For a number of years, NUS elections have been contested by open Labour Students, and “Independents” who are often Labour Party Members (or at a push Liberal or Green).
But this year, I’m going to be contesting as an official Conservative candidate. I believe standing for office carries with it a responsibility to be open about affiliations, and that if the NUS claims to be a truly representative body, this should be reflected in the politics of its leadership.
As a keen supporter of equality of access to HE and opportunity for all, it’s been great to see the fantastic policies rolling out over the months from the Conservative leadership. We are the best party to lead this country out of recession and into a new golden age for Britain, and I look forward to proving that the NUS could really benefit from a centre-right approach to its leadership too.
Getting involved with your local Students’ Union, and the NUS both offer fantastic opportunities for making change. Few other channels will give you so much potential to positively improve the experience of others, and ultimately to support social mobility and empowerment that education can bring.
There is lots of misunderstanding within the Student movement about what conservatism stand for, and we cannot afford for Labour Students and other political movements to have a monopoly that implies they are the only ones who care about this section of our society. So get involved, stand for office and prove our left-wing critics wrong!
Join the campaign team on MyConservatives.
Comment by Helen Roberts on March 11, 2010 at 7:03 pm
If you would like to run for NUS block of 15 then please email the Chair of Student Life, Helen Roberts at helen.roberts@conservativefuture.com