NUS Wales Conference

I've just returned from the NUS Wales spring conference in Llandrindod Wells - in a very comfortable setting in a three-star hotel spending two days meeting and discussing policy with students from HE and FEs institutions across Wales.

My big Welsh political idea on sustainable development in Welsh HEs that I briefly described a few entries ago was passed, after I introduced the motion, without any opposition (I should add that all new policy motions were passed without opposition). Student unions submit a priority list of motions that they want to discuss ahead of the conference itself, and it was a pleasant surprise to see the motion that I drafted appear as third on the list (out of ten)!

Stephen Brown, NUS National Secretary, was at the conference on the second day to deliver a short report on NUS UK activities and take questions. I asked him about progress with an Environmental and Ethical campaign, particularly after the conference that I went to last October and even electing a NUS E&E committee then. The response was that he would check things with the campaign convenors, which is fair enough, but the general explanation was on how NUS doesn't have the resources to run extensive campaigns on issues such as E&E and evaluating how NUS operates in avoiding overstretch is a key governance priority.

Other elections at the conference (apart from Aber guild president Ben Gray becoming NUS Wales president for the next year) inclued those for a block of three members from Higher Education students. I initially didn't put my name forward because of the uncertainty of my future plans beyond the next couple of months, but after nominations were re-opened when only one candidate stood for the three vacancies, I changed my mind and thought 'why not'. After all, I would have liked to follow through my motion on sustainable development and be involved with some of the other issues that the NUS National Executive Committee (which is what the block of three elections were to) would deal with. A rush of candidates for this second round of voting (five candidates for two spots) meant that unfortunately I wasn't elected - although I did make it to the final round, losing out my less than a quarter of a vote.

There are two thoughts that have struck me since the conference - that there are tremendous opportunities for NUS Wales to exploit and take advantage in terms of Welsh politics, to make itself a real political force where its lobbying works. The second is the scope for non-traditional concerns - that is, everything but tuition fees, educational grants and allowances, and private funding - and how in what is still a fairly nascent Welsh political landscape there is space for NUS Wales to move into to say 'look, students feel this way that you should...'

I remember Help the Aged pointing out that it is the grey vote that will decide the outcome of the Assembly elections because the 55-64 age group are significantly more likely to vote than any other demographic. I see no reason why, that one day, NUS Wales could point out the same for students.