Monthly Archives: June 2008

Democrats in Unity

by Tom Guise

Strange headline?  After months of sabre-rattling one might be forgiven for thinking so.  However, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both appeared today in Unity the smallest town in New Hampshire, whose democrats were split evenly for both candidates in the primary.  Could this first joint appearance be the beginning of the Democratic ticket some of us have been dreaming of?

Probably not, as the case may be, it seems that Obama has offered to pay off Clinton’s debts in exchange for access to her donor base, which has been relatively steadfast.  If only the Labour Party could come to an agreement with notable figures, rather than offering tennis games or lunches with them.

End of term…

by Brigidjones

It’s all been a bit quiet on the blog lately, so I thought I’d fill in with some of what BULS has been up to.

Last week saw the end of term, and informal end of term drinks were enjoyed by many in Joes, our Guild’s bar. All this week members have been putting out leaflets in Selly Oak (a big thank-you to all those who helped) and also Tyburn Ward in Erdington. Campaigning opportunities abound over the summer, with by-elections coming up in Redditch and other places…

This Wednesday a team from BULS will be heading off to Glastonbury to pull pints and raise club funds. Forecast is dry for Wednesday and Thursday, wet for Friday but here’s hoping. Nothing can be as bad as the mudbath we wallowed in last year. We’ll be back on Monday morning so watch out for reports and photos… later in the summer we will also be hitting Reading.
The committee are busy planning an exciting program of events for the coming term. Otherwise, stay tuned for more blogs and anything random we might be up to over the summer!

Are GM crops needed in Britain?

by Birmingham University Labour Students

Ministers are preparing to open the way for genetically modified crops to be grown in Britain on the grounds they could help combat the global food crisis according to the Independent.

  • What happened to eating in season food?
  • To cutting down on meat?
  • To growing at home?
  • To wasting less food?
  • To eating food that grows in our climate?
  • To reducing our reliance on globalisation and trying to become a little self-sufficient as a country?

If there is a mono-culture of genetically identical or similar crops in a large area and a virus evolves, or a quick weather change occurs that affects the whole crop in the same way, the crop could be wiped out.
Then what do we do?

Salt tolerant GM crops will be amazing to secure grain in areas where there is a local food crisis and land has been previously degraded by bad farming techniques over the years and the salt concentration is too high for normal crops. Drought resistant GM crops will also help thousands in areas where droughts are affecting the food production. Both of these will lead to better soil in the future.

What type of GM crops will be used in England?

There is no proof on the affect of GM crops on the environment, human health and health of all other organisms.

What do others think?

(Pippa Calver is the Guild’s Ethical and Environmental Officer and a Labour Student.)

Guild’s Response

by Birmingham University Labour Students

At last night’s Guild Council:

Tom Guise, Labour Students: BUCF, one of our most popular and sucessful societies, has disaffiliated from the Guild. Do you think it is a sad indictment on the Guild that they were turned away by buracracy and paperwork?

Vice President Student Activities and Development: No I don’t. Turning up to a few Guild Councils isn’t much to ask. The paperwork is minimal, there are ways around doing risk assesments for everything. One hundred and sixty other groups all manage it, and if they had a problem they were always welcome to come and talk to me or any member of student development staff- they’d have sat with them and worked through it til it was sorted out…

Five years on

by Brigidjones

In 2003, me and two angry friends went to London to protest at George Bush’s state visit to the UK. With 100,000 others we marched through the capital- the atmosphere was sensational, and the queue of protesters took almost two hours to leave Malet Street. Bush had been in power two years and we didn’t want him wellcomed on our soil. We hadn’t been able to get to the anti war protests, so watching the giant effigy of him being toppled, just like the one of Saddam Hussein had been months earlier, was magical.

Contrast this with last week, as Bush made his farewell stop-off at number ten. The crowd was diminished to two thousand. I wasn’t there, but the anger still was. Why so few, after he’d had another five years to accumulate crimes? I suppose before it was a protest not just against what he had done, but what he might still go on to do. This time round, he was on the way out- there is little left for him to taint, his work is almost done. A protest against what has already happened, long after the event and without hope of changing it, is a lot less passionate than one about what might be. Guantanamo Stop Bushis still full. Iraq is still a mess. Aid agencies still suffer from the funds he cut them; Americans still go without health care and gay and lesbian couples still face a president who doesn’t want them to have equal rights.

But his presidency has dragged on and on. The shock of the new is gone, the contrast between him and his predecessor fading into memory. And hence, gone is the passion of those people who waved placards and shouted, took days off work, school and college to take to the streets. He is old news, and it’s too late to change anything. People are looking forward now, to his successor. He is old news.

Still, I would have liked to be in the crowd…

Labour’s Compass for the future

by Brigidjones

It’s easy to get a bit disheartened as a Labour Party member in these times of low poll ratings and disappointing policy. But a good dose of Compass Conference yesterday cheered me up and restored my confidence in the party’s future.

I’ve been a member of Compass for about six months but this was the first event I attended. The conference format was refreshing; opening and closing speeches were followed by q&a sessions, and in between these were seminars and a Question Time style debate. We weren’t being talked at, and there was no adversarial atmosphere or polarised debate- it was all very open and easy to take part in. The discussion was intelligent and constructive.

The two seminars I chose, from a list of about thirty, were on the topics of schooling and electoral reform. The overarching theme of the conference was equality, and the schooling session, led by Melissa Benn, contained almost exclusively advocates of a wholly comprehensive system. The electoral reform session was interesting- its a cause I believe very much in, but finding a system that suits Britain and convincing any government to go with it is going to be a challenge.

Rousing speeches were given by Polly Toynbee, Jon Cruddas and Ed Miliband, amongst others. Harriet Harman gave a disappointing delivery on all women shortlists, but otherwise there was barely a view given that day that I could disagree with. It was heartening to hear everyone bursting with ideas for future policy and direction- my only worry is that it will all fall on deaf ears further up the party hirachy. If Labour could be bold enough now to take some of the ideas from that day- there were enough Government ministers there listening- and run with them in the next Queen’s speech, I reckon our fortunes could take a turn… and what excuse is there for not doing so? We have so little left to lose and potentially not much time left to make a real difference!

The madness of King David

by Tom Guise

David Davis resigned earlier, amongst a fog of confusion.  Why on earth has he done it?  He has risked his entire career based on a whim, a flippant response to losing a vote.  Cameron has distanced himself from it, describing it as “his campaign” and “his personal choice”.  The story has been shifted from last nights vote to David Davis’ lunacy.

 

What a waste of public money this will be, all for an exercise in vanity.  It is already surely won, as the Lib Dems will field no candidate.  DD double checked this with Nick Clegg last night, before making his final decision.  It is a shambolic disrespect of Parliament’s ability to make a decision. 

The Tories have been thrown into complete dissarray after their first major policy test and they have Davis to thank for it.  Whilst many voters will respect it, many will view his decision as a meaningless exercise in vanity and a collosal waste of money.

The Labour Party may yet boycott this stunt, which I think would be quite a decent idea.  Expose Davis for the clown that he really is, and vow never to make a mockery of the democratic process.  DD is the one playing games, let him have his fun whilst we get on with Government.

BREAKING NEWS: David Davis resigns

by Tom Guise

To satisfy Jack Matthew: David Davis has resigned and will contest the by-election he is triggering as part of a campaign on 42 days detention.

Cameron has sought to distance himself from this flippant reaction and the Lib Dems have decided to stab the local party in the back by not offering a candidate.

Thursday’s are usually quiet in Parliament.

BREAKING NEWS: New GS

by Tom Guise

Not much of a surprise, but the Labour Party has literally JUST confirmed that Ray Collins will be the new General Secretary.  He’s a proper trade unionist and current assistant general secretary of the T&G branch of UNITE.  He will begin work on the 1st August.

BUCF go solo

by Brigidjones

Our less liberal counterparts, Birmingham University Conservative Future, announced today that they plan to leave the Guild of Students. Since they have decied to disable comments on this issue, I have decided to write a blog on it here. I hope they won’t be too offended.

Their decision to leave saddens me, although it does not surprise me. Conservatism does not lend itself naturally to unionism, but the decision to disaffiliate seems to me unfortunate as it is based on what I believe to be a severe misconception of the nature of the Guild.

The first reason given is

Last week the previous chairman Theo Lomas informed me that BUCF had been given a stark ultimatum: play a more active role in farcical Guild politics or be de-recognised.

Every student group at the Guild is required to send one representative to each meeting of Guild Council. This is a body of elected students which meets eight times a year to debate and create Guild policy and to scrutinise the work of the executive committee. The complaint to BUCF would have been made on account of their failure to send either a representative or apologies to a significant number of meetings. While there is a debate to be had over whether societies should be required to do this, if BUCF had a problem they could have very easily proposed a motion to change it. Or they could have taken the BULS route- we have simply sent apologies to the last few meetings.

The next assertion made in the post is

It is my opinion and the opinion of much of the student body that the Guild is far too cliquey and is filled with power hungry and self righteous individuals who claim mandates of a pitiful portion of the University electorate.

This debate has been had many times on both blogs, and I doubt this will be the last. My question: if BUCF is as involved in Guild politics as they previously asserted, how on earth would they have been around enough to discover this? There is a perception amoungst many of a clique, and this is a real shame. The reality is that a lot of us who attend Guild Council get along. We have similar interests, we are all there for the same reason and naturally, we are friendly people who chat to the people next to us in meetings and in Joe’s afterwards. We tend to get along. Whatever people may perceive, the existance of a closed circle is a lie. People come, people go, people get involved, that’s it. It’s a really sad misconception and it always makes me sad that people are put off by it; and that some are too stubborn to come along and see what it’s really like.

I’m not going to go over any of the same old tired arguments again. But today I went along to Guild Council training. I’ve been on it two years now, but I thought I’d pop my head in to see what they were getting up to. There were loads of first time Guild Councillors there. The ones I spoke to were all enthusiastic, all wanted to learn how to get things done, and all had things they wanted to change. Many complained about the Guild in many ways, be it lack of communication from the Guild and their Guild Councillors, a lack of information on how the Guild operates or a specific issue, like fairtrade food or better facilities for students. They learnt how to write and propose motions, how to communicate with their constituents and how to engage in debate at a Guild Council meeting. They learnt how to scrutinise the Executive committee on what they’d been up to and how to change things. It was really positive and I left early, feeling really enthusiastic about the new intake of Councillors.

It’s a shame BUCF have decided not to be part of this new wave and to jump ship. I have always believed you have to be in something to change it. BUCF will acheive very little by disaffiliating, expecially not the change they long to see- nor will they be able to redress their prejudices from the outside. They will also lose their Fresher’s Fair stall, grant money, the right to use rooms and Guild facilities, and any right to vote to change the things they so despise. So long, guys. And good luck.

New link

by Tom Guise

The University of Birmingham Debating Society has followed BULS and BUCF into the blogosphere.  BULS welcomes them with open arms.  I have added the prestigious society to our blogroll, check it out here.

The blog has yet to officially launch, but we are very much excited.  UBDS boasts about being the home of independent thinking on campus, ofcourse in BULS we deplore such activities for fear they may lead to members straying too far off “the line”!

Worth a Read

by Brigidjones

One of Us, Melissa Benn

This week, having the luxury of time to read now that my exams are over, I finished One of Us by Melissa Benn. Focussing on two interlinked families and two rising stars of New Labour, it charts their fortunes from 1971 to just after the invasion of Iraq in 2003. A fantastic book and well worth a read.

Iraq was a hugely divisive issue and it’s interesting to see it being used as a significant part of so many new novels set at the time.

Lost the election?

by Tom Guise

One of our esteemed colleagues in BULS recently said to me that there was little point in going campaigning for an election we’ve already lost.

Tomorrow BULS will be heading to Erdington, where we face significant challenges over the next two years, it is a seat the Tories will find ever more attractive now that they hold 4 of the 12 council seats, one being Lib Dem.  A little over 3 years ago the Labour Party could boast holding all council represenatives and ofcourse its Member of Parliament.  The Tories have also, effectively made Kingstanding and Tyburn three-horse races, these were previously thought of as safe-labour wards.  Erdington constituency has clearly moved into the marginal, and that is a prospect that has put fear into the minds of CLP members.  That fear though, thankfully, has been transformed into determination and it is promising to see that the general election campaign and the local election campaign has already begun in earnest.

BULS will be getting to know Erdington very well, as we will in other key seats.  So the attitude expressed by one of our colleagues was bitterly dissapointing, but it’s by no means their fault.  There is a distinct lack of morale in the party, it’s quite blatant.  Yet, it is that attitude that hands the Tories a victory, I don’t know any conservatives who believe it is in their hands just not.  So surely it is ours to lose.

The party has large national problems, but that’s not for us to theorise and gossip about.  Locally we members need to be on the ground, in communities talking to people about their concerns because it’s what we do best, not navel-gazing.  Let’s get off our backsides and get out and spread our positive message about social justice and economic prosperity.  The best way we serve our party is by delivering on the ground, not by wallowing in self-pity and anguishing over defeat.

 

BULS will be meeting outside the Guild tomorrow at 10.30am for anyone I’ve managed to guilt into attendance.

Binge drinking, part two

by Brigidjones

So having given my thoughts below on why I binge drink, we then have the issue of why those under eighteen do it.

It can be accidental- when you pour a measure yourself you don’t know how much is in it. But in a pub situation, you always know you have 25 or 50 ml of spirit in a drink with a mixer.

Drinking outside of a pub there’s not always someone to tell you when to stop- but in a pub the bar staff must by law refuse you if they think you’ve had too much.

As I said before, a lot of people binge drink because it’s fun- so to stop us doing it we need a safer alternative. Young people can be anti-social and dangerous if drinking on the street- so put them in a controlled environment. Like a pub.

For some young people its glamarous to emulate adults and drink. So make it less glamorous by making it legal. (On the flipside, for some adults it’s a show of manliness and adulthood to keep up with your mates, to have that extra pint, to “show you can handle your drink”. Let people into pubs younger, and it suddenly looks a lot less macho.)

The problem is not that young people drink, its how much they drink and the manner in which they do it. So sort that out- let them into the pub.

Confessions of a Binge Drinker

by Brigidjones

The government and media are obsessed with the fact that people binge drink, but what annoys me is the lack of thought into why people binge drink.

First let’s clarify: the BBC quotes the government that binge drinking is more than eight units in a session, six for a woman. Since this equates to three pints for me, I therefore binge drink on a regular basis. Last night, for example.

Last night I was in a nice pub with some course mates, celebrating the end of their exams (mine having concluded a week previously). Over the space of four hours I had three pints of nice-tasting ales and bitters. I did not feel drunk, did nothing teribly outragous and had a pleasent evening. Contrast this with another end-of-year celebration earlier in the week where I consumed half a bottle of wine over a meal, two flirtinis at home, and a large number of acid vodka-lemonades at Snobs (a sweaty, cheap and wonderful nightclub, for those not from Birimingham). I got home safely, had a good laugh and slept off my hangover the next morning.

Both these are incidences of binge-drinking. One more rowdy than the other, but neither caused any inconvenience to me or those around me. Sure it’s not great for my body, but that’s my choice: having been made well aware of the risks by numerous government adverts, I considered them and chose to ignore them, deeming this OK so long as the only person getting harmed is myself. What is wrong with me choosing to spend my evenings like this? Why did I in the fist place?

Sometimes I binge drink without meaning to, like in the pub example. But sometimes, like in the club example, I do it intentionally, because its just fun. Don’t shoot me- it’s true. Everyone gets a bit tipsy, a bit more relaxed, your mates who don’t normally dance start dancing, someone does something stupid and you all have a good laugh about it, you’re friendly with everyone, everyone’s in a good mood. It’s unwinding and relaxing after a dull day at work or a stressful stint of exams. Provided you don’t overdo it, the worst you’ll suffer in return for this fun in the short term is a hangover. It’s a fair trade and one most of us are willing to make.

So how is the government going to deter me from engaging in drinking of this form? Well if there was a less dangerous drug I could legally take that would be as sociable and fun, I’d switch to that instead, but there isn’t a legal one I’m aware of yet. Higher prices might deter me from going out to a club more often, but then I’d have to find something to do instead- and that would still probably cost money- bowling is both dull and bizzarrely expensive, the cinema isn’t exactly sociable, and just staying in with your mates isn’t always an option (particuarly for those who live with their parents). The health risks, as I said, are well publicised and I am well aware of them. So what’s going to deter me from getting a bit drunk with my mates to celebrate someting, or just to relax and have a laugh? I’m honestly not sure, actually. And as for the new wave of measures to combat binge drinking commented on by BULS earlier this weekend, I can’t see how they’re going to tackle the reasons other people binge drink either.

BULSInside: ‘Sensational’ hits leave a dilemna for Guise

by Birmingham University Labour Students

In the ‘war-room’ of BULS’ HQ, Tom Guise’s aides have spent the weekend deliberating over how best to present the new monthly hit totals for the BULS blog.  Although, BULS smashed all previous records by recieving over 7500 visitors, much of that is attributable to Tom Marley.  Marley and Guise have reportedly not spoken since last Christmas, when Guise forgot to buy Marley a present (Marley was chair of the club at the time).

 At the BULS monthly news conference this morning Tom Guise crafted a plan to write his bitter rivals political obiturary.  He announced,

“Tom Marley has spent much of his retirement rambling on the BULS blog.  When he was chair, we were forced to listen to him but now with no one to talk to, Marley insists on preaching to the world.  It has been interesting to see that the most commonly searched terms directing to the site in the past month have been, “crazy”, “obsessive” and “annoying”.”

Marley, who is expected to be publishing his political memoirs in the next year, was unavailable for comment.  It is believed that Guise will eventually delete him as a contributer to the blog as he attempts to tighten his grip on power.

 Whether the 7500 hits can be repeated this month has yet to be seen but it remains a key test in Guise’s ability to cement a legacy as chair of BULS.