You will now have all heard of the infamous Executive Question that NEC members are coming round to respond to. Below is the response from my group on the NEC with the motion we submitted to National Council – this was passed overwhelmingly.

This motion has been a great start but the next job is to make sure that there are student focused motions to go into the meetings in the future so they can be prioritised – I look forward to this opportunity and the results this approach may bring for students.

The NUS must judge itself on results for students: students first, education at our heart and the welfare rights at our core. The measly support that the Vice-President’s receive is unsustainable if we want to transform government policy but more importantly the priorities the NUS (particularly the NEC) choose must be focused. Priority does not being doing everything but choosing the things on which we can win for our members in the classroom, wider campus and local community. The motions process in the NEC should facilitate this process.

Keep in touch – the more Executive Questions the merrier. My contacts are still the same: 07966 161 444 or richard.angell@nus.org.uk

Richard x

Dear Ben,

Thank you very much for your letter dated 9 October 2006, signed by a number of other student officers. We sympathise with a number of the issues that you raise and wish to raise some points and concerns of our own in reply.

There are a wide range of issues that both affect and interest students. Student life is probably more broad and diverse than it has ever been and the issues that are brought to NUS NEC meetings and annual conference reflect some of that diversity.

While we do not believe that the issues brought to NUS democratic events can – or should – be restricted, we do believe that with limited resources and finite time, NUS must focus its energies and priorities more strategically than ever before.

We are frustrated that the overwhelming positive, united and relevant work than we do as NEC members is consistently undermined and overshadowed by rancorous debates that fail to resonate with the priorities of our constituent members.

In the face of organisational constraints and in light of the significant challenges that face us NUS needs to stop adopting a ‘splattergun’ approach to the issues confronting us and instead focus ruthlessly on campaigning priorities than can maximise our potential to win for students.

NEC members also need to be clear about their priorities and accountable for them. The hard left occupy only a few positions on the NEC, but so long as moderate, independent members are prepared to vote with them – safe in the knowledge that the membership who put them there probably won’t notice – fringe issues will continue to dominate the headlines around the movement about NUS.

In order to focus NUS’ priorities and strengthen the accountability of your National Executive Committee, there are three specific things we intend to propose to the National Executive Committee as a direct result of your letter:

(i) Prioritising NEC motions – we can’t stop individuals submitting divisive or meaningless motions, but what we can do is make sure that these do not come at the expense of discussing more relevant issues to reach meaningful outcomes. We have submitted a motion to the next NEC meeting that resolves to introduce a priority ballot before every meeting to discuss the priority of motions submitted. We will propose that these ballots are recorded and published so that you can hold your representatives to account.

(ii) Recording votes more frequently – recorded votes are those whereby the voting behaviour of NEC members is recorded in the minutes. Any NEC member can request one. We have already been doing this more regularly following our own concerns about the lack of transparency in the way that NEC members cast their votes. It will also prevent independents and other moderates offering sops to the hard left in the hope of horse trading votes in elections at our Annual Conference.

(iii) Publication of NEC agendas, papers and minutes – agendas and supporting papers (including motions) should be placed online in advance of meetings so that you can see what we’re discussing and lobby on any particular issue that might affect your union. Minutes should be published online soon after NEC meetings so that you can hold us to account.

We do not hide the fact that we organise within NUS as members of Labour Students around our common values in pursuit of an effective, strong and politically powerful National Union. We believe that such a union can only win for its members if it remains in touch, relevant to and successful on the priorities of its membership, whatever their political perspective.

Best wishes,

Wes Streeting

Vice-President (Education)

Kat Stark

National Women’s Officer

Richard Angell

Executive Officers

Steven Findlay

Executive Officer

The motion on prioritising NEC motions was not actually discussed at the most recent NEC meeting (on Thursday 23 November). This is because we had also submitted it to the last National Council meeting on Tuesday 14 November in Loughborough, where it passed. It reads:

Title: Priority Ballots in NEC Meetings

Submitted by: Wes Streeting, Vice-President Education; Kat Stark, National Women’s Officer; Steven Findlay & Richard Angell, Block of 12.

NEC Believes:

1. That there is no boundary to what the NEC can or should be talking about but there are competing pressure on NEC time and very diverse opinions on what the priorities should be;

2. The recent letter from a number of members led by the President of the University of Bristol Union calling on the NEC to de-priorities our focus on the middle east and some international issues if not stop discussing it completely;

3. That the order motions appear in NEC meetings is random and not determined by the NEC itself;

4. That if we talk about one issue early in the agenda that is controversial, complex and divisive then it can prevent discussion about later, potentially more pressing or important, items;

5. That because the final motions that we passed are not published the membership don’t see the other issues we discuss, resolves and action.

NEC further believes:

1. That the students movement is an internationist movement and should focus on the struggle of fellow students around the globe;

2. That with students from over 200 countries around the world studying in the UK, their issues are our issues, and would be legitimate discussion for NEC meetings;

3. That many of these issues can be decisive in meetings and upon our movement.

4. That because of the controversy and diverse opinions in these debates it is perceived by our membership that the NEC spends disproportionate amounts of time on them;

5. That perception is as important as reality and needs dealing with;

6. If there were to be a priority ballot in place then members of the NEC could be held to account on the outcome of the order of NEC motions;

7. It is important for the membership to see all the motions passed by the NEC rather than just hear the gossip form the controversial, often internationalist, motions.

NEC resolves:

1. To add to NEC meeting procedures, a priority ballot that opens at the beginning of the meeting and closes 15minutes in. The ballot can then be counted in time for the motions section of the meeting;

2. To publish all passed motions on Officeronline within 6 days of the NEC meeting.

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