Sofie's Blog
Fremantle workers, FE training and a full AGM
As a socialist on the NEC, I’m often accused of banging on about workers and ignoring students. Aside from the fact that students ARE increasing workers too, I got to do something on Saturday 10 November that aptly demonstrated the link between the two – I was lucky enough to be invited to speak at a rally for the striking Fremantle workers.
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On what “right-wing ” means
While I couldn't be less interested in getting in to long blog wars with the NUS leadership over my personal record (I think I've pretty conclusively demonstrated my record), the issue of left and right in NUS could stand to be clarified.
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A reply to Stephen Brown
NUS National Secretary Stephen Brown shows the right wing leadership of NUS are running scared by resorting to personal attacks on his blog
Yes, I have read the governance review, and no, acting as a revolutionary socialist on the NEC doesn't mean I'm lazy - it just means I don't spend my time doing the kind of “work ” the leadership do.
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Stop the War, solidarity and a school students walkout
As some NUS members might know, this summer the National Executive voted to affiliate to the Stop the War coalition. I supported the affiliation, but with an amendment I submitted to make clear our disagreements with the coalition's stance - their refusal to meaningfully support workers’, students’ and women's movements fighting for democratic rights in Iraq and Iran, and the lack of criticism of the Iranian government. The amendment passed, and in our letter confirming affiliation, Dave Lewis, National Secretary, outlined the main points of disagreement:
However, in joining, we must make clear our disagreements with aspects of Stop the War’s work, particularly the refusal to meaningfully support workers’, students’, womens’ and other progressive movements in Iraq and Iran, and the lack of criticism of the Iranian government.
NUS Right get their way - fight the review!
The aim of this week's NEC meeting was to vote through the “amended ” governance proposals, discussed at last week's meeting. Unsurprisingly, none of the left's criticisms were included in the new document, and just to make it clear from the start - I voted against the entire document on principle. The majority of it was unacceptable, but even those bits which were sort-of okay (e.g. spending limits on NUS candidates, a good thing for allowing people who aren't members of large, well-funded factions to run for NEC positions) had to be opposed, considering they were part of a review carried out undemocratically by an appointed board of (mostly) non-students.
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Fight to save NUS democracy!
When the National Union of Students commissioned its “no holds barred ” governance review after annual conference 2007, the left was criticized for pre-emptively declaring it an attack on democracy. The findings of the review was discussed at a national committee meeting on 9 October, and guess what? It's a massive attack on democracy.
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Motions and amendments taken to NUS NEC, 13th August
Motions and amendments taken by ENS member Sofie Buckland to NUS National Executive Committee meeting, Monday 13 August. A report on that meeting will follow shortly.
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NUS’s Five Demands
On the announcement of Brown’s effective coronation as the new Prime Minister, the NUS leadership immediately released a set of five demands for students upon the new government. This is NUS NEC member Sofie Buckland’s response.
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March for abortion rights!
The last few months haven’t been the best for abortion rights campaigners; since September we’ve seen the garnering of MPs’ signatures on an anti-choice Early Day Motion (including many supposed left-wingers, like Respect party MP George Galloway and David Taylor, a member of the Socialist Campaign Group) and a Tory Ten-Minute Rule Bill which would have seen a severe restriction on abortion time limits plus compulsory “counselling” (because women clearly can’t make up their own minds, poor things), not to mention the international situation which, with the complete banning of all abortion in Nicaragua and a wave of legislative attacks including a proposed ban in Poland, is looking increasingly grim.
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Disaffiliation, delegations and demonstrations - NUS NEC meeting, 23 November 2006
Firstly, an apology: September’s meeting report was extremely late, from a combination of losing my notes, business, laziness and probably having some form of scurvy because I’m skint. It’s not especially detailed, so I’m happy to answer questions from anyone about what went on - email me at sofie.buckland@nus.org.uk
This month's meeting was the first since 8 September, October's having been cancelled due to the National Demo and various affiliation referendums. I went up to Imperial for the debate there, spending a day talking to students about why even if you don't like Extra or think NUS doesn't fight hard enough on fees or anything else, you should still be involved with your national union. I also headed up to Aston, whose sabbs were threatening to disaffiliate based on NUS's handling of the lecturer's strike. Sadly, the campaign didn’t go quite so well, and Aston voted to leave the NUS.
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A brief report - NUS NEC meeting, 8 September 2006
Those of you who are particularly observant might notice that the dates at the top of this blog don’t match; it’s about the 8th September NEC meeting, but it’s been posted in December. Clearly, this has nothing to do with those at HQ who put up my blogs, and everything to do with my failure to write a report in a reasonable amount of time. I’m sure you’ve all been on the edge of your seats with anticipation, and I apologise profusely.
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Should NUS be political? A response to Bristol & co.
This is my response to the letter from some sabbatical officers, circulated to the NEC in October. The text of the letter and signatories can be found here.
Dear Ben (and all who signed the letter)
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Defend Muslim students against “McCarthyism”
In mid-October, the press got hold of a leaked document from the
Department for Education and Skills which proposes that university staff spy on Muslim and even “Asian-looking” students - and inform special branch of anyone they suspect is involved in Islamic “extremism”.
Both NUS president Gemma Tumelty and UCU joint general secretary Paul Mackney have rightly denounced this as smelling strongly of “McCarthyism”.
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Fighting fees - you reap what you sow
Before I start with what has been characterised by my block-mate Joe Rooney as my typical pessimism and relentless negativity, I'd like to emphasise that I'm very, very pleased the NUS National Demonstration took place this year. Education Not for Sale have long agitated for getting students out on the streets to demand free education; it's good that the demo was organised, and we hope the campaign doesn't stop here.
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Motions to NUS NEC, 8 September 2006
Stop East London Line privatisation
Free Ahmed Batebi!
Amendments to other motions;
Amendments to “Education Campaign”
NUS and Lebanon: a response to RESPECT Students
- See here for a report of the NEC meeting this post refers to and here for the ENS statement on the war in Lebanon.
In response to RESPECT students’ statement on the NUS National Executive’s position on Lebanon, I’d like to raise my voice in agreement with their disgust at NUS’s weak anti-war stance.
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Stop the War, sustainable ceasefires and student nurses - NUS NEC Meeting 3rd August 2006
I don't want to jinx it but, looking back on last year's blogs, it's hard to believe that there were NEC meetings where no motions were discussed due to time constraints. All 3 NEC meetings I've been to since being elected have run to time and covered the whole agenda, August's meeting included.
A number of motions passed uncontroversially, including a much-needed condemnation of the abuse of disabled people, and policy supporting the “Green Books ” environmental guide (though yes, eyebrows were raised at the production of books to tell people how not to waste paper…). Predictably, this unity-fest only lasted until we got on to discussing Israel's war on Lebanon and Gaza.
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Motions to NUS NEC, 3 August
Keep our NHS public!
Support student nurses
Stop the war on Lebanon
Greek students demand free education
At this year’s NUS conference, despite the left’s invocation of the militant student struggles in France, the right-wing of the union succeeded in overturning NUS’s policy on education funding and introduced a policy in favour of means-tested grants.
In contrast to the British student movement’s failure to understand the lessons of the anti-CPE struggle, Greek students spent May and June fighting against the privatisation of their education. When the Greek student assembly declared “we’re going to do what they did in France”, they meant it.
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Stonewall was a riot - LGBT Conference,16-18th June
In which I decide this italicised line business has got to go
I’d like to start my NUS blogging with a definitive break from the style of my political predecessor, but, sadly, I can’t. There’s a reason Education Not for Sale blogs have read like cynical, bitter indictments of student politics - because that’s exactly what telling the truth about the state of our movement, with the aim of building something better, involves.
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