On the First of May 1997 Labour swept to power with a massive majority, a loyal student vote and a claim to hold no values more dear than those of "education, education, education". The introduction of fees and the abolition of the maintenance grant have made it clear that the government's conception of what it should prioritise in education is vastly different to our own.

Under the Teaching and Higher Education Act, entrance to education is no longer to be determined on the basis of academic merit but on that of the ability to pay. But the steady privatisation of our education is not inevitable. The legislation CAN be reversed and free education made, once again, a cornerstone of the British state's responsibilities to its citizens. This booklet is intended to show you how to fight back, how to organise mass resistance and how to win free education for those who follow after us. Non-payment is the most powerful weapon we have available. It proves that a law ceases to be legitimate when it takes no account of the interests or opinions of those it affects. It proves that justified acts of civil disobedience CAN win against unjust laws and that students really will fight for what we want and need: education free at the point of delivery, to provide all with the ability to turn what they have learnt to the greater good of society.

Josh Bell, OUSU President 1998/99