Union Council’s power under scrutiny

It’s the main policy making body of the Union. The Union’s website describes it as the Parliament of the SU. Half of its members are union officers who are elected in term two and the other half are non-officers who are elected in the autumn term.

It meets around three times a term and can make Union policy, although it cannot overturn decisions passed at Referenda (such as the policy allowing racist and fascist speakers in the Union) or General Meeting, amend the appendices of the Constitution, co-opt vacant positions and hold officers to account. What it can’t do is discuss anything to do with a particular member the Union staff. These are, in brief, some of the Union Council’s main attributes.

The non-officers are now elected by year groups. This year saw the turnout in Union Council elections double, with about 700 students taking part. Mike Pidgeon, SU Communications officer, believes that this is due to the fact that the election was now more competitive which led to more campaigning. Last year, one could be elected to Council with only three or four votes. This year, each Councillor had on average about 20 votes.

Because of such a low turnout, there has been some concern that Council is not representative of students. Moreover, in the past, the discussions at Union Council tended to focus on issues not directly affecting students at Warwick, as several Councillors were involved in campaigning activities. Andy Glyde, Governance and Finance Officer, said that this year’s Council was more representative of the student body, although more work was still necessary in order to get postgraduates involved.

He added that there were still some people who came to Council with campaigning interests in mind. Stuart Thomson, SU President, commented that Council should have people from diverse backgrounds and should be more focused on students.

Any student can attend and speak at Union Council meetings, although only members have the right to vote. Mike Pidgeon said that the first meeting of Union Council was publicised on the Union website and he expressed satisfaction at the fact that the meeting had been attended by several non-Councillors. He was also pleased that this year the Boar took the decision to report on what Council does.

One of the ways Council can hold officers to account is via questions to officers. They can be asked anonymously by any student. Pidgeon encouraged students who had questions about the Union to submit them, although he also stated that he is also very happy to answer such questions in a more informal setting.

There was also some concern that Council only rubber stamps the motions proposed by the officer team. Pidgeon disputed this claim, as an example he gave the motion on Breaking World Records, which he presented to the first meeting of Council, but which was rejected.

He also mentioned the motions on NUS reform presented at the same meeting, where most Council members did not want to discuss the motion as they felt the officer team had not given them enough information.

If a motion of no confidence is passed against an officer, he is required to resign. A motion of no confidence against a part time officer, which will require the officer to step down, requires only a simple majority, but a motion of no confidence against a sabbatical officer requires a two thirds majority.

Given that officers make up almost half of the members of Council, there was some concern that such a motion against a sabbatical officer was impossible to succeed.

Glyde disputed that claim and said that one should not assume that all officers will side together. He said there was a great range of opinions within the officer team. He also stated that the main role of Council was policy, not holding the officers to account.

Motions that require Union finances must have a viable financial plan. In the past it was the Exec who decided if a motion met that criteria, but this will now be decided by the new Board of Trustees.

A few years ago, a motion passed at Referenda to make the Union smoking free was rejected on that ground. This means that it is difficult, but not impossible, for Council to intervene in issues such as drink prices or the entry price to Top B.

The next Council meeting will be on Monday week 7, at 7pm in S0.21.