LABOUR members at Warwick University have branded the party’s national student body an “embarrassment” after voting to disaffiliate from it.
They voted by 42 to 26 on Tuesday to break with the National Organisation of Labour Students (Nols).
Warwick Labour co-chairman Fraser Amos said that “no-one would really openly defend the organisation,” despite there being a “solid bloc of Blairites in the membership,” which accounted for the relatively large amount of members voting to retain affiliation to Nols.
The Star understands that out of about 90 Labour student clubs across the country, just 43 affiliated to Nols for this academic year, 15 of which – including Warwick – have now disaffiliated.
This has followed widespread allegations of wrongdoing in the national leadership of Nols, seen as dominated by a small group of members on the right of the party.
Other clubs that have disaffiliated include Cambridge, Royal Holloway, Kent, Nottingham Trent, Imperial, Southampton, Queen Mary and Oxford.
The London School of Economics Labour society, the political base of Labour Students chairwoman Rania Ramli, voted by a margin of 10 to break away a fortnight ago.
Mr Amos said: “As it stands, the sole function of Labour Students is to build the careers of students from one narrow faction of the party so that they can be parachuted in as the next generation of MPs.
“It’s an embarrassment to the party.
“Those in charge have demonstrated the lengths they will go to undermine democracy to maintain this, so we voted to leave.”
