How I spent my September days:

1st: RAE “Members Matter” Event @ NUS HQ

4th: Meeting with Bill Rammell MP (Minister for FE & HE) with the National Postgraduate Committee

5th: Meeting with NUS Team re: Council Tax Issues

6th: National Campaigns Launch (Internal), Birmingham

7th: National Campaigns Launch (External), London

8th: National Executive Committee Meeting

9th - 14th: TUC Congress, Brighton

10th: Speech at TUC Congresson the Workplace Democracy in FE & HE

11th: Education Reception @ TUC Congress

12th: Radio 5 Debate on Student Contracts with the Vice Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire

13th: Meeting with the NUT about Scholarship work and the Students@WorkProject & The Endsleigh Dinner @ TUC Congress

16th: Banner Making for the Darfur Demonstration @ NUS HQ

17th: Global Day for Darfur Rally @ Sudanese Embassy and Demo (via Downing Street) More…

19th: Prep for Labour Party Conference and Meeting @ Birmingham Guild of Students

20th: Met with Mark Grayling. Chair of AMSU;Went to meet the Author of Rebels: How Blair Mislaid his Majority” with Be Pringle, Education Officer at Nottingham University; Midlands and East Regional Meeting @ Loughborough SU; Met with Aaron Porter, VPFS @ Leicester University before staying at Kat Stark’s and Painting the “Sexuality is not a Crime Banner” for the LGBT Ugandan Demo.

22nd: Opening Reception of the University of Bedfordshire and The LGBT Rights Demo outside the Ugandan Embassy

23rd: Winchester SU Freshers Fayre

24th: Liverpool Guild’s Freshers Fayre & Labour Campaign for Lesbian and Gay Rights Fringe at Conference

24th - 28th: Labour Party Conference

25th: Disability Rights Demoabout unfair changes to Incapacity Benefit with Alex Kemp, Kat Stark and Stephen Brown

26th: Meeting with NUT General Secretary (Scholarship Work Plan Agreed)

27th: Meeting with Bill Rammell MP (Minister for FE & HE) re: Widening Participation

29th: Disabled Students “Mental Health Day”, Manchester

The Three Highlights were:

1. NUS’ focus on Postgraduates

The month started well, fired up form the workshop I did with Simon Felton, General Secretary, NPC at Advocacy to Action, postgraduates dominated the beginning part of the month. The RAE “Members Matter” Event organised by Wes Streeting, VP Education, was where we looked in detail at the RAE proposals, the principles that the student movement thought should guide any changes and the focus on the way ahead. We were clear about protecting and extending students’ opportunity to undertake and learn from those who research. We were also keen to ensure institutional fairness and quality. I enjoyed my role as the scribe for the day and hope that together we developed something with members that we couldn’t have done alone.

My postgraduate experience continued when I was invited to join members of the NPC in their meeting with Bill Rammell MP (Minister for FE & HE) where we raise: Fee loans for postgrads and the issues of Postgraduates paying council tax and the postcode lottery that currently exists (an issue I am taking up on the NEC). Bill Rammell has agreed to received a report about the issues and follow it up with his Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) colleagues to make necessary changes if our analysis is right. So if you have any examples of postgraduate issues with council tax please email Simon Felton (npc@npc.org.uk) and I (Richard.angell@nus.org.uk) so it can be added to our report to the DfES and DCLG.

2. TUC Congress

TUC Congress was lots of fun and opened huge opportunities for NUS and our partnership, at the conference we were able to get the rare chance of an informal meeting with Brendan Barber (TUC, General Secretary) to arrange a meeting with Andy Burnham (the Minister responsible for prescriptions) to help with Veronica’s campaign and I had continued conversations with the NUT, where we got the first ok for the NUT Scholarship proposals. Improving links with unions, like my own Amicus, has also increased our ability to get money for the demo and such likes. I was luck enough to be able to make a speech (see here) and attended some very good fringe events, the best (on an issue become topical in NUS at the moment) was about the Amicus “Dignity at Work” project which is something that Students’ Union could roll out, check out, www.dignityatwork.org. It is the biggest anti bullying campaign in western Europe with a budget of over 1.8million pounds!

The highlight of the conference was Gemma’s historic speech at TUC Congress that was very impressive and really hit home.

3. Labour Party Conference

This year’s Labour Party Conference was a first for me and what a year to be there. Tony Blair and John Prescott’s leaving speeches, Alan Johnson’s big announcement on care leavers and Bill Clinton! The event was very good for NUS: Gemma was on an impressive round of fringes - winning the argument against Bill Rammell on fees every time; while Wes lobbied MPs at every opportunity getting in early the messages to Brownite MP (there is a rumour that these people may become a little more powerful in a year’s time) how damaging a lifting of the cap will be and why it should be reversed. I was able to organise three ministerial meetings for NUS at conference: Wes and I with Bill Rammell on Widening Participation, Veronica and I with Andy Burnham (that had to be re-arranged) and Kat Stark with Meg Munn MP (Minister for Women) – which yet again had to be re-arranged because of the farcical pass arrangement (for this reason I sadly missed Gordon Brown’s speech)! More to follow about our meeting on Widening Participation…

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