As we enter the NUS Week of Action, Edinburgh students should be congratulated for their resounding rejection of Boris Johnson and the Tories’ recent U-turn on top-up fees. In what can only be seen as the first test of student opinion on Cameron’s conversion on Higher Education, students voted overwhelmingly to defeat Boris’ bid to become Edinburgh’s rector - a post elected by the student body under the constitution of the four ancient Scottish universities.

Instead, they elected Mark Ballard, a Green party member of the Scottish parliament as rector, with a total of 3,597 votes, ahead of the former Scotsman editor Magnus Linklater with 3,052. Ballard’s vote was around 1,500 clear of Boris.

The result followed a brave and concerted campaign led by Ruth Cameron’s team at the Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) to actively campaign against a candidate, the first time in the association’s history that it has ever taken such a stance. While a vocal minority of Boris supporters may cry foul play, EUSA’s Anything But Boris campaign has delivered a resounding victory, not only for students at Edinburgh, for students across the UK.

It shows the deep anger and resentment that still exists on our campuses and what we can achieve when we can mobilize students through effective campaigning. And effective campaigning EUSA did, winning an important battle in the fight to keep Scotland top-up free.

This result is also a victory for policy over personality. The Tories no doubt hoped that Boris’ affable demeanor and humorous personality would be enough to win students over. But the Anything But Boris campaign highlighted the Shadow Higher Education Minister as a significant threat to the future of Higher Education, with taglines including “Maggie took your milk…Boris will take your money” and “Practice Safe X – Don’t Wake Up With A Dumb Blonde tomorrow”, to make the point.

Of course the Tories aren’t the only turncoats on top-up fees: we will never forget that Blair broke his own manifesto commitment not to introduce top-up fees and we will never believe the Lib Dems nationally so long as they continue to promote fees in Scotland.

Let this be a reminder to all politicians, from all parties. We remain committed to a Free, Fair and Funded education and we will fight every battle it takes to get us there.

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