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NUS GOVERNANCE: BACK THE PROPOSALS BUT NOT OUR ARROGANT LEADERSHIP

The governance proposals being put forward at this year’s NUS Conference are far from perfect, but they must be supported. For years the NUS has continued with its outdated, ineffective structures which has seen it lose almost every battle with the government on Higher Education funding and nearly sent us in to bankruptcy.

Those fighting against the review say they do not support the existing structures, but they don’t like the new ones either. This is not a good enough argument. They have offered no serious alternatives and if the NUS is to have any chance of stopping a further increase in tuition fees in next years government review then it must change now!

Those opposing the review say it is destroying our democratic structures, yet the proposals decentralise power to far more elected students than is the case now, through a larger and more diverse Senate, responsible for political leadership, and a host of new national committees. Representation will be further enhanced by relieving elected representatives of the duties of day-to-day management problems, allowing them to work on the campaigns they were elected for.

Management issues will be aided by expert advice, to be delivered through a new Board. While being student-led, the Board will bring in external expertise for the first time making it far more likely that NUS can win on issues like student fees.

So the NUS is saved you may think! Well, not necessarily. The NUS leadership may have brought forward some sensible proposals but do they really care what students think of them? Not one bit. Insiders in the NUS have recently blown the whistle on the cocky, arrogant individuals like Gemma Tumelty and Wes Streeting who allegedly claim that ‘they know what’s best for students.’ This has been shown in part by their secret pact (which isn’t so secret anymore) to ensure that Streeting is elected as Tumelty’s replacement for President when her term in office finishes in June. It’s not just me who’s been annoyed by this and because of their actions the vote on the proposals is going to be a lot closer than it should have been. If it fails, then it’ll be down to their arrogance and they will have screwed up all the hard work of student representatives around them. Not that they’d accept any blame if this situation does arise.

Furthermore, there was supposed to be extensive consultation with our grass root membership on the proposals, but that never materialised. Even someone like myself who’s been involved within the student movement wasn’t given any chance to express an opinion. Why is this? The simple answer is because they couldn’t care less what I think or any other student. My opinion is that their main objective is not delivering for students, but ensuring their future careers in the Labour Party. Don’t be surprised therefore to see them sell us out at the last minute, because if it comes down to the choice of saving students from a lifetime of debt or ensuring their future political career, there isn’t any doubt which one they’ll choose. Therefore, if I was at conference this year, I’d back the proposals, and then vote for someone who actually cares about making them work effectively.

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