Historic barworker’s strike at 13th Note Glasgow

branches to strike together rather than separately. Kirklees (where Socialist Alternative members are playing a leading role in the strike) and Bradford colleges have already illustrated how striking together can lift the confidence of members.

Importantly, the FE conference also passed a late motion following the tragic death of Ruth Perry, a headteacher who committed suicide recently following a critical Ofsted inspection. Conference sent solidarity to her family and friends, and resolved to call for the abolition of Ofsted inspections in FE.

UCU Congress was, for the most part, a productive event. In general, the left were able to pass policy freely. However, there were again signs of the need for a genuine, organised rankand-file within UCU. For example, the HE Conference had no choice but to vote for UCU Left candidates for the elected lay negotiator positions, since the only alternatives came from the two right-wing groupings in the union.

Some movement was made on the eve of Congress, where around 20 delegates met for the first time in person to discuss the possibility of building towards such a rank and file organisation. While no formal decisions were made, this is a positive step, and International