This may be a little unstructured, but I hope it gives you some insight into who I am.

HISTORY

I was born in Coventry in the summer of 1981. “Ghost Town” by The Specials was Number One in the charts the day I was entered the world; it was a song inspired by the state of Coventry as a city, and I think that says everything that needs to be said. I was (and am) the only child of a single mother, and this likely informs a lot of who I am. My mum was a ward sister by the age of 24, and was a Captain in the British Army. She left the Forces before I was born, however.

I started school a year late (i.e. age 5), instead learning to read, write and count with my nan in an inner-city area of Coventry called Foleshill. The school I eventually went to was a Catholic school called Holy Family. I did well there, although even then I was starting to question Catholic doctrine. I took the exam for Coventry School Bablake a year early, and passed, getting a place at one of the two independent schools in the city. I really enjoyed my time there, and stayed for Sixth Form as well, before going to the University of Birmingham to study Medicine in 1999.

Much as I liked the city and my friends, it became apparent over the next couple of years that medicine wasn’t for me; fundamentally, I didn’t want to be a doctor enough, for a lot of reasons. Having failed a module (Cardiovascular Systems & Neuroscience 2, in fact) during my second year, I studied part-time in my third year to retake the module. I also worked for the Coroner’s Office at this time, and got more involved in societies at the Guild of Students.

It was during that time that I decided to leave medicine, and instead study Psychology, which I started in 2002. I was also Entertainments Rep for the Rock Society, and it was around this time that I joined the Green Party. Over time, I became more and more involved in the Guild, becoming President of the Rock Society (which was the biggest society on campus and won the Best Overall Student Group Award) in my second year and then Guild Users’ Officer (a non-sabbatical Executive position) in my final year.

I graduated in 2005, having been to my first NUS Conference and stood for election as West Midlands Area Convenor (Training & Development) with a mandate to produce a strategic plan for the Area. I spent my sabbatical year doing just that, as well as developing FE Unions in the West Midlands and being an NEC Observer. I also got involved with Education Not For Sale at this time.

I was elected to the Block at National Conference 2006 with a mandate for strategy & management, the Ethical & Environmental Campaign, and FE development. I thus applied for (and was given) responsibility for the Society & Citizenship and Strong & Active Unions Zones, as well as being Co-Convenor of the NUS Ethical & Environmental Campaign.

MY POLITICS, VALUES AND BELIEFS

Firstly, religion. While I no longer consider myself to be a Christian of any sort, my heritage and culture are undoubtedly Catholic. My politics and my values in general have led me towards Buddhism or Daoism, but I’m not a practicing member of either religion. As Operation Ivy once said, “all I know is that I don’t know nothing.”

My politics are much clearer. The first vote I ever cast was in Birmingham’s Edgbaston ward during the local elections of 2000, and was for the Green Party. In the General Election of 2001, however, I voted Liberal Democrat in the Birmingham Edgbaston constituency. I even delivered leaflets for the Selly Oak Liberal Democrats during the local elections of 2002. During the campaign, however, I became disillusioned with the Lib Dems, thanks in no small part to the neoliberal agenda I saw there. It was while I was on holiday in Canada (I hold dual British & Canadian citizenship) that I read issue 50 of a magazine called Punk Planet, which included an interview with a guy called Jason Farbman. Farbman was a punk and a Green Party candidate in the city of Chicago, and his story of engaging with local people and campaigning on their issues inspired me to seek out the Green Party of England & Wales. Having read their statement of Core Values, I joined straight away, and have been a member ever since.

I believe that grassroots democratic participation is vital if a government’s power is to be legitimate. I thus also believe in the localisation of decisions as close to those they affect as is practically possible. I have been an egalitarian since I was very young, arguing with varying degrees of sophistication in favour of equality and social and economic justice. I am committed to peace, and believe that violence never solves problems. As an outgrowth of these values, I am committed to ecological wisdom; a world where human greed rules will never survive for any length of time. Now that our ability to oppress others and misuse the world’s resources is at its peak, we have a responsibility to think of the consequences of our actions. As long as we are primarily concerned with concepts such as profit and growth, we will never have a just or equal society because these concepts necessitate oppression and environmental destruction.

I am a vegetarian (in that I do not consume meat, fish, or their byproducts; as yet, I still consume dairy produce and eggs). I am straight-edge (I do not drink alcohol, smoke, take drugs or use caffeine). I am a trade unionist, I am pro-choice, and I am a Green; my values are those of the labour movement, the civil rights movement, the peace movement and the environmentalist movement.

NUS POLITICS

I’m a member of Education Not For Sale. We’re an alliance of people who came together under an umbrella of turning NUS into a truly democratic campaigning organisation in favour of free education and international solidarity. Yes, there are revolutionary Marxists (also known as Trotskyists or just Trots) among our number, specifically those of the Alliance Of Workers’ Liberty. Personally, I am not a revolutionary Marxist, being opposed both to armed insurrection and to increased industrialisation, but for NUS purposes ENS is a surprisingly unified organisation and one which enjoys my full support.

To make it even clearer, had I been able to vote at NUS Conference this year (I was an observer from WMANUS), I would have:

• Abstained on NUS Extra (it’s wrong in principle but I can see no other way of solving the crisis)

• Voted against Targeted Grants (Citizens’ Income is a core Green policy)

• Voted for a boycott of Coca-Cola (although only just; the constructive engagement proposed was too open for interpretation for me to support it)

• Voted for a VP: Higher Education

I also support regionalisation of the NEC, reform of NEC election procedures, the introduction of a minimum number of NEC members who should come from the FE sector (at least five), and the abolition of the post of National Treasurer (no offence to Mr. Rukin!).

Hopefully this biography, such as it is, has given you a good insight into who I am and where I’m coming from. If you’d like to discuss anything I’ve said here, please get in touch!

The Blogs on this site represent the individual views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or practices of the National Union of Students.

All links in blogs will open in a new browser window.

The permanent URL for this specific blog entry is: http://www.officeronline.co.uk/blogs/joerooney/272542.aspx