Executive Committee Changes

A few weeks ago Mike Joslin and Rob Boardman resigned as Co-Chairs of Manchester Labour Students. They have both been fantastic, I wish Mike all the best when he graduates this year and I look forward to working with Rob next year as he remains on our Committee when he takes office as President of MMUnion.

I was elected as Manchester Chair and Luke Pollard was elected as MMU Chair. I am really looking forward to the challenge of leading the club and working with the rest of the Committee in delivering great events and regular campaigning.

Recently Manchester Labour Students changed its Committee Structure; as a result we have recently held by-elections for the new positions. Those elected were:

Labour Party Campaigns Officer: Andrew Campbell

Membership Officer & Secretary: Mel Haslam

Political Events Officer: Ruby Carr

Publicity Officer: Ash Singleton

Social Secretary: Francesca Cane

Students' Unions Campaigns Officer: John Gilchrist

You can view the full Executive Committee on our website.

I am really confident we have an excellent and experienced Committee who are committed to working hard for future of Manchester Labour Students, holding great events and campaigning really hard for Labour success locally and nationally.

NUS Annual Conference 2009

This past week Manchester Labour Students attended NUS annual conference - with members going as elected delegates from both UMSU and MMUnion. Several of our activists who weren't delegates also went along to volunteer for the many different candidates Labour Students were standing for the NUS National Executive Council.

I am pleased to be able to report that the conference brought huge successes for Labour Students and other progressive political voices within the national union. Firstly, Wes Streeting
was re-elected as NUS President. Wes is a member of Labour Students and has lead the NUS through one of the biggest periods of change in its history during his first term office. He was elected with a huge mandate (81% of votes were cast in his favour) and we wish him well in his drive to make positive change for students.

In another important election for Labour Students, Susan Nash was elected to be the first ever Vice President Society & Citizenship. Susan has been an incredibly hard working member of the national executive this year and has proven herself more than ready to lead the union on important issues such as defeating the BNP in the June European elections. This election was also important as it meant for the first time in 10 years Labour Students had 2 members elected to full time positions.

We were also successful in electing our candidates for the "Block of 15", which is a block of non portfolio, part time members who sit on the national executive. Ed Marsh was re-elected to the block after a hugely successful year, where he is joined by Tobin Webb. These elections mean that Labour Students will once again be leading from the front in the national union, ensuring that progressive voices are heard and students are not let down.

At conference, we also debated and voted on a wide range of policy, which will be used to set the direction of the NUS for the forthcoming year. In perhaps the most important debate, students voted by a wide margin to adopt NUS' "Broke and Broken" policy, which means there will be a key focus on winning the fight for a fairer funding model for students, when the current model of top up fees is reviewed this year. This was a big victory for those of us who did not want to see a return to the NUS of old, where our voices were rarely listened to by politicians and other key decision makers. The decision to pass this policy is welcomed by Manchester Labour Students.

My personal highlight of annual conference this year was the fringe event hosted by the Union of Jewish Students, which featured Ray Hill, a former leading figure in the British far right movement, who subsequently went on to work for Searchlight and infiltrated the BNP - revealing himself in a channel 4 documentary. Ray was one of the most captivating speakers I have ever heard and I urge anyone who get the chance to hear him to take the opportunity to do so.

Manchester Labour Students would like to congratulate all elected candidates, as well as wishing those leaving the student movement this year the best of luck for the future.

The End of an Era

Two weeks ago now I resigned as Chair of Manchester Labour Students. In June I will be graduating from the University of Manchester with a degree in politics (I hope!). It has been 3 long and eventful years and I have loved every second of my involvement with Labour Students.

I am proud of the achievements of the Labour Club and I am proud of my own personal achievements. Labour Students offers people as an organisation the most incredible of experiences. I have met Tony Blair, been to a drinks reception at Downing Street, seen most cabinet ministers give speeches and met some amazing friends.

In my time as Chair we doubled the membership, improved our links with the local party, held events with Cabinet Ministers, developed a reputation as a campaigning Labour Club and delivered time and time again when we were needed most.

But I never forget why I do this, why I fight so hard, why I give up my life to take up rhetorical arms and pound the streets of this country; because I believe in something.

I was campaigning a few weeks ago and someone said to me "I'm a pensioner who do you think I am voting for?" That is the legacy of 12 years of Labour Government. Services transformed for the people that need them most, our country rebuilt and reshaped and the economy radically transformed and saved from Tory mismanagement. That is why I fight; because this is a legacy that needs defending.

I am proud of my achievements but more than that I am proud of the achievements of this Government and I will never stop fighting for something I so passionately believe is right.

Richard Neudegg, the new Labour Club Chair, I know will do a great job. I wish him and the rest of the club the best for the future and I know that this Club will go from strength to strength.

No such thing as psychology

Today's Observer contains a fascinating article detailing Mrs. T's formative years in Grantham. We're treated to a Freudian psychoanalytic insight with regards to the development of Maggie's political philosophy:

"Monetarism was an expression of her pathological anal retention (the Big Bang of deregulation was symbolic of her secret desire for explosive release). Her hatred of the nanny state was a response to her own absence of the "suckling breast", her extraordinary insistence on self-reliance an expression of her unconscious desire to destroy her guilty sexual feelings for her father."

Yeah.