Monthly Archives: December 2008

Jumping on the wrong bus

by Brigidjones

LocalToryMPwatch returns today with a spotlight on Eastbourne MP Nigel Waterson. In this weeks local he describes the selling off of the currently council run Eastbourne Buses as “selling off the family silver” and slams their “secret plan to flog off the town hall”.

So is this a travesty in the same way it was when Thatcher sold off British coal, iron and steel, gas, electricity, water, railways, trucking, airlines, telecoms, County Hall in London? Someone either has a bit of a short memory or is just a bleeding hypocrite.

Tales from the dancefloor

by Brigidjones

So this weekend I went up to spend a night in London with an old friend at his mates birthday party. We had a great time; we went to some overpriced club, wore smart clothes, and drank overpriced drinks that we couldn’t really afford. But for all that, I felt like I was in some grotty club back home; the same music, the same dance moves, the same atmosphere. The same men.

So this guy has been talking to me a bit and asks me if I want a drink. I find him a bit creepy so I tell him he can buy me one if he likes, but he’d better know I’m not going to sleep with him. He laughs, buys me a drink and starts putting his arm around me and getting a bit too friendly. So I introduce him to my (male) friend and leg it to the toilets to get away from him. I leave the toilets a bit later hoping I can slip off to some other area of the club and avoid him, but he has apparently brought my friend a drink and is waiting for me at the bar right outside the toilet door. He says, come with me, and pulls me into the men’s. Before he can get to a cubicle a security guard has us both pinned up against the sinks and is calling into his tannoy for back up.

I plead with the security guard to let me go, telling him how I don’t know the man, he dragged me in and I don’t want to be in here with him. More guards turns up, they let me go and I go back to my friend, a bit shaken. Within two minutes the man is back behind me apologising and asking for my number, and he keeps bugging me for my number until we leave.

Why the hell was a man who tried to drag a drunk girl into a toilet cubicle against her will not thrown out of the bloody club? What on Earth did he say to the (male) security guards in those two minutes when I wasn’t there? And what the hell would have happened to me if the security guard wasn’t there?

The whole incident left me beyond angry. He’s not the first guy to try this on with me or any other girl and he won’t be the last; there is a certain breed of male who won’t take no for an answer, who thinks “no” is an invitation to feel a girl up and who just won’t go away no matter what happens, who think its OK to have that kind of guy in your club and not to throw him out. And this sort of male needs to learn.

Euro Matters

by Birmingham University Labour Students

Today members of the European Parliament showed us just how much power the EU juggernaut can wield over its members and ultimately its citizens. MEPs voted 421-273 to scrap Britain’s opt-out from the maximum 48-hour working week. The 48-hour limit already exists in many EU countries, such as France, where market flexibility is perhaps not as important as workers rights. The bill was pushed through the EP after many doctors across the EU have filed lawsuits against hospitals for not complying with rulings from the European Court of Justice regarding working-time limits. This is a clear demonstration of the ECJ’s increasing role in European integration, however indirectly.

The working week limit will surely benefit doctors, teachers and other over-worked public servants, but it will not help graduates and young professional couples who need to work 55 hours a week in order to pay their mortgage. Some may argue that people should not work more than 48 hours for their own health and piece of mind, but if they choose to work so many hours, then so be it – more work can only benefit the economy at large.

15 EU countries, including the UK, are beneficiaries of the opt-out, so it is unlikely that an agreement will be reached between the EP and the Council of Ministers. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not against the European project, but it’s frightening that in an economic climate such as this, the European Union can have so much control over our right, our need even, to go out and earn a bit of extra dosh. Even more frightening is the fact that Gordon Brown clearly has no control over British MEPs, many of whom are Labour. Tory MEP Philip Bushell-Matthews summed up Big G’s failures quite nicely in today’s Guardian:

“This is a double failure of Gordon Brown. Not only has he failed to control his MEPs, but he also naively signed up to a package deal that saw Britain give ground on the agency workers directive in exchange for our working time opt-out.
His folly was to assume the left in the European parliament would not sabotage the deal. British businesses have been given two damaging pieces of employment legislation for the price of one”.

This post was written my Kathryn Woodroof, BULS member

It was right to help the Tories…

by Tom Guise

A few people have expressed disdain at my decision to lend a helping hand to the Conservative Future Society on campus.  You will know that they faced de-recognition in the Guild.  A week has passed and hopefully tempers have calmed down a little, so I wanted to set out exactly why I did what I did.  Just to put at rest the minds of club members, this was a personal decision, and in no way does it affect how the club operates. ie: we’re not becoming the Tory society.

There are three fundamental reasons;

Firstly, I believe it is essential that the Guild represents a political plurality, a cross-section of opinion on matters relating to the students we represent.  Anyone who argues against that is not fit for reasoned democratic discussion.  Surely, we make much stronger policy by listening and taking into account all sides of the argument.  When I argue, on these pages or in person, with the Tories I find my own beliefs become much more asserted.  What they stand for is exactly what I try to fight against.  That kind of zest from a debate is what I would like all our members to experience.

Secondly, I believe, from what I’ve been told, that BUCF has been let down consistently by the Guild and their own past committees.  I’m confident that the current chair will do all he can to ensure that his successors continue a close working relationship in the Guild for the benefit of the whole society.  The blame does not rest on one person, or one organisation, but now BUCF have been given a final chance to make amends and I believe they will try and do that.

Thirdly, losing the Tories does BULS no favours.  At the moment, many people believe Labour own the Guild, a view I find ridiculous.  But if we had stood by and let BUCF slip away then that view would have been further cemented.

BUCF, represent a special case, a strong and active society that has been left to drop out of the Guild inner-sanctum.  I would have done the same for other societies, had I known the details of their circumstances and had they been like BUCF’s.  But I didn’t, and like I said this was a purely personal decision.  Ofcourse, I informed our committee and let them aware of what I was planning, but this was in no way a BULS effort to rescue the Tories.  So members of our club fear not, it’ll be a long time yet before I seek to sign BULS up to the Thatcher doctrine, or allow BULS to be part of the Cameron Marketing Department.

Christmas reading

by Brigidjones

I’ve just finished re-reading Jonathan Coe’s What A Carve Up!, a book I first fell in love with at thirteen (although much of its political overtones were presumable lost on me first time round). Wonderfully intelligent, funny and tragic, it tells the tale of a luckless author commissioned to write a biography of the Winshaw family, a set of modern day aristocrats and socialites who between them epitomise everything that is wrong with Thatcher’s Britain, in which the book is set. The writer’s stark lifestyle contrasts with their of opulence, greed and privilege, and at every turn he bears the brunt (either directly or indirectly) of their actions.

One of the themes of the book is that there is a fine line between greed and madness, and this is the line that the family members tread. Their attitude to life is very much “every man for himself”, one I feel sums up the underlying principle of Conservatives rather nicely. While it is no doubt a political book it is also enjoyed for its deeply clever and funny method of story telling; someone on the back cover described it as part social commentary, part detective story. Well worth a read.

Greenwash washing off

by Brigidjones

I am now back in the deep and desolate South, which means a return to one of my childhood pass-times: Local Tory MP Watch. This month my dad got a letter from said Local Tory MP, setting out ways in which our Labour government and local Lib Dem council have failed us. Amongst the travesties were prominently featured on this letter were Labour’s plans to increase tax on fuel inefficient cars, and the failure of the Lib Dems to scrap a parking scheme designed to switch people onto public transport.

Vote blue, oppose all pro-green measures? Hmmm not so catchy is it?

BULS Inside: I didn’t recognise BUCF

by Birmingham University Labour Students

BULS Inside returns for another segment of campuswatch this month, we can report with confidence that conservative future have been de-recognised by the Guild of Students.

The future of BUCF has been shakey in the past month but many colleagues had hoped that the group would remain on its feet.  Unfortunately though, all its assets have now been frozen, which will cast doubt on whether the group can continue in its current form. 

The Tory chair (38) has apparently gone into hiding but BULS Inside were able to get in contact with a senior member of the groups, 30 strong legal team.  He said “I understand everyones concerns, who else on campus is going to represent the voice of change back to conservatism?  Don’t be too worried, all our money is in off-shore accounts with Ashcroft Ltd.”

BUCF have been derecognised for not having enough members to form a society, which makes sense, currently you need 20.  Also they’ve not done risk assessments, nor have they democratically elected a committee.  Tom Guise, BULS chair cast his explanations on these problems.

“No one likes BUCF, so I’m not surprised at their lack of members, in the past they’ve said the forms are too long.  After our AGM we had to sit down with someone from the Guild who explained the need for a form and helped us fill it out, it took a whole half hour.  Having not done this form, it looks like they don’t have a committee.  Risk assessments take all of 10 minutes so I’m not surprised they haven’t done any.  They probably don’t know that they can re-submit the same form for similar events.”

In the past Tom Guise (42) has been an unlikely voice of support for BUCF at Guild Council, so it remains to see if he stands up and defends them again.  “Last time it was a thankless task.  Being a society isn’t difficult, we’ve all got to play by the same rules.  We’ll see what happens this Thursday, but I can’t really be bothered.”

Strengthening the Minimum Wage

by bensemens

Over the past term , BULS has been running a campaign on the equalisation of the minimum wage. Our aim is the elimination of the 18-22 age bracket and leveling the wage of those in that age bracket up to the full £5.73 an hour.

We had a fantastic response from all students and managed to collect over 600 signatures with many more too come.

Last Friday , Gisela Stuart MP for Edgbaston, came and spoke at our first public meeting and showed support for our campaign.

Gisela started off the night with a talk on how the minimum wage came into effect and why it was so important. We all agree, the national minimum wage (NMW) is one of our cornerstone achievement as a party and government , it is an achievement that makes us proud to be labour.

Contrary to some economic positions , unemployment is bad, it excludes individuals from making money firstly. As well as ostracising them from the rest of society. This exclusion can lead to a cycle of dependance on the state, social depravation and even poverty. But, a NMW allows individuals to earn more than state benefits , it promote social inclusion allowing them to maintain good mental and physical health. It makes an individual feel part of the wider society.

Yet , how can we still have such an arbitray age bracket that actively discriminates against a worker due to their age?

No benefits discriminates like this, No company or individual would get away with paying over 65′s a different rate, yet if you are under 22 you can be paid at a lower rate to your colleagues over 22, even in the same position.

The next step in the campaign is to bring it too a wider audience, its positive reception at Birmingham alone is proof that this campaign is wanted and with more support we can eradicate this unnecessary age bracket and deliver equality to all those effected.

Ben is the newly elected BULS freshers’ officer- Ed