Wes Streeting for National President

Wes Streeting has been elected as NUS National President for 2008/9, with one of the largest victories for a non-incumbant for some time.

Wes was elected in the fourth round with 496 votes out of 962. Ciarán Norris came second with 376 votes in the final round.

The press release from NUS is reproduced below.

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WES STREETING WINS CONVINCING VICTORY IN NUS ELECTION

Wednesday 2 April 2008
Wes Streeting was elected as the National Union of Students’ new National President at the organisation’s Annual Conference today, with delegates giving him a clear mandate to fight more effectively for students’ rights in the run up to the 2009 review of higher education funding.

Streeting, who is the current NUS Vice President for Education, beat nearest rival Ciaran Norris by 120 votes in the last round. He also saw proposals by the current NUS leadership on higher education funding passed by an overwhelming majority - meaning that the union can now throw off the shackles of its previous refusal to engage constrictively on tuition fees.

Following his election, Wes Streeting said:

“In an uncertain time for further and higher education, students can be certain of one thing: that I will be relentless in pressing home our fight to defend and extend their rights. From challenging the disastrous market in fees and student finance, to ensuring an education system that is accessible for all, the scale of my victory provides a strong mandate from our membership for an NUS focused on changing students’ lives for the better.

“NUS is changing almost as rapidly as the student population. I will lead a national union that fights for the rights of all its members as NUS’ campaigner-in-chief. We know that part-time, mature, postgraduate and international students can all too easily fall under the radar, which is why I will put them at the forefront of my agenda for a representative and relevant NUS.

“I want to pay tribute to the bold and courageous leadership of my predecessor Gemma Tumelty. Thanks to her, I inherit a stronger National Union and a momentum for further renewal of NUS that will continue to gather pace in the weeks and months ahead.”

The Order Paper (agenda) and Final Motions Document for NUS Annual Conference are now online. These outline timings for the main conference sessions as well as the motions and amendments we will be discussing.

CD15 - Order Paper

CD16 - Final Motions Document

At the beginning of March, NUS, NUS Services Ltd. (NUSSL) and the Association of Managers in Students’ Unions (AMSU) held a joint event designed to look at the future of students’ unions - particularly in light of a rapidly changing student population.

As part of the event, Wes chaired a panel comprising of Peter Williams, Chief Executive of the Quality Assurance Agency, Paul Ramsden, Chief Executive of the Higher Education Academy and the Vice-Chancellor of Coventry University.

You can listen online to the panel debate if you missed it the first time around!

A key part of Wes’ manifesto is ensuring that the student movement is representative and relevant to all its members.

Registration for delegations to Annual Conference close THIS FRIDAY (7th March) at 5pm for all those students’ unions/associations who wish to register for free accommodation and access requirements. After this time, you will still be able to register your delegations, but your union will have to make your own arrangements for accommodation. Register online now!  

If your union has not yet held elections for NUS delegate, you should register your delegates as ‘A. N. Other’ and contact the NUS events department on events@nus.org.uk with personal information as soon as the elections have taken place.

Full information about NUS Annual Conference, including conference documents, can be found on Officeronline. You also find this Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) document useful.

We hope to see you in Blackpool!   

Welcome to my brand new website. I want to say a massive thanks to Thomas Graham from Edinburgh University for putting the design together for me! It’s a simple wordpress blog but aside from my regular blog on Officeronline I’m not that used to it yet, so bear with me if any glitches or teething problems occur.

Over the coming weeks I will be updating this regularly with news, blogs and sections from my extended manifesto, which I will be making available to delegates at Annual Conference. Please send across any thoughts, feedback etc. to wes@wes4pres.org.uk.

Thanks for visiting!

Wes