independent members. Today, the group has members in Labour parliamentary candidacies and its [[National Executive Committee of the Labour Party|National Executive Committee]].

The group should not be confused with the principally [[Communist Party of Great Britain|CPGB]], Labour, and [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] grouping known as [[Broad Left]], which held the NUS presidency between 1973 and 1984.

==Background==

In most years, Student Broad Left formed a slate with the Campaign for Free Education and [[Socialist Workers' Student Society]], to increase the number of [[socialist]] candidates elected. This assisted the group in ensuring it has almost always had a least one member elected to the NUS Executive. In the 2004 NUS elections the CFE and SWSS split and stood against each other. Student Broad Left and the CFE negotiated a slate for some places, but in the [[proportional representation]] "Block of 12" election, Student Broad Left supported transfers to SWSS over CFE {{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}. Student Broad Left candidate Peter Leary polled 2nd in the Block of 12 in 2004 and 2005 coming behind only [[Labour Students]]. George Woods was Student Broad Left's Block of 12 member for 2006-8.

Opponents of Student Broad Left claim that many of the founders of the group, including all SBL candidates to the NUS National Executive Committee, have been closely linked to [[Socialist Action (UK)|Socialist Action]] {{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}, pointing out that the Student Broad Left supports the same campaigns as Socialist Action, for example the Student Assembly Against Racism, [[Unite Against Fascism]], Student [[CND]], and [[Cuba Solidarity Campaign|Cuban solidarity]]. Though these allegations are levelled at SBL members with some regularity, the list of organisations could cover many left wing groups and individuals, and is not indicative of any particular faction.

In 2008, Student Broad Left had mixed fortunes. During the 2008 NUS Annual Conference, Student Broad Left formed a slate with [[Student Respect]]  putting forward Ruqayyah Collector, NUS Black Students' Officer 2006-8, as candidate for NUS National President.  Bryony Shanks was put forward as candidate for NUS National Treasurer and the Block of 12.  Neither Ruqayyah or Bryony were elected.

Student Broad Left has become much more active in 2010, and co-hosted the Progressive Students Conference with the National Black Students' Alliance in October 2010, attracting high-profile speakers including [[Ken Livingstone]], [[Salma Yaqoob]], [[Adrian Ramsay]], [[Emily Thornberry]], and more from organisations including CND, Unite Against Fascism, [[University and College Union|UCU]], and the NUS.

[[File:SBL logo, 2010.png|thumb|SBL logo, circa 2010]]

Kanja Sesay, NUS Black Students' Officer, and Joshi Sachdeo were Student Broad Left members of the NUS Executive for 2010–11.

NUS National Conference 2011 saw the election of Student Broad Left's Aaron Kiely to the Block of 15. Kiely joined Sesay and Sachdeo on the NUS Executive for 2011–12.

NUS conference 2012 saw Student Broad Left's Kanja Sesay run for president against incumbent [[Liam Burns (NUS president)|Liam Burns]], VP HE Usman Ali and VP UD Ed Marsh. Sesay gained 120 votes in the first round. A joint Student Broad Left and Young Greens candidate, Matt Stanley, was elected to the Block of 15, and Aaron Kiely was elected as Black Students' Officer.

==Rebrand==
In 2016, following the successful election of controversial SBL-backed candidate [[Malia Bouattia]], SBL restructured under the brand of 'Liberation Left'. Prominent figures continued vocal support for the NUS Liberation Campaigns, Palestinian rights and opposition to Islamophobia.

Several Liberation Left figures have since been accused of [[antisemitism]]. NEC members
Ayo Olatunji and Ali Milani have both been embroiled in rows around antisemitic [[Twitter]] comments,<ref name= RothschildComments>{{cite news|last1=News|first1=Jewish|title=Jewish students 'disgusted' by NUS figure's Rothschild and Nazi-Israel tweets|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jewish-students-disgusted-nus-figures-rothschild-and-nazi-israel-tweets/|accessdate=17 October 2016|work=The Times of Israel|date=16 October 2016}}</ref><ref name=Milani>{{cite news|last1=Barradale|first1=Greg|title=NUS officials call for Ali Milani to withdraw after he tweeted that Jews are stingy|url=https://thetab.com/uk/2017/04/12/nus-officials-call-ali-milani-withdraw-tweeted-jews-stingy-37560|accessdate=17 October 2016|work=The Tab|date=16 October 2016}}</ref> with Milani having tweeted "Israel has no right to exist".<ref>{{cite news |title=Only 35 per cent of 2017 Labour voters want to see Jeremy Corbyn running the country, YouGov poll finds |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/07/19/35-per-cent-2017-labour-voters-want-see-jeremy-corbyn-running/ |website=The Telegraph |date=19 July 2019 |accessdate=21 July 2019|last1=Yorke |first1=Harry }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Jeremy Corbyn and Labour MPs pose with activist who made antisemitic remarks |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/jeremy-corbyn-and-labour-mps-pose-with-ali-milani-who-made-antisemitic-remarks-1.450169 |website=[[The Jewish Chronicle]] |accessdate=21 July 2019}}</ref> Former President Bouattia was condemned by 300 Jewish student leaders, the [[Union of Jewish Students]] and the [[Home Affairs Select Committee]].<ref name="AAli">{{cite web|last=Ali|first=Aftab|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/malia-bouattia-elected-nus-national-president-at-brighton-conference-a6992761.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220614/https://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/malia-bouattia-elected-nus-national-president-at-brighton-conference-a6992761.html |archive-date=2022-06-14 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The NUS has elected its new president for the next academic year|website=The Independent|language=en-GB|access-date=20 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="SelectCommittee">{{cite news|last1=Dysch|first1=Marcus|title=Jeremy Corbyn, Baroness Chakrabarti and Malia Bouattia criticised in MPs' antisemitism report|url=http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/164742/jeremy-corbyn-baroness-chakrabarti-and-malia-bouattia-criticised-mps-antisemitis|accessdate=17 October 2016|work=The Jewish Chronicle|date=16 October 2016}}</ref> Bouattia's comments, described as "outright racism" by the Committee, triggered fifteen disaffiliation campaigns at member unions.<ref name="BBC230416">{{cite news|title=Students threaten to split from NUS over new president|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36109164|accessdate=23 April 2016|work=[[BBC News]]|date=22 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thelinc.co.uk/2016/05/lincoln-su-disaffiliates-from-national-union-of-students/|title=Lincoln SU disaffiliates from National Union of Students|date=9 May 2016|website=The Linc|language=en-GB|access-date=10 May 2016}}</ref><ref>Slater, Tom. [http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/05/the-backlash-against-the-nus-has-begun/ The backlash against the NUS has begun.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215222822/https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/05/the-backlash-against-the-nus-has-begun/ |date=2017-12-15 }} ''[[The Spectator]]'', 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Ali|first1=Aftab|title=Hull University Union becomes latest to disaffiliate from National Union of Students|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/hull-university-union-becomes-latest-to-disaffiliate-from-national-union-of-students-a7046696.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220614/https://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/hull-university-union-becomes-latest-to-disaffiliate-from-national-union-of-students-a7046696.html |archive-date=2022-06-14 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=The Independent|date=24 May 2016|accessdate=24 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Jackman|first1=Josh|title=Loughborough University students vote to split from NUS|url=http://www.thejc.com/news/campus-news/159066/loughborough-university-students-vote-split-nus|work=The Jewish Chronicle|date=8 June 2016|accessdate=8 June 2016}}</ref>

==2019 victories==
At the 2019 national conference, there was another breakdown in left-wing factional support, with the CFE-descendant [[Student Left Network]] actively fielding candidates against LibLeft incumbents and campaigning for two left-wing candidates. However, moderate factions were in decline; the OIs{{cn|reason=please expand|date=August 2019}} had been focused on [[Brexit]] and NUS reform, and [[Labour Students]] had faced ten disaffiliations after a democracy scandal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cherwell.org/2019/03/20/cambridge-labour-to-follow-oulc-in-disaffiliating-from-labour-students/|title=Cambridge Labour to follow OULC in disaffiliating from Labour Students|first=Ben van der|last=Merwe|date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> Liberation Left were successful in three of the four national elections, including electing [[Zamzam Ibrahim]] as National President.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tes.com/news/zamzam-ibrahim-elected-nus-national-president|title=Zamzam Ibrahim elected NUS national president|publisher=TES|date=9 April 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Tuition fees in the United Kingdom]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101114000459/http://studentbroadleft.org.uk/ Student Broad Left official website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100907070023/http://progressivestudents.co.uk/ Progressive Students Conference official website]

{{National Union of Students (United Kingdom)}}

[[Category:National Union of Students (United Kingdom) factions]]
[[Category:Student political organizations]]