Aaron Porter has resigned as leader of the National Union of Students

Aaron Porter has resigned as leader of the National Union of Students after suffering a constant barrage of personnel  insults, anti-Semitic and racial abuse.

The president of the National Union of Students, Aaron Porter, is to stand down amid fierce criticism that he did not fight hard enough to prevent university tuition fees from almost trebling.

The 26-year-old, who has led a high-profile campaign against higher fees and education cuts since he took the post in June, said the union needed a "fresh start".

A source at the NUS said Porter was facing too much personal abuse from students angry that the union had not taken a harder stance against fees and cuts.

He has said today has he will not be seeking a second term as President, which is almost unprecedented in the union’s history.

The full statement:

Dear All
The last few months have been momentous. Our response to the Government’s austerity measures will go down in the history books. We’ve kick started a wave of student action, brought the coalition to its knees, and we’ve shaped the public debate on education in an unprecedented fashion. This campaign began over 3 years ago- a long-term strategy to deliver a real alternative to a market in fees, and it’s a campaign I have been heavily involved in from the very beginning as a student officer in Leicester, as Vice President (Higher Education) and then as NUS President.
The Government’s decision to treble tuition fees was a bitter pill to swallow- and whilst a number of concessions were secured, notably for part-time students as well as an increased threshold of repayment for all graduates, this was still not the outcome we wanted. Thousands of students will now decide that Higher Education is not for them- and the ones that do get to go will be plunged into an era of market chaos. It’s a tragedy- and one that requires relentless pressure, both locally and nationally, to ensure that it is exposed and replaced with something better as soon as possible.
So this new regime brings with it a new landscape, and I believe NUS now needs reinvigorating into the next phase of this campaign. After considerable soul searching, I believe there needs to be a new President to lead the student movement into that next phase. As a result, I’ve resolved not to seek re-election at National Conference this year.
The challenge for a new National President will be great. They’ll need to support students’ unions and student officers to get the best deal for students, whilst running a major national campaign to defeat damaging marketization in education. They’ll need to build activism and radicalism on the ground whilst defending legitimate, democratic students’ unions from attack from our enemies. Above all, they’ll need a fresh outlook- because if we are to reach out, and engage with, the full diversity of our membership, we need to move beyond the tired rhetoric and redundant tactics of some factional groups.
I want to say thank you to the hundreds of students and student officers who have been so supportive this year, and indeed for the nominations for a second term which I had already been sent. It goes without saying that with a white paper on its way, the next four months remain a huge opportunity for the organisation, and I will be relentless in ensuring I do the very best I can in the role.
We should continue to be proud of what we have achieved, and it has been an honour to be President at this time. If I have one criticism of this year, it would be that we have not been quick enough to talk about our achievements – and I hope we can pause for a moment to remedy this.
Let’s push on to make sure we credit ourselves for what we have achieved, and ensure we work together to push NUS and the student movement to the next level.
In unity,
Aaron Porter

The NUS elections are due in April.