Warwick SU Elections Question Time Day 1: NUS Delegates

As part of preparations for the Spring 2024 Students’ Union (SU) Elections, The Boar recently attended a Q&A session involving the candidates vying for Warwick’s National Union of Students (NUS) Conference Delegate positions.

The NUS is a collective of over 600 students’ unions across the UK and aims to act on behalf of the UK’s student population. This year, at the University of Warwick, 15 candidates nominated themselves for election as the University’s delegates to the NUS’s annual conference, with eight places available.

Despite the wide array of candidates, only six made it to the event – Sophie Clark, Raj Hacker, Grace Lewis, James Martin, James Varney, and Mads Wainman – with statements of apology from those who didn’t attend. The candidates were each given a minute to respond to each question presented to them.

Much of the session focused on the attitudes of candidates towards the NUS, and each candidate was keen to emphasise that better outcomes on the whole could only be achieved with more effective representation.

Lewis said she felt that the NUS “hasn’t fulfilled its potential”, both on a governmental level and in voicing student concerns. She argued that there was a need to fight for greater cost-of-living support, such as reduced rent costs and free education.

Wainman agreed that the NUS “is struggling at the minute to meet the demands of students”. Regarding the issues close to them, they highlighted the cost-of-living crisis, particularly the “student suicide crisis”, which they said universities were “looking the other way” on rather than confronting.

Clark answered that she felt the structure of the NUS meant there was a “lack of real democracy”. She agreed on the need for campaigns “based on what students actually want to be doing”, mentioning her own years of experience campaigning for accommodation and demilitarisation. In a parting aside, she praised “the actions of Aaron Bushnell”, referring to a US airman who self-immolated outside of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. on 25 February, an act of protest in response to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Varney began by highlighting his leadership of the campaign to re-affiliate with the NUS. While, he argued, the NUS had “failed” in many areas, he stressed that “to criticise the NUS, we have to be in it”. Subsequently, Varney openly named three of his opponents, expressing it was “really disappointing” that the three “campaigned actively to take us out of the NUS” as members of the University of Warwick Conservative Association.

Martin said he thought the NUS “has the right ideas, but I think it’s not doing it the right way”. He said that not enough was being done “on the ground with students” and argued that it needed to focus on targeted policies rather than broad commitments. As an example, he cited his own manifesto proposal that the NUS “publicly shaming” students’ unions failing to pay employees the real Living Wage would lead to tangible results, as opposed to merely expressing disagreement with the practice.

Hacker echoed the previous answers, noting that the NUS “is good but not perfect, and there needs to be a lot more improvement”. He singled out students’ lack of familiarity with the organisation, focusing on the fact that people weren’t aware of its benefits or even that they could lobby for benefits at all.

The Boar asked several questions to the candidates during the session, the first of which focused on the NUS’ ‘Manifesto for our Future’, a list of five demands for the government that assumes power after the upcoming general election. These were as follows: lifting all students out of poverty, free education, affordable and sustainable housing, inclusivity for international students, and high-quality healthcare. The Boar asked candidates whether they were committed to the manifesto, and what they would have changed.

All candidates present committed to the manifesto.

Lewis argued it could have gone further in how pledges were implemented, noting them to be “quite similar to what we’ve seen before, and we’re still not in any better position”. She also noted that a commitment to a Green New Deal would have been desirable.

Wainman agreed that all manifesto commitments were “really good”. They said that as Warwick SU’s Disabled Students’ Officer they especially wanted to commit to the healthcare pledge, arguing it was a “pressing need” for students. They added that students “should be standing up and saying that this isn’t an acceptable society to live in”.

Clark proposed two additions to the manifesto, mentioning “the need to embed educational institutions within a green transition” and demilitarisation. Expressing opposition to the idea of a manifesto itself, Clark argued that the NUS should be a body with its own agency, rather than waiting for the government to act on its behalf.

Hacker reiterated other candidates’ desires for a commitment addressing the climate crisis, arguing that “the NUS need to take a hard stance on ending ties with fossil fuel companies and doing much more to combat the climate crisis”. He agreed that all the manifesto pledges were “essential and required”.

Martin felt that there were “countless more” policies that the NUS could focus on, given that the issues facing students are so numerous and varied. He repeated the call in his manifesto for a commitment to guaranteeing “all of the necessities that students need to go to university”.

Varney “wholeheartedly” stood behind the NUS’s five pledges, but said it was “slightly disappointing not to see a commitment to eradicating transphobia … at UK universities”. He felt similarly on the omission of any pledges regarding a Green New Deal, arguing that the reference to sustainable housing didn’t go far enough, given that “our future will be defined by the climate crisis and how we deal with it”.

The Boar went on to ask what candidates would be able to do to help support students in the current cost-of-living crisis.

Wainman brought up their work with the SU Welfare and Campaigns VP regarding free breakfasts on campus, calling it a “great initiative”. They said that there was a need for “more help and assistance with students now”, given that “institutions aren’t always going to give you the support that you require” and it was down to students themselves to act.

Lewis sought to highlight that the cost-of-living crisis was “very intersectional” and affecting marginalised groups far more than others. She said that on campus there was a need for affordable food, and for sustainable food sources “that go beyond Rootes Grocery Store”.

Clark suggested that a flaw in the nature of the NUS was that “it’s always trying to ask for something to be done rather than doing it itself” and sought to emphasise that “what I can practically do is be part of the discussions that we have at Conference”. She expressed confusion at the framing of a cost-of-living crisis, arguing that the issues were merely symptoms of broader inherent flaws in capitalist systems.

Martin mentioned his work on campus, “for instance, … to make sure pharmacy prices were being addressed in the SU’s review of prices on campus”. He also spoke about his work with student workers, calling out the Warwick SU’s practice of compensating SU staff differently on the basis of age. He added: “It’s not just how can we provide an extra food bank … but how can we make sure that SUs and universities are putting more money in people’s pockets.”

Varney argued that “fundamentally, it starts with voting for candidates for NUS officer positions that are going to fight against the cost-of-living crisis and have a good track record of doing that”. He pledged to vote for all policies at the NUS that “fight for effective change” regarding the cost-of-living crisis, declaring that “I have a track record of doing it at Warwick, and I’ll do that at the NUS as well”.

Hacker noted: “The NUS can use its power to lower prices for students and provide discounts. All I’ll be doing is encouraging and voting on those policies.”

A full recording of the NUS Question Time is available here, courtesy of RAW1251 AM.

A list of all NUS Delegate candidates and their manifestos can be found here.

Voting closes at 4pm on Friday 8 March.