Jack Straw, then President of the NUS. Published in Focus, the University's magazine, in January-February 1970

This week in 1970, Jack Straw – then the new President of the National Union of Students (NUS) – was interviewed in the University’s magazine, Focus.

Just nine years later, Mr Straw was elected as a Labour MP and he has since held a number of top jobs in government, including Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary.

Here is an extract from the original article in Focus published in January-February 1970:

Jack Straw: The President of the NUS talks to Focus

Many university authorities already regard Jack Straw as a potential trouble maker – it is at any rate certain that he is going to add fuel to the already blazing fire of student demands. In his Endsleigh Street office Mr. Straw spoke to Focus about the problems facing universities in general and about the particular issues that face Sussex. He makes it quite clear that he has no intention of spending his time carrying out routine administration work. Even before he officially began his term of office as president of the National Union of Students his views had been widely reported in the national press, following his Granada Guildhall lecture and his comments on the Select Committee Report…

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