"Over 20 students have occupied the seminar room (MB1019) of Lincoln University following a protest involving various groups and non-affiliates of many ages and positions." (Anon)

Saturday 4th December 2010, 1-5pm



Day of action on student fees and education cuts in Nottingham. oh, and corporate tax evasion.

Old Market Square, Nottingham

On Thursday 9th December, Notts County Unison held a small protest outside County Hall.

Not wanting to let the City Council's cuts consultation exercise pass unchallenged, I attended their "We asked. You said, What next?" meeting at Forest Fields Community Centre tonight. Councillor Hassan Ahmed claimed that he and the council were opposed to the cuts but when questioned further this opposition seemed to be rather abstract. Local people deserve a lot better than him and his cronies.

Today saw an unprecedented dialogue at the University of Nottingham that exposed the gulf between the views of students and staff and those of their Vice Chancellor. The open meeting was a condition of the temporary suspension of the students’ occupation of the Great Hall, and had a Question Time format with speakers from Notts Students Against Fees and Cuts (NSAFC, who organised the occupat…

Here is the latest from the Notts Black Arrow blog by the Notts group of the Anarchist Federation, posted December 6th 2010.   

Sorry we've been away for a while! Since publishing Organise! # 75 and Resistance #127 nationally, as the AF's first major statements on what lay ahead for the working class under the ConDems, we haven't paused for breath, to tell you the truth. Here's a little of w…

On Friday 3rd December, the students occupying the Great Hall at the University of Nottingham agreed to leave, in return for a meeting with the Vice Chancellor. This is not the end of the campaign and on Saturday, students protested in the Market Square, joining up with other local anti-cuts campaigners.

On the newswire: Action on fees and education cuts in Nottingham | Billy Bragg "I don't B…

The news this week has been dominated by snow which has rendered the north of the Nottinghamshire and much of the country almost inaccessible. But a little frozen water isn’t going to stop the important business of cutting private services and there’s no shortage of material for this week’s Notts Cuts Watch. All of it brought to you in a new, shorter format which is hopefully easier to use an…

The Square Centre, Alfred Street North, off Huntingdon Street. NG3 1AA

Footage of Billy Braggs opposition to Nottingham University Occupiers proposal to vacate "The Great Hall" Peacefully. Billy says the meeting "Offers Nothing" and further tells students they are "More Use Here [in the great hall]" Before scrawling "I DON'T BUY IT!" over the meeting proposal from Registrar.

3 Hours Later, the hall was vacated peacefully, the occupation was in it's 76th hour.

Great Hall, Trent Building, University of Nottingham

Saturday 4th December was a de facto day of action against cuts in Nottingham with a demonstration against tax avoiders and a student protest running into one another.

After university security playing some pretty obvious tricks on them ("you're in contravention of health and safety", "there's a wedding scheduled to take place in the room"), Nottingham students seem to have caved in and ended their occupation of the Great Hall. Leaving the building wasn't necessarily a bad thing. But agreeing to a cosy chat with the Vice Chancellor is a total cop out.

"The defiant occupation of the Great Hall by ‘Nottingham Students Against Fees and Cuts’ came to a dramatic close [Friday] afternoon. After two hours of animated debates among students and tense negotiations with University Security, the students departed the premises having secured a meeting with the Vice Chancellor and other senior staff scheduled for next Monday at 3:30pm." (NSAFC)…

First off, it would be churlish not to show admiration for the emergence of a new student movement in Nottingham. After a quiet time at the end of the last academic year, with established groups like the Nottingham Student Peace Movement struggling to keep going, it is great to see new faces and new energy being injected into student politics. Taking the step of symbolically occupying the Great Ha…

Singer songwriter Billy Bragg visited the ongoing occupation at the University Nottingham the day after his gig at Rock City. He had also visited Nottingham Prison to see the results of his project to make guitars available to inmates. He arrived just as the 1pm daily meeting of the occupation was starting.

News from the occupation in the Great Hall, Trent Buildng, University of Nottingham.

This is a direct response from Notts Students Against Fees and Cuts, currently occupying the Great Hall in the Trent Building, University of Nottingham, to two statements made to them by the Registrar.

Market Square, Nottingham

I popped down to the University of Nottingham today to see how the student occupiers were getting on. I found a well organised group making use of the space for workshops, meetings and catching up with their coursework. In between these activities a few of the occupiers found time to chat about what it's all about.

‘Nottingham Students defy the freeze to continue their fight for Higher Education’

 Despite the snow and the heating being turned off, Nottingham Students are occupying the Great Hall in the Trent Building of Nottingham University, for a second day since Tuesday afternoon. Following a general meeting at 1pm today, the students are organising a programme of alternative education, film…

As part of a second day of action against fees and cuts, students at Nottingham University have occupied The Great Hall in The Trent Building on University Park. Occupiers are encouraging to supporters to visit them. Donations of food, bedding etc are welcome.

A third day of action is planned for Saturday 4th December (note this was originally planned for Sunday, but has been brought forward).

L…

Audio interview with David, one of the 150 students occupying the Great Hall in the Trent Building, University of Nottingham.

Some pics of today's rally and the occupation of the Great Hall... just down the corridor from the Vice-Chancellor's office!

Notts SOS is pleased to announce a weekend of anti-cuts action in Nottingham. The campaign is growing and many more people are taking action. Visit Notts SOS website for more events and information.

Market Square, Nottingham city centre.

NOTE: This was originally advertised for Sunday, but it has been brought forward a day and the time is now 2pm, so people can start at the Vodafone demo at 1pm, then continue in the Square.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105016269571106

Despite heavy snow, 500 students have pledged they will attend the National Day of Action against Fees and Cuts on Tuesday the 30th of November in Nottingham.

An (incomplete) overview of how the age of austerity has affected Nottingham and Notinghamshire over the last week or so. This is largely culled from various local media outlets, so apologies for some of the dodgy analysis.