Our day began at Gemma’s parents in Bristol, where we’d stayed the night before for a delicious home cooked meal, good wine and great company! Gemma had spoken at an affiliation debate at UWE the night before and we were well pumped for a big day ahead.

We started off promoting Admission: Impossible with the ‘Yes to NUS’ campaign team. At this point, we’d like to express our real disappointment and frustration that a disproportionate amount of NEC time and NUS resources has been spent over the past month fighting affiliation campaigns instead of the fight for students’ rights. Whilst it is of course the right of any union to hold us to account and evaluate the benefits of NUS membership, it’s a shame that NEC time spent on these campaigns could have been spent building for the National Demo. At least we’ve had Yes to NUS victories every time and are delighted that a whopping 89% of UWE members voted to stay in their National Union. We’re looking forward to working with their officers over the coming year.

After a bit of time at UWE, we went over to Bristol where a warm welcome was offered by the sabbs and exec at UBU. We had a great time flyering and haranguing students outside one of their busiest hotspots and were treated to lunch by Ben Ullman, their president.

The drive towards Gloucestershire proved difficult for Gemma, who simply seemed exhausted and ill from the long haul drives, long days and short nights we’ve been having. But nothing gets the better of us – she soldiered on to Gloucestershire where Matt Bowman and Daisy Noble were ready to help us work the bar and encourage a good turnout. Students there seemed outraged by the ‘rich kids’ subsidy’ - the 10% discount being offered to those rich enough to pay £9000 cash upfront for all their fees – and seemed keen for the demo.

We then drove up to Wolverhampton to join their campaign stall, work the bars and generate interest. Wes also did a radio interview with the BBC Asian Network on fees, debt and access. With free buses to the demo arranged by the Wolves sabbs, how could their students possibly say no to a big day out in London on the National Demo!

Wes did most of the talking all day, as Gemma had a mouth full of ulcers – nice!!!

Later that evening we drove down to Birmingham where we were staying that evening. It had been a long day for both of us, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit our pillows at 9pm!

Gemma and Wes

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