Speech for David Miliband event

Oct30 by maxattacks

The Dear Leader has requested that his speech from David Miliband’s launch for the Living Wage Campaign at the University of Birmingham from the 28th October be published:

Hello and welcome to Birmingham University Labour Students launch of the Living Wage Campaign with David Miliband. I’m Daniel and I’m Chair of Birmingham University Labour Students.

Many of us in this room are members of National Labour Students, and I hope many others are soon to become members. I believe that National Labour Students are a really important wing of the Labour Party; in mobilising for Labour at elections, hosting national events and workshops, but most importantly National Labour Students proud history of campaigning, against the extortionate rise in tuition fees, in the liberation campaigns, fighting for the rights of women, disabled students, LGBT students and BAME students, rights that other students may take for granted. And now in the Living Wage Campaign, taking place on campuses across the country in Kent, Cambridge, Leeds and Leicester, and today starting here in Birmingham.

The Living Wage is the minimum hourly rate someone has to earn to afford everyday basics like housing, food, childcare. A wage as the name suggests, that you can live on, not merely exist.

In London the current rate is £8.30 an hour. In Birmingham the current rate is £7.20. £7.20 is a target that is not only morally right, but financially achievable.

I am proud to be a member of a party who when in office introduced the National Minimum Wage. This was a huge step. The Tories said it was economically unsound. It wasn’t. The Tories said it would cost jobs. It didn’t. The same arguments are made against the Living Wage.

It is great to see in the room…

Now, I know David doesn’t need much of an introduction. David was elected to Parliament for South Shields in 2001, and in 2006 was Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs where he oversaw the Climate Change Bill, before becoming the Foreign Secretary in 2007. But more important than that, Political Top Trumps gives him a ‘fanciability’ of 84.

Boys and Girls, David Miliband.

Total Politics Blog Awards 2011

Aug9 by maxattacks

Total Politics Blog Awards 2011 - vote now!

It’s that time of year again. The Total Politics Magazine is hosting it’s annual blog awards where blogs can become one of the Top 100 (or 20 if you’re lucky) blogs in the country depending on your category (Left Wing, Labour and Group for this one).

BULS last year managed to achieve (somehow and with no one realising) 90th in the top 100 Labour blogs and the only Labour Students blog to do so. This year we hope to do far better.

You can vote here and then click on the “click here to cast vote button”.

The rules are as follows:

Your votes must be ranked from 1 to 10. The higher you rank a blog or author, the higher up they will appear in the aggregated results. You must enter a minimum of five names for your vote to count. If you don’t want to enter more than five, just write ‘blank’ in the remaining boxes. Every box must have some text in for the vote to be submitted successfully. They will also request a category BULS’s Labour, Left Wing and Group and you will need to submit a category for the ‘blank’ section if you have any so place any category for it.
Only submit your vote once. If you vote more than once, it won’t be counted.
Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents and based on UK politics are eligible.
Anonymous votes left in the comments on the Total Politicswebsite or emailed to members of staff will not count. You must submit your vote via the survey and you must enter a valid email address when you do so.
Do not publish a list of ten blogs on your site and try to persuade readers to vote for them. Any duplicate voting of this nature will be disallowed.

So essentially, that’s it. Vote for Birmingham University Labour Students NOT BULS and our category is Labour, Left Wing and Group. And voting closes on the Friday 19th August

Max

Divisions? What divisions?

Nov16 by maxattacks

Ever heard of the website called “LabourList”? No, (forgive me if you have) well it is a grass-roots website, in which nearly all Labour members can contribute to and is essentially the BULS’ website’s “big daddy” and a true bench mark for all Labour affiliated blogs (yes, even the mighty BULS blog is humbled by it’s activity and quality). We should have a link somewhere, but in case you can’t find it- http://www.labourlist.org/

Anyway, a recent survey was published (http://www.labourlist.org/labour-divided-over-av-state-of-the-party—november-2010) on Labour members views on what route the party should take next. The biggest divisive issue had to be support for the AV referendum (42%-against, 33%-for). The next closest issue that divided as much would have to be whether to have primaries to select Labour candidates (for-47%, against-35%) in which I can easily say, isn’t the biggest issue facing the UK.

Although, there were a number of policy areas that Labour members were presented with on whether they would like Labour to pursue more closely. Topping the polls with 78.7% agreement, was taking a harder line on tax avoidance and evasion, which I think is brilliant. Too long has the media focused on “benefit scroungers” which in comparison is a tiny fraction to what the UK looses through tax avoidance and evasion. Also high on the list came rebuilding Labour’s reputation on the economy (64.4%), a National Care Service (62.6% and probably my personal favourite on the list) and making the robin hood tax a reality (61.1%). Coming near the bottom saw online referendums (18.5%), shake up of secondary education, teaching by ability rather than age (21.1%) and employee ownership (31.4%, a mild disappointment personally).

What to make of these figures then? Well one I missed out was that, Ed Miliband, Harriet Harman and the rest of the Shadow Cabinet are still relatively supported (Miliband a mere 12% think he’s doing a poor job, 72.9% think Harman is doing a good job, etc). Also, 65.3% of Labour members believe Labour should adopt an alternative economic model and plan to that of the Coalition’s, which is certainly imperative. Well, it seems that what Labour members want a detailed and clear plan to take on the Coalition (rather than make the mistake of making yourself to vague like Cameron did, which cost him a majority) and an emphasis on what traditionally Labour does best. Taking on the social injustices of the abusive rich in our society and our great compassion, with the hopeful creation of an institution to rival the work of the NHS, a National Care Service.

Max

And wow, my first somewhat optimistic blog in a while. Forgive me, still adjusting to my first ever government that on the whole I’m generally p***ed off with.

How to lose a PM in 30 days

Jul3 by Nash

Observing recent political events in West Island from across the ditch, I have been struck by both the swiftness and the apparent brutality of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s removal by his own party in favour of his second-in-command Julia Gillard. The justification for his removal apparently a decline in Labor support in the polls during an election year; for which he as leader was deemed responsible. To a UK political observer the initial comparison is inevitable (and Martin Kettle at the Guardian milks it for all its worth).

But UK Labour is not Australian Labor, and we should be glad of this. Firstly Australian Labor is institutionally factionalised in a way which makes Blairite-Brownite “rifts” look like trivial squabbles over soccer team affiliation. Rudd had no core faction behind him, hence when the challenge came they swung behind Gillard. In addition, Rudd had probably alienated the powerful union factors with miner membership though his proposals for a new supertax on mining profits. The plan to reinvest these profits to the benefit of all Australians is in principle a sound idea, but one which threatened the interests of mine workers. Consequent hostile advertising from this sector likely cost a few points in the opinion polls and encouraged Rudd’s colleagues (with union backing) to act. Some of us in English circles may smile wryly at the thought that there is somewhere in the west where miners can still bring down a PM.

It is also much easier to stage a coup when only MPs have a say in their party’s choice of leader. Much of the action happened overnight in this time zone – talk of speculation coming around midnight followed by the news of Rudd’s resignation when I woke up on the floor the next morning. By teatime Gillard was meeting the Governor-General. Had Milliband, D. ever followed through on his many threats to stick the knife in we’d have gone through the whole nominations, campaigning, and membership ballots palaver. Arguably this grants the incumbent a significant advantage, but if it saves us the undignified spectacle of a brutal internal coup whilst being notionally more democratic then I for one am grateful.

Rudd had been in office for just under two and a half years, after a landslide victory in ’07. He had brought the Labor party back into power after 13 years of opposition. He’d initially taken a bold stand on global warming in a country with a deeply sceptical (and Murdoch-tainted) media, and at least attempted to redress historical grievances with the indigenous peoples. Until a matter of months ago he had polled as the 2^nd most popular Australian PM in history – now he becomes the only to be ousted from office in a single term. 3-year term limits mean that an election was likely before the end of this year; with a change at the top it will likely come about even sooner (as Gillard herself has stated). We shall see if the Labor party’s gamble pays off. If it does, there may well be many a forlorn “what-if?” in the Milliband camp (though Labor’s defeat is not as likely, let alone as certain, as ours appeared in ‘09). I’m not sure which reflects worse on a party – regicide against a successful election winner, or the prospect of changing leaders twice in one term. “Unelected Prime Minister” rhetoric is disingenuous yet potent amongst the electorate, especially when there is very little to hide the naked ambition of those who make it to the top. I’ve seen identity politics used already to justify the outcome; a seemingly desperate spin. On this note it may be worth considering the success of other welsh redheaded Labo(u)r leaders.

I’m glad this undignified spectacle never befell Gordon. Rudd gave a gracious albeit tearful resignation speech, worth watching if only for his parting joke of “I’m still Prime Minister for another 30 minutes… I’m no longer leader of the Labor Party but I am Prime Minister… anything could happen folks”. To an outsider he seems a decent, honourable and principled man – I only hope his party don’t wind up regretting what they’ve done.

Comrade Nash

– BULS Southern Hemisphere correspondent

The End of the Affair

Jun15 by suzannahrobinson

After a very long final session of Guild Council, in the immortal words of Fabian, I’ll try to keep this brief…

Each of the officers made a leaving speech looking back on the year and offering advice to the new team. These are some of the highlights.

VPSAD Emma “pacman” Packham has effectively showcased student groups to the Uni administration (the Vice Chancellor’s dad nows wants to join BUDS dance soc) and worked hard to make herself known and approachable. She said that despite the Guild’s under resourcing, few staff and erstwhile joke status among the students it achieves incredible things. She made the point that professional relationships are crucial; and gratitude and banter are useful to grease the cogs.

VPEA Brigid “remarkable” Jones: widely regarded as a model representative of students due to her commitment and dedication she was yesterday awarded honorary life membership of the Guild. Fabian asserted that this “girl, sorry, woman” has been patronised by the bigwigs up at the Uni during her massive campaign against the closure of the sociology department.

VPHC Ed “the smallest man that I look up to” Sparkes has worked hard to calm the housing terrors among first years by making everyone feel included in halls and pushing back the housing rush til after Christmas. He thinks that fun is the most important element in life, and that we should all change something if we’re not having enough of it, and to that end he’s run for nearly every position possible within the Guild.

VPW Johnny “idiotic but popular” Davis is the first ever re-elected officer, he’s determined, innovative to the point of requesting a condom cannon and a penis-shaped bucking bronco for AIDS awareness, and wants to encourage anyone who doesn’t think they’re “political” enough to get involved anyway, because all you really need is the desire to make things better. He’s proud of U of B’s record of supporting student parents, the “hidden gems” of our community, and is excited about carrying on next year, reminding us all to protect our welfare with a Johnny.

VPS Katie “fordy fail” Ford had a hard time splitting commitments and was initially a guild outsider, but has managed to conquer the laddish element of the Sports teams with tact and skill and embed the Guild in the minds of our sportspeople. The Lion sports pull-out in RedBrick, a successful healthy living campaign, a brilliant Sports Ball, increased involvement in Sports Forums and inclusion of Sports RAs are just some of her many achievements.

VPDR Tom “comrade” Guise has come a long way but never forgotten his BULS roots, wearing a rose on his lanyard at all times. He’s delivered Joe’s Bar, not on time but on budget, and been a supportive friend to the rest of the team. He also had a serious message of support for everyone involved in student politics and a warning for the naysayers who ignore the historic importance of our institutions.

President Fabian “that geeky Austrian guy” Neuner has managed to develop from an inexperienced cynical outsider into a positive, passionate, diplomatic, reliable and genuine leader. Following a jibe from Lynne Jones he’s been spending a lot of time convincing outsiders that students do care about politics, has been active in the Vote4Students campaign and wishes to further reform the Guild Council procedure to improve transparency. Among his many other achievements he recently won a game of Lash of the Titans, wearing Johnny Davis’ underwear on his head in victory.

The motion to express GC support for wheelchair ramps in the law library was passed unanimously, which is apparently a first!

Further…

Everyone decried the lack of recognition given to the non-sabb team and then carried on ignoring them…shout outs and praise were given to the guild staff, housemates and girlfriends, Carnival Rag, RedBrick, the notorious Ed Bauer, Tom Marley and Wes Streeting as well as all of the new officers…there used to be an official bar crawl called “Chamberlain Chunderfest”… that once you’ve been elected you have to do your best both for those who elected you but also for your rivals…the library WILL be open longer next year…Ed Sparkes is the best person to bring you tea when you’ve fallen asleep on your desk…

There is nothing wrong with Guild Council that cannot be cured by what is right with Guild Council

Mar25 by suzannahrobinson

My comrades….let’s get down to business

The whole incumbent officer team have volunteered to have wet sponges thrown at them for Kids Adventure on Friday 7^th May.

After prompting the President acknowledged Debating Society’s achievement of a well balanced and well attended though controversial “Free Palestine” debate. He also announced his intention of establishing better provision for colour printing.

The VP Housing and Community was commended and reported that discussions about the proposals to turn Aitken Wing into Post Grad halls are taking place tomorrow. He also warned GC that a spate of non-violent night time muggings against lone girls is ongoing in Selly Oak, but that police have been liaised with and the culprit will probably soon be caught.

The Disabled Students Officer was also commended and the VP Student Activities and Development was commended twice! Suggestions were made both to censure and commend the VP Democracy and Resources but both were rejected. However he extended his thanks to all who got involved in the Officer Elections and reiterated the improved turnout and how much he himself enjoyed it.

The VP Welfare was commended and answered questions about the reported Hunter Court suicide by stating that a student died over the weekend but the investigation is ongoing. Everyone affected has been offered help.

Motions were passed to: 1. Implement a new streamlined and accessible student group constitution 2. Increase disabled students’ involvement in Guild nights by improving wheelchair access and access for the partially sighted and increasing awareness of disabled issues within the Guild 3. Make the housing process easier for students by improving information to prevent the November “rush”, improve and enlarge the SHAC and promote the positive impact of students on the local community 4. Open Joes for Election watching in May following the success of a similar event in 2008 where the bar was kept open for the US Presidential elections and food and drink were served.

The next Guild Council will happen on Tuesday 4^th May. Do go along, unless you can’t spare the time from the Labour Party that close to the election!

Suzy

Coming events

Jan12 by maxattacks

Canvassing on the Vale with local MP, Gisela Stuart

As a part of the BULS BIG CAMPAIGN PUSH for this term we have a target of making 500 contacts on the Vale by canvassing with Labour MP for Edgbaston, Gisela Stuart. We will be canvassing on two seperate occasions, Tuesday from 5pm where we will meet outside the Guild where there will be a chance of a Curry after and Wednesday afternoon from 1pm. If you live on the Vale, you can meet up with us then to save walking to the Guild, call Dora (Chair of BULS) on 07958327889 and she will let you know where we are. So whether it’s 20mins or and hour, we’d love all of you to come along and give us a hand in the build up to the general election.

Michael Cashman talk on civil liberties

Labour MEP, Michael Cashmon for the West Midlands is coming to give a talk on civil liberties. Other societies have been invited including Warwick Labour Club and after which we will probably go for a drink after. The talk will be held in the Mandela Room in the Guild of Students Building at 5pm on the 29th January.

AGM 2010 (Annual General Meeting)

Suspected to be around the end of February, all Committee positions bar Fresher’s Officer and Guild Council Representative are up for grabs, more info to come soon.

Preliminary position descriptions:

Chair

The chair liases with the National Organisation of Labour Students as well as the Guild of Students. Organises events and chairs committee meetings and full member meetings. Organises speakers and writes speaker-request forms.

The Chair is a financial signatory on the clubs accounts.

Vice-chair

Assists chair in organising events. Organises transport for all events necessary, eg. Trains to national events. Assumes duties of the chair if the chair is temporarily unable to carry out his or her duties or if a complaint is made against them until it is resolved.

The Vice-chair is a financial signatory on the clubs accounts.

Secretary

This Secretary takes charge of the organisational side of the club and, along with other members of the committee, helps to organise events. Also writes the minutes for full member meetings and committee meetings. Writes the risk assessments for events.

The Secretary is also a financial signatory on the club’s accounts.

Treasurer

Has full-responsibility for the management of accounts. Decides on levels of subsidies when appropriate. Organises fundraising and Workers Beer Company summer work.

The Treasurer is a financial signatory on the clubs accounts.

Communications Officer

Writes weekly email, to be sent to all members. Uploads member email address onto email account at start of term (with assistance if needed).

Website Editor

Has editorial responsibility over the website; http://www.bulsonline.org also jointly responsible for updating the pages on the website along with the Editor of Social Resources.

Editor of Social Resources

In charge of regularly updating the facebook group and twitter account. Has joint responsibility for updating the website, along with the Website Editor.