News from NUS

[Marco Biagi]

At the NUS national conference on Thursday, the National Organisation of Labour Students (NOLS) failed to win any of the six sabbatical elections. I believe this is the first time in the history of NUS that all six have been independents.

By contrast, our own Director of Representation (the praiseworthy Ben Reilly), who is a member of NOLS, is set to serve a second term as Convener of our NUS 'alternative', the Coalition of Higher Education Students in Scotland (CHESS).

Interesting how things turn, isn't it?

[quarterstaff]

RARARARARA!

BLOODY HIPPIES!


RARARARA!

[Guest]

[s]Marco Biagi wrote on 04:24, 9th Apr 2005:
I believe this is the first time in the history of NUS that all six have been independents.


What are the odds that most if not all of those 6 are still arch-lefties? No one in their right mind would expect to win a student election on a Tony Blair Ticket at the moment.


By contrast, our own Director of Representation (the praiseworthy Ben Reilly), who is a member of NOLS

Why are our sabs not obliged to be politically independent while in office? Especially when considering how many st andrews students hate the labour party....

[Ben Reilly]

Quoting from 11:49, 9th Apr 2005
Why are our sabs not obliged to be politically independent while in office? Especially when considering how many st andrews students hate the labour party....

We are. We don't stand as representatives of political parties (but membership is on our Declaration of Interests). if we are members, we don't receive any help in standing (c.f people standing in NUS elections).

Essentially, we are all sabbaticals (or SRC members, etc. )who may just happen to be a member of a political party, rather than people who stood as a representative of that party for election.

As to hating the labour party, as Marco knows, I dislike immensely many of the actions of the government- but I think that the only current alternative is far worse.

[s]Marco Biagi wrote on 04:24, 9th Apr 2005:
I believe this is the first time in the history of NUS that all six have been independents.

By contrast, our own Director of Representation (the praiseworthy Ben Reilly), who is a member of NOLS, is set to serve a second term as Convener of our NUS 'alternative', the Coalition of Higher Education Students in Scotland (CHESS)

As to serving a second term as Convener, that is up to the members of CHESS.

Quoting from 11:49, 9th Apr 2005

What are the odds that most if not all of those 6 are still arch-lefties? No one in their right mind would expect to win a student election on a Tony Blair Ticket at the moment.

NOLS has traditionally been on the right of the political spectrum in NUS terms, so to describe them as arch-lefties is quite ironic.

[Marco Biagi]

[s]Ben Reilly wrote on 13:03, 9th Apr 2005:
NOLS has traditionally been on the right of the political spectrum in NUS terms, so to describe them as arch-lefties is quite ironic.


Political position doesn't matter so much to student representation as naked careerism though. I take it you'd heard that Rami Okasha, ex-NUS Scotland President and failed candidate for NUS UK Presidency is now running for the Labour party in Banff & Buchan? Can't see him troubling Alex Salmond though.

[Ben Reilly]

Yeah, so I heard. I think it would be a good idea if we had a (higher) minimum age requirement for posts, perhaps something like the 35 minimum age for US president.

[Andrew Cusack]

I'm about as far from being a member of Labour as possible, and I have every confidence that Mr. Ben Reilly represents me as a St Andrean more than adequately.

[ever_nocturnal]

.

[Guest]

[s]Ben Reilly wrote on 21:39, 9th Apr 2005:
Yeah, so I heard. I think it would be a good idea if we had a (higher) minimum age requirement for posts, perhaps something like the 35 minimum age for US president.


Thus preventing both Pitt the Younger and Churchill entering parliament when they did? Let the people decide; if they want an 18 year old or a monkey (after all, h'angus did beat the labour candidate in hartlepool...) so be it.

[Ben Reilly]

Perhaps it was appropriate in the past, but what we now have is the development of a political class who will never have a "real" job. These people depend on the goodwill of the leadership of the parties to ensure that they have a long term future. I think that this is one of the things that has lead to the huge change in the sort of politicians we get nowadays (as Robin Cook puts it, 20 years ago if you argued against party policy on something, it was likely to get you promoted as it showed you weren't afraid to use your brain. Nowadays, the only way is to sing from the hymnsheet.)

[Guest]

[s]Ben Reilly wrote on 22:27, 10th Apr 2005:
Perhaps it was appropriate in the past, but what we now have is the development of a political class who will never have a "real" job. These people depend on the goodwill of the leadership of the parties to ensure that they have a long term future.

And if you stop them entering parliament till they are 35, they will simply work for CCO, Milbank, think-tanks etc until that time (none of which are real jobs). However, in practise, few MP's are elected until they are in their 30's anyway.

The growth of a professional political class has only been helped by this government's Elections, Political Parties, and Referendums (sic) Act, which has given vastly more power to the party machines - vide Howard Flight, who could not have been got rid of so easily if it was not illegal for his name to appear on the ballot paper as a conservative unless a central office functionary had signed his papers as the tory national elections officer rather than only his local association.

[piers]

[s]Ben Reilly wrote on 21:39, 9th Apr 2005:
Yeah, so I heard. I think it would be a good idea if we had a (higher) minimum age requirement for posts, perhaps something like the 35 minimum age for US president.


Charles James Fox made it into the Commons at 19, Anthony Eden was 26, Charles Kennedy was 23.

[BenEsq]

So up the age requirement then



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