Benjamin Gray Block Manifesto

BENJAMIN GRAY PRINCIPLES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

No Foreign Policy Keep the Cap Active, Realistic Campaigning Genuine Pluralism and Safe Space: No to Factional Bullying Looking Further Transparency and Accountability

Students First Students First: No Foreign Policy The continual foreign policy debates the NUS has at its conferences are disillusioning and pointless. They are ill-informed, unrealistic and distracting. They polarise the student body unnecessarily. At best they make a minimal impact. It is immoral for a National Union of Students to be discussing foreign affairs when we have barely enough time and resources to discuss and campaign on the pressing issues affecting our members daily. Squeezed between the pincers of recession and a government keen to raise the cap on fees, it is no longer acceptable to divert our efforts and distract our membership from this vital fight. If elected to the Block, I will oppose any NUS involvement in foreign affairs other than where it has a direct relevance to our students.

Keep the Cap Regardless of our attitudes to fees, raising the cap will unfairly hit poor students and applicants. Doing so during a recession will only compound the deterrent effect. It will reduce social mobility and deny access to education to those who deserve it. Although free education may be an ideal, it is an entirely unrealistic goal. The government are not going to release extra funds at a time when it will be looking to save money, and adopting such an unrealistic position would unnecessarily freeze us out of the discussion. The NUS needs to fight on the issues we can win. We can win a freeze on the cap, we can’t win free education. The NUS must oppose the lifting of the cap on fees, but it must be realistic as to what it can achieve.

Active Campaigning The concerns about grassroots activism are legitimate. The NUS suffers from a top-down mentality that is increasingly being challenged by new technologies and attitudes. The rise of social

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networking sites and campaigning tools allows for rapid, flexible campaigning on issues as they arise. We have not done enough to take advantage of the opportunities this provides. At its heart the NUS is there to facilitate campaigning. Sites like officeronline could be harnessed to enable campaigning on student issues at all levels, from the grassroots to the top. Organisation, action and reaction could be . Discussion could be ongoing, rather than confined to a few expensive conferences. Students would be able to see that the NUS is an organisation that fights for them, rather than a distant abstraction. If elected, I will work to get the NUS to adapt to modern, empowering campaigning techniques that engages as many activists and students as possible.

Genuine Pluralism and Safe Space: No to Bullying At several conferences we have witnessed the failings of the NUS in adequately dealing with racism, bullying and intimidation at its events. Conferences have been disrupted, delegates intimidated and students disgusted. Several have said that they never want to go to an NUS conference again. The NUS has suffered multiple blows to its reputation as an organisation that stands up to bigotry and intimidation. If elected, I will work to ensure that “Safe Space” is enforced, not just a platitude.

Looking Further The NUS suffers from a narrowness of focus. It focuses on a relationship between government, students and universities without wider considerations of the society in which they exist. It acts as if all problems in education policy and social mobility are the responsibility of Higher Education. We have to look further. We have to work not just with the government and our activists, but the wider institutions of civil society, not just in campaigning, but in support for students. We cannot rely on government grants any more: we have to work to exhort and establish charitable support. We must be willing to look at issues beyond a direct Higher and Further Education focus. The problems in the education system do not start at these institutions. Often they stretch further back. The NUS has a responsibility to talk about them.

Transparency and Accountability The NUS is an arcane institution. The first conference a delegate attends is one that he or she will be unable to fully contribute to, having to get their head around various procedural matters and factional politics. The introductory sessions for first-time delegates barely scratch the surface. Conferences are barely accessible, with access breaks abused. Many officers pay only lip-service to their commitments, unable to fulfil even the most basic obligation of blogging once a month. If elected, I will work to ensure that new delegates are properly informed. I will work to put together a guide to attending conferences, and help make sure that delegates fully understand proceedings. I will make sure that my time on Block is accountable, blogging regularly and meaningfully. I will make sure that all are held to account.

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