Defend NUS democracy! For a democratic, campaigning National Union of Students
Posted on October 15, 2007
Filed Under Inside NUS
In response to the proposed attacks on NUS democracy (see here) activists have put together this statement in order to start a campaign. Please add your support by emailing your name and student union/organisation to volsunga@gmail.com.
We, the undersigned, believe that the changes to NUS structures proposed in the Governance Review’s report to NUS National Executive will undermine democracy in our national union, radically narrowing the already limited channels through which ordinary students and even most student union officers can exercise a degree of control over the direction and running of NUS.
They will lead to an NUS even more divorced from grassroots student activity, and even more dominated by a thin layer of sabbatical officers and a small number of Labour Students and “independent” national officers. This will mean a virtually monolithic political culture with much less space for political and other minorities. It will make it even more difficult to get the kind of union students need. The result will be even less and even less effective campaigning activity.
NUS has gone through a crisis of democratic involvement, of political culture, of financial viability. However, the way to solve this crisis is to replenish the national union’s activist base through active political campaigning.
We are opposed to the calling of an Extraordinary Conference to discuss structural reform. There is no reason why changes should be rushed through what will almost certainly be a relatively small and unrepresentative gathering. Reform of NUS structures should be discussed at an ordinary national conference in the normal way.
We have a variety of views on the reform of NUS, but we are united in opposing the anti-democratic features of the Governance Review’s recommendations and supporting:
- Defence of a unified national conference, at least once a year, with generous delegation sizes roughly proportional to student numbers, as NUS’s supreme governing body.
- Maintenance of a single unified national executive committee, with a funded Block of 12 executive members or similar as a guarantee of pluralism and representation for the Liberation Campaigns, as the highest body of NUS between conferences.
- No external representatives on NUS governing bodies.
- Maintenance of the requirement that HE affiliates must run a democratic cross-campus ballot to elect delegates, rather than “trusting” unions to decide their own method of selection.
- Annual elections for all NUS officers.
Positively, we also want:
- A longer national conference to allow more extensive and more effective debates.
- Restoration of the cuts in delegate entitlement made in 2004, for a larger and more inclusive conference.
- The NEC to meet at least every five weeks, with motions discussed each time.
- Expansion of the Block of 12 (eg to a Block of 15), with guaranteed FE representation, and proper funding for part-time NEC members.
- Transparency and accountability - especially in dealings with government officials and commercial bodies.
- A major cutting back of bureaucratic waste and redirection of resources to campaigning.
We see the fight to defend and extend democracy in NUS and our student unions as part of the fight for a campaigning student movement that takes on the government, that mobilises its members, links up with trade union and community campaigns and wins for students on demands like the abolition of fees, a living grant, a living wage and ending privatisation in education, as well as on broader political issues.
Individuals so far:
Sofie Buckland, NUS National Executive
Heather Shaw, Students Against Sweatshops coordinator
Koos Couvee, University of Sussex SU Communications Officer
Laura Schwartz, NUS Women’s Committee, University of East London
Sophie Day, NUS Women’s Committee, University of Nottingham
Teodora Todorova, NUS Women’s Committee, Nottingham University SU Women’s Campaign President
Vicki Holmes, NUS Women’s Committee Lesbian Rep and Warwick University
Rose Rickford, NUS LGBT Committee Women’s Rep
Aled Dilwyn Fisher, LSESU Environment and Ethics Officer, LSESU Green Party Male Co-Chair, Young Greens National Membership and Local Group Development Officer
James Caspell, LSESU Postgraduate Students’ Officer, LSESU Green Party Founding Member
Stephen Knight, President, Sheffield College SU
Sam Coates, Young Greens National Web Officer
Ruth Makoff, UEA Green Party Society Chair
Payam Torabi, London Young Greens, Queen Mary’s University
Stephen Wood, President of Hull University LGBT (pc)
Chris Marks, Hull University student and UCU member
Anna David, UEA Union of Students council environment rep
Katie Hunt, University of Leicester
Bex Davies, Sheffield Hallam University and ex-President, Derby College SU
Anna Wolmuth, People & Planet national office
Alex Wood, People & Planet national office
Daniel Randall, NUS NEC 2005-6 and Secretary, Sheffield University No Sweat
David Broder, Socialist Youth Network exec member, Kings College London
Keir Lawson, Glasgow University Socialist Society activist
Darcy Leigh, President, Edinburgh University Women of the World, Socialist Society activist, NUS conference delegate 2008
Ed Maltby, Cambridge University Education Not for Sale, NUS conference delegate 2007
Emma Clossick, Women’s Campaign Officer, Oxford University Students’ Union
Pat Yarker, University of East Anglia
Chris Strafford, Manchester Metropolitan Univesity, IWW IU 620
Samantha Godwin, General Secretary, UCL Union
Donnacha Kirk, ex-Cambridge University student, soon to be UCL
Michael Wood, York University
Laura Rogers, Institute of Education
Andrew Birbky, Young Greens National Chair
Chloe Cheeseman, Nottingham University SU Environment and Social Justice Officer and Young Greens National Campaigns Officer
Richard Braude, Cambridge Education Not for Sale
Vicki Morris, Birkbeck College, London
Alan Bailey, VP Representation, University of Salford SU
Sacha Ismail, SOAS
Graham Martin, University of Bradford Union, Former Union Councillor
Neil Bennet, Edinburgh University Socialist Society, Scottish Socialist Party and NUS Conference delegate 2008
Hollie Reid, Edinburgh College of Art, Scottish Socialist Party
Rhiannon Sims, Edinburgh University
Keshav Dogra, Edinburgh University
Jane Crowley, Edinburgh University
Sarah Auld, Edinburgh University
Radeh Polhoushi, Edinburgh University
Sophia Coles-Riley, Welfare Officer-elect, Bradford University Union
Hannah Smith, Kingston University SU Environmental and Ethical Officer
Stephen Mullen, Blackpool and the Fylde College SU President
Sanjay Kulkarni, University of East London
Mike Rowley, Ruskin College
Nick Smith, University of East Anglia
Chloe Peacock, Goldsmiths College
Isha Isadore, London Metropolitan University
Justin Harbottle, Sussex University
Alex Lyons, Sussex University
Marie O’Neill, University of Kent
Rachael George Sussex University Women’s Group
Laurie Penny, Birkbeck College, London
Morgan James, Sussex University
Beth Ashton, LSE
Gwawr Thomas, BPP Law School
Mikey Franklin, School Students Against the War steering committee
Dan Glass, Msc Human Ecology and Climate Change - Centre for Human Ecology, Strathclyde University
Andrew Weir, Edinburgh University Socialist Society secretary and
Scottish Socialist Party
Paul Hampton, London Metropolitan University
Fuad Musallam, Cambridge University
Joe Wilson, Cambridge University
Will Wearden, Cambridge University
Mabel Wale, Cambridge University
Benny Talbot, Cambridge University
Ed Mustill, Cambridge University Socialist Students chair
Rob Goulden, Cambridge University
Alex Wolfers, Cambridge University
Ria Hylton, Cambridge University
Junior P Juma, Cambridge University
Tom Barbour, Cambridge University
Iestyn Price, Cambridge University
Anna Trench, Cambridge University
Decca Muldowney, Cambridge University
Finn Beames, Cambridge University
Owen Kennedy, Cambridge University
Duncan Robertson, Hackney Community College Student Association Vice President
Gemma Short, President, Sheffield University No Sweat
Sam Ross, Sheffield University
Jenny Slater, Sheffield University
Simon Hewitt Horsman, Birkbeck College, University of London
Adam Farrell, Sussex University
Edwin Armitage, Sussex University
Tim Konar, Sussex University SU Welfare Officer
Tom Wills, news editor of the Badger, Sussex University student paper
Damiani Sourmaidou, Cranfield Students’ Association President
Konstantinos Papadopoulos, Cranfield SA Research Students’ Rep
Sebastian Tarik Achaibou, Queen Mary University London
Oliver Leon, Thames Valley University
Simon Keble, Swansea University
Sid Howard, Birmingham University
Sindy Duong, Birmingham University
Pete Simpson, University of Essex Campaigns Committee
Alex Hodgson, Sheffield University
Organisations so far:
Education Not for Sale
Young Greens (Green Party)
Workers’ Liberty students
University of Sussex Students’ Union
