04.04.2007

Right tightens grip

Elections for the bulk of positions on the NUS NEC take place at annual conference. This year there were fewer candidates than normal for many positions. Sadly this was not because the left had pulled together a united left slate (as they did in the late 1990s) but because many of the sitting candidates were not challenged by other rightwing factions.

The left was as divided as ever. As per last year, Student Respect and the Socialist Action-dominated Student Broad Left (SBL) had come to a deal where they supported each other's candidates in the full-time elections. On the other hand, the Socialist Party in England and Wales/Socialist Students chose to back the AWL-dominated ENS in the full-time elections and second-preference them in the 'block of 12'.

In the presidential election the leading 'Organised Independent', Gemma Tumelty, was easily re-elected with 413 votes, eclipsing both of the left candidates' votes put together. The SWP's Rob Owen came in a distant second place with 115 votes, while Sofie Buckland, standing as ENS, did surprisingly well, picking up 89 votes.

Stephen Brown was easily re-elected as national secretary - a contest for which there was only one left candidate - Student Respect's Assed Baig picking up 193 votes. This was billed as "Respect's best ever result" in Rob Owen's cheery excuse for an analysis (www.respectcoalition.org/index.php?ite=1365) . Of course, this is technically true, but it completely ignores the record of the main force within Student Respect - the SWP's Socialist Worker Student Society - which held this very position in the late 1990s. Comrade Baig was part of the 'Matthew Boulton Two', who were expelled from their college for publishing the Guerrilla newsletter, in which the authors display an eclectic mix of Guevarism and pop-islam (http://theguerilla.blogspot.com). 

The contest for treasurer saw Hannah Tweddle, the SBL candidate, gain 116 votes, but the main fight was between Labourite Dave Lewis, who beat Students First (ie, Tory) candidate Sam Rozati by just five votes. The election for vice-president (welfare) was the most hard fought between the 'Organised Independents' and Labour Students, with OI winning thanks to transfers from the left (indeed comrade Leylabi admitted that he advocated transferring to OI over ENS in characteristic sectarian fashion).

The ENS candidate for VP welfare, Dan Randall, gave the best speech of conference, in which he linked questions of the welfare of students, the majority of whom are working class, to wider social struggles. He spoke out against the war and occupation (he is in the AWL minority on this question) and linked this to the lack of funds in education, going beyond the arguments of those like Clare Solomon to highlight how war was inexorably linked up with capitalism and class society. In comparison to other ENS comrades, he also spoke openly of socialism as the means of overcoming this. Comrade Randall won 120 votes to comrade Solomon's 70.

Dan Glass, another ENS supporter, stood for VP education and made without doubt the most original of all the candidates' speeches - he said he would not rest until "the last capitalist is hanged with the guts of the last bureaucrat". The other two candidates were George Woods of SBL, who stood on an even softer left platform than Student Respect, and Wes Streeting of Labour Students, who was easily re-elected.

The so-called 'block of 12' refers to the number of part-time NEC members elected via PR and sees virtually every NUS faction enter the fray. As such, by looking at the first-preference votes that each picks up, it is possible to gain a fairly accurate picture of their relative strength. The left factions had roughly 115 delegates between them: Student Respect - 60-65; ENS - around 20; SBL - 25; Socialist Students - five (though the SP comrade we spoke to claimed 15).

Communist Students recommended highly critical votes for left candidates in the following order of preference: (1) Socialist Students; (2) Student Respect; (3) ENS; (4) SBL. As far as the left is concerned, Rob Owen of Student Respect, Sofie Buckland of ENS, and George Woods of SBL were all elected onto the block of 12. Assed Baig got a reasonable vote but was some way off making it as Student Respect's second man on the block. In his speech comrade Baig got a little bit excited, referring to the "rightwing nuts" that were gaining ascendancy within the union. This caused the chair to remind delegates not to use "disablist" language.

Rob Owen called on delegates to transfer votes to "progressive candidates" - he specified SBL and Fosis, although it looks very doubtful that Fosis returned the favour by voting for any of the SWP candidates. Indeed the voting figures seem to indicate that Fosis may well have voted for the Tory, Sam Rozati, in the treasurer elections - whether because he is a muslim or because they like his policies we cannot tell.

In one of the few bright moments, Mansour Ossanlou, leader of last summer's bus strikes in Tehran, was elected as an honorary vice-president. He was proposed by Laura Schwarz of ENS, but interestingly there appeared to be no members of Student Respect on the floor to hear her speech.