This year’s national day of protest against education cuts, scheduled for 9th November is set to receive more support than ever before.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has now officially endorsed the demonstration organised by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) and have pledged resources to help them mobilize. CUSU will decide in a meeting on Monday whether it will provide financial support again.

Furthermore, in an open letter published in the Guardian on 30th September, a group of prominent trade unionists and Labour MPs, including Tony Benn and John McDonnell, announced that they would “stand alongside those school and college students who are planning to walk out and...oppose any attempt by the authorities to curb their right to protest.”

With such powerful supporters, this year’s national day of protest is likely to exceed last year’s protest in size – and potentially also in violence.

Last November, around 52,000 people protested in London againsteducation cuts. The demonstration ended violently and a group of protesters vandalised the headquarters of the Conservative Party.

Former NUS president Aaron Porter condemned the action as “despicable”. For this statement he received heavy criticism from stu- dent protesters.

The fact that the NUS has officially endorsed this year’s national day of protest, organised by the more radical NCAFC, can be seen as an attempt to give the protesting movement a more unified appearance.

Collaboration with trade unions seems to provide another success- ful measure to make the students’ demands heard. NUS and NCAFC both support the public sector strike scheduled for 30th November, which is likely to result in Britain’s biggest strike since the 1926 General Strike.

Morgan Wild, CUSU Education Officer, said: “We believe that the campaign against this government’s continuing assault on higher education cannot and should not end.

“We support all non-violent protest that seeks to oppose this sustained attack on students and on our universities.”