After an interesting 5 months I would now like to give notice of my resignation from the national executive committee. I will leave the office on the 25th of November as I have promised visits to unions before and including that date which I would like to keep.

I am resigning for a multitude of reasons many of which are personal. I have no intention of writing a long speech although I might blog something more later. We’ll see.

However I feel I must give some reasons.

Firstly I am conscious of the fact that I have achieved little in NUS so far this year. This is because whenever I have dealings with the formal entity of the NEC it destroys my motivation. This is for a wide range of unconstructive reasons so I’m not going to list them.

However I am going to say some things which I feel need to change in the organisation.

1) We need to decide whether or not we want a block of 12 on the NEC. If we don’t then we should get rid of it. If we do then we need to make sure it is properly supported by introducing things such as one 2 ones with staff members and creating an NEC buddy system. We should not continue with what is a half arsed block system for any longer. Either support it or get rid of it.

2) We need to create a culture of personal development. Sian Davies and I both came from Bournemouth where the working environment was substantially different to that in NUS. At Bournemouth if somone, a staff member or an officer, was failing then that was viewed as the fault of the union as for not supporting them properly. Personal weaknesses were viewed as areas to be improved upon rather than points for political or personal attacks. We should invest in the training and development of the people who work for NUS because then they will feel more valued. I suggest that you talk to Sian about this more because she’s been around longer than I have and has a better insight into NUS.

3) We need to change how officers and students think when they nominate and support people in our national elections. Currently the majority are based on popularity contests.

It is not acceptable to nominate people based on how well you know them, how nice they are and that you think they’re a decent type.

What matters is their records!

When someone says, for example, “I will improve the communication of NUS with the membership” The most important question to ask is how did you improve communication with students in your union or in NUS so far? What’s your record on this?

Don’t let the second raters be elected into national positions. If you do then mediocrity will thrive in some parts of the NEC.

Being organised, helpful and having good people skills are important qualities for NEC members but they should not form the basis for supporting someone into a national position. They should be viewed as the basic requirements. We should demand more from our national candidates.

Specifically we need to elect people who have campaigned for change. Awareness campaigns are important but campaigning for change is the hardest thing to do and the people who do it are undoubtably the ones we need to elect at a national level. They’re the type of person who might stop something like top up fees.

4) Factions. It was going to come up at some point wasn’t it? This year I’ve learnt that factions aren’t a bad thing. It’s an important part of democracy that people who believe in similar things work together to achieve them. However what is unacceptable is a lack of transparency. There are a few people on the NEC who claim to be independents and even had it on their ballot papers when, having worked with them for five months, I believe they are clearly not.

People who are members of the Labour party should be honest about it. If you believe in it then say so and let the membership decide during elections. At least the NOLS admit to being in the labour party.

Concealing things from the electorate, such as deals with FOSIS or UJS, is unacceptable.

If you have to make a deal or be in a party/faction then you should be able to justify it to the membership in your election. If you think you can’t justify it but still want to stand don’t do the deals and don’t join the parties.

Don’t kid yourself that the end justifies the means.

I’ve had a great seven and a bit years in the student movement. I believe that NUS is a vital organisation and that it’s going in the right direction. I’m pleased of the many things I’ve contributed through NUS policy such as blogs and the big screen at conference. I’m proud to have voted differently from everyone else on the NEC about the education priority campaign and the national demonstration.

But I need to move on.

Best of luck in the future.

Will P.

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