Just to keep everyone updated…
We now have 58 followees (people we’re stalking/subscribing to), 68 followers (people who’re stalking/subscribing to us) and 114 tweets, which isn’t bad considering we’ve only had the account since November. Long way to go though – Sarah Brown has 2423 tweets and 1,117,983 followers!
Suzy
Hi BULS 
Just to let everyone know, the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) is now following us on twitter, as of this morning!
If anyone wants anything tweeted comment on this or message me on facebook, all suggestions appreciated.
Suzy
Hey fellow bloggers,
As you may know, the AGM was held last Wednesday and a new Website Editor has been elected, Kieran O’Halloran, he was set up and introduced to the ins and outs of the website today and so gradually will take over my role. Essentially this is the beginning of the end for my tenure. But, it has been a huge honour and pleasure serving this role, I do stand by that Website Editor is one of the most enjoyable (and easiest) roles on the committee and when the day finally comes when I hand over the baton to Kieran, it will be good to know that in my 6 month tenure the BULS website has effectively been revived (with the abysmal activity over the 2009 summer), with some of the highest viewing hits since May 2009 and I wish Kieran the best of luck.
I don’t intend to stop blogging quite yet though, even after the hand over, ‘Ramsay’s F Word’ will live on!
Max
Well the votes have been counted and the results for the committee-elect for 2010/2011 are in:
Chair 2010/2011-Louise Suen
Vice-Chair-Callum Anderson
Secretary-Jake Lambert
Treasurer-George Arnold
Website Editor-Kieran O’Halloran
Communications Officer-Oliver Jackson
Editor of Social Resources-Suzannah Robinson
Women’s Officer-Maise Meredith
Well done for all who stood! The new committee will come into effect at the end of March. Suzannah Robinson and Daniel Harrison retain Guild Council Rep and Fresher’s Officer positions respectively until summer.
Maxwell Ramsay was today arrested on suspicion of perversion and gross misconduct after a local newspaper leaked photographs of the seemingly respectable BULS Website Editor entering a Fetish Society meeting several months ago. Ramsay (62) is due to appear before Guild Court Marshall later this week. Earlier in the day, however, an obviously intoxicated Ramsay had this to say:
“The photographical evidence that the Guild received is an extreme and deliberate misrepresentation of my character. I am a decent, God fearing, family man, who doesn’t care to be insulted in such a manner. I can say for certain that I have the full support of my wife and daughters, friends and, most importantly, all the Society’s committee members not currently in enforced exile. Good day.”
It should come as little surprise that Maximo Ramsay has turned to drink and the strain of the past week, which culminating in his ultimate arrest, clearly showed. In fact, today’s disastrous statement was just one of a series of gaffs that have plagued the aspiring salad chef and politician since his election. A now famous incident involved Mr Ramsay being ejected by local Tesco Supermarket security for sleepwalking (barefooted and wearing pajamas) into the store, being just one of many. New Guild Chairman, Tom Guise, who was recently catapulted into power through a well orchestrated, but highly secretive, coup had this to say:
“Maximilian Ramsay is a disgrace to entire Guild community. It is vital we remain united if we are to survive the coming war! The weak shall perish at our hands and through our common endeavour we shall achieve victory! We must join together in solidarity to give each of us the means to reach our full potential. We shall live together, freely, in unity and in strength! Maximilian has put rancours in the vessel of our peace, a cup clos’d in my true love’s hand, it is the poison’d cup, but not yet too late! For we shall destroy him, he who is so full of sound and fury, signifying nothing and so nothing will come of nothing to be nothing for he is nothing! Thank you very much.”
Despite the muted applause following Guise’s statement, the political future of Maxim Ramsay is certainly uncertain. Many have speculated that his chances of success in the impeding elections are low, while mutterings have also been heard of sabotage and a bookstore fronting a money laundering operation. Perhaps the truth of this strange affair will never be truly uncovered…
OJ.
After highly and hotly contested delegate selection (sorta) for the National Labour Students Conference to be held at the end of this month in Glasgow. They are:
There are regional hustings for the candidates of the national committee this friday, 5.15pm in the Guild Council Chambers.
We will also discuss motions to be put forward and who we should vote for at the national committee elections as well at the Annual General Meeting (24th).
Max
Now, I wouldn’t normally blog on a change to the format to the Website, but in the name of transparency (and due to the fact barely anyone will have seen it), I have finally, after 3 and a half months put the Society’s Constitution (well, its most up to date form since the People’s Revolution of ‘86) up under the new heading “About us and Society Constitution”.
Try to enjoy,
Max, Website Editor
Canvassing on the Vale with local MP, Gisela Stuart
As a part of the BULS BIG CAMPAIGN PUSH for this term we have a target of making 500 contacts on the Vale by canvassing with Labour MP for Edgbaston, Gisela Stuart. We will be canvassing on two seperate occasions, Tuesday from 5pm where we will meet outside the Guild where there will be a chance of a Curry after and Wednesday afternoon from 1pm. If you live on the Vale, you can meet up with us then to save walking to the Guild, call Dora (Chair of BULS) on 07958327889 and she will let you know where we are. So whether it’s 20mins or and hour, we’d love all of you to come along and give us a hand in the build up to the general election.
Michael Cashman talk on civil liberties
Labour MEP, Michael Cashmon for the West Midlands is coming to give a talk on civil liberties. Other societies have been invited including Warwick Labour Club and after which we will probably go for a drink after. The talk will be held in the Mandela Room in the Guild of Students Building at 5pm on the 29th January.
AGM 2010 (Annual General Meeting)
Suspected to be around the end of February, all Committee positions bar Fresher’s Officer and Guild Council Representative are up for grabs, more info to come soon.
Preliminary position descriptions:
Chair
The chair liases with the National Organisation of Labour Students as well as the Guild of Students. Organises events and chairs committee meetings and full member meetings. Organises speakers and writes speaker-request forms.
The Chair is a financial signatory on the clubs accounts.
Vice-chair
Assists chair in organising events. Organises transport for all events necessary, eg. Trains to national events. Assumes duties of the chair if the chair is temporarily unable to carry out his or her duties or if a complaint is made against them until it is resolved.
The Vice-chair is a financial signatory on the clubs accounts.
Secretary
This Secretary takes charge of the organisational side of the club and, along with other members of the committee, helps to organise events. Also writes the minutes for full member meetings and committee meetings. Writes the risk assessments for events.
The Secretary is also a financial signatory on the club’s accounts.
Treasurer
Has full-responsibility for the management of accounts. Decides on levels of subsidies when appropriate. Organises fundraising and Workers Beer Company summer work.
The Treasurer is a financial signatory on the clubs accounts.
Communications Officer
Writes weekly email, to be sent to all members. Uploads member email address onto email account at start of term (with assistance if needed).
Website Editor
Has editorial responsibility over the website; http://www.bulsonline.org also jointly responsible for updating the pages on the website along with the Editor of Social Resources.
Editor of Social Resources
In charge of regularly updating the facebook group and twitter account. Has joint responsibility for updating the website, along with the Website Editor.
A long time ago, in a University far far…..nah, lol!
The BULS is returning (obviosuly when you return to University as well) on Wednesday the 13th January….2010. We will be meeting in the Thompson Training Suite at the Guild of Students building at 7pm for a couple of hours to discuss plans for this terms and effectively our campaign action in the build up to the General election this coming spring. All are welcome! Hope to see lots of you there!
Require any more info, email us at committee@bulsonline.org
Max
Good news!
BULS has recently bought an upgrade to the website, “CSS custom upgrade”. Essentially it will alow me and Josh to do virtually anything to the website. However, I can tell you now, it’s extremely complicated, but through trial and error and a hell a lot of perseverance (and we mean a LOT) we will succeed in an improved website….eventually.
Max, Website Editor
You don’t have to attend the meeting or vice-versa but if you want to only go for the curry meet outside the Learning centre before 9.30 and then we will walk to Chamon. Any problems, email: committee@bulsonline.org or phone Dora:07958327889
BULS has been undergoing some difficulty following the shameless theft of its domain name, but we knew we could rely on Brigid Jones to pull us back. Since Jones returned to the blogging scene two days ago, our daily hits have doubled.
Some BULS members say the power has gone to her head. One member, who asked to remain anonymous, said “All she goes on about now is the figures. She thinks she’s some kind of saviour; as Chair I find this very worrying.”
Others have suggested she is just goading the crowd. “Brigid has always had a flair for creating controversey, and it bothers me”, said Dave Borland, occasional blogger. “I think we should be more of a news relaying service; uncontroversial news, obviously. Jones just spoils it for the rest of us.”
Accusations about her mental stability have been flying around too, after she declared a like for both the Muirhead Tower and Birmingham Central Library. Many members have expressed relief that she will be off the committee soon.
As for wether the Brigid Bounce will continue, only time will tell. It is rumoured there will be a BULS relaunch, coming soon…
In the past week and a half we have had over 3,500 hits on our buls.org website! This has been fantastic work from all of you guys getting involved and making some brilliant contributions. The tories have definately helped our cause here, and a special thankyou must be made to a certain Tory MP for taking time out of his busy schedule to enlighten us all with his thoughtful and intuitive contributions.
Keep it up guys!
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.
On Tuesday 11th November, BULS went on a field trip to watch ‘W’ a biopic on George Bush. Here, a new member, writes his first blog. A review of the film.
‘W’ examines the political career and personal life of George W Bush from his short lived summer jobs and alcoholism to the beginning of the end of his Presidency. ‘W’ is an unusual film, but rather than breaking convention it does more to rearrange and restyle it than anything else.
The film is very subtle in many ways, but also overtly politicised or at least feeling a need to clarify things for the audience by creating a good and a bad guy. Dick Cheney is the latter and Colin Powell the former. This is especially evident in the scene where Bush and his Cabinet discuss the possibility of nuclear weapons in Iraq and the advantages of invading. Cheney’s speech about the reserves of resources in Iraq and the control America could gain over Iran is particularly scathing, especially when he says “There is no get out plan … we stay”. Powell, however, speaks about a small group of extremists changing his country’s entire outlook and policy, generally coming across as representing many of the reasonable American people. And yet, though it may be exaggerated, it comes across as a very convincing representation of these two characters.
The personification of Bush is another quite searing performance, showing him, in his earlier years, as a lazy, irresolute, angry, drunkard, who gained the governorship of Texas only due to his clever speech writer and his personal lust for power. For most of the scenes involving his earlier years, Bush is either drunk or fighting with his father. His relationship with his father is actually an intriguing aspect of the film and shows what we’d never see in the media (if it bears any resemblance to the truth, which seems reasonably likely).
When with his advisers Bush is portrayed as bad mannered, unaware and largely ignorant. For example, when he’s handed a draft bill for “enhanced interrogation techniques utilising fear scenarios”, by Cheney, he crassly remarks “It’s only three pages; good”. It’s also surprising to see how much time the President of the United States of America spends at leisure; casual meals, or strolls, with his colleagues, hamburgers in front of the baseball and long chats with his wife and father, whereas his employees have to work tirelessly to produce speeches for him, without input from the man who’s going to perform them. This only serves to further contribute to his image of idleness,
The worse representation in the film was most likely Tony Blair, but he’s only in it for about two minutes and the film doesn’t seek to examine him in any detail, only briefly showing his opinions on going to war with Iraq.
A fair amount of the film is dedicated to satire, mostly in the form of George’s dense and often very literal answers; when a reporter asks “Mr President, what place do you think you have in history?” his reply is “In history? In history, we’ll all be dead.” There are also many inside jokes and ironies, which hint at what we already know is to come without seeming to do so intentionally. Though some parts of the film are, deadly serious, like when the woman leading Bush through her garden where a BBQ is taking place, stands …; on a corn on the cob and (wait for it) it sinks into the grass! My God; the actors do all their own stunts, you know. Unbelievable. Another first-class clip is the shot of Bush’s belt for a ½ a second – absolutely excellent.
The film does give a good sense of realism, making the audience feel slightly drunk along with Bush, through the camera spinning as he fights with his father or when we don’t see the “trash can” until George drives straight into it, yet the entire thing is so subtly integrated into the film we hardly notice. The people involved in the events of the film also seem to have the effective look of ageing and generally bear a strong resemblance to the character they represent (with the notable exception of Tony Blair). Subtlety is the defining feature of this film, it also makes use of symbolism, such as the lights above W as he bows his head to pray just after winning (or so it seems) the Iraq War, very much resemble a halo (presumably the US public opinion at that point).
The film is fairly entertaining, but doesn’t go as far as to be gripping. It sheds little light on how Bush’s mind works or why exactly he acted the way he did. Instead ‘W’ bears more resemblance to a collection of home movies (obviously much more professional done) from a hidden camera, which jumps forwards and backwards in time alternatively, throughout the film. ‘W’ is more of a relaxed armchair look at Bush’s political and personal life rather than any deep or serious analysis.
Perhaps the film tries to cover too many events in the time available, while still attempting to focus in on the lead up to the Iraq War. Personally I found the film entertaining, subtly scandalous and fairly relaxed. I would have perhaps preferred a greater number of serious, in depth looks at events from his actual Presidency (only the Iraq War is given any real consideration out of all the episodes of his time in office) spanning his initial rise to power right up to the present day, rather like “House of Saddam” on the BBC. However, despite this ‘W’ was still well done, if, at times, giving the impression of being a little exaggerated.
Matt Strong during the Labour Students disco in Sheffield
Matt Strong, National Secretary of the National Organisation of Labour Students (NOLS), has strongly denied rumours that his favourite Labour Club is infact Brum’s own BULS. BULS has long been considered a thorn in the side of NOLS and the claim will surely damage Mr. Strong’s personal credibility with his NOLS colleagues as well as his former club in Manchester – who have expressed severe unhappiness at the rumours.
It is alleged that Mr. Strong confronted Tom Guise, Chair of BULS, in a car-park in Sheffield and told him the news. Reasons given were superficial but nonetheless important, Mr. Strong very much enjoyed BULS’ ability to outlast over 130 Labour Students in the bar the previous night (with Ben Semens, Tom Marley and Guise himself all lasting past 5am), thus winning the strong endorsement from NOLS office.
In a press release from BULS HQ, Guise expressed his keen desire for BULS to continue impressing the national office in such ways at future events. BULS is making preparations to last passed 6am at the next national event to be held in London in December.
Mr. Strong’s lawyers have refused to comment on his behalf and it is thought that Strong has gone into hiding North of the border.
BULSInside returns to bring you a special update on Tom Marley’s latest activities. Many readers have written to BULS HQ asking for our latest efforts into BULS’ favourite sport of Marley stalking.
After walking out on the Labour Club so un-graciously, Marley has become Vice-President Education and Access, in our Union, and has demonstrated perfectly why people such as himself should have no access to education at all. In an office that directly overlooks our campus, Tom Marley has been plotting to bring down several university power groups. Last week, Marley stormed into the RedBrick office with a letter which has been described as “utterly outrageous”, decrying the efforts of Socialists on campus to raise awareness about important issues. No response has yet been heard from the socialists but it is thought they have gone into hiding, in the doldrums of the Guild, where Marley’s power is less than stable. It has also been rumoured that Marley, in an effort to upset People and Planet, decides not to get his coffee from the Guild’s fairtrade supplier, instead he ventures into Birmingham City centre to buy his beverage from uber-capitalists Starbucks. BULSInside also understands that Marley frequents Subway.
Whilst Marley has left BULS, it is still important that we in the student movement know exactly what he’s getting up to. Any tips from readers will be much appreciated. Email them to the usual address.
Over the summer, through this blog BULS was contacted by Paul Crofts, the chair from 1971-1974. He went on to work in the NUS with Trevor Phillips, during Charles Clarkes tenure. He is now a councillor in Wellingborough and Northamptonshire, and was succeded as chair by Kath Hartley, now a Birmingham councillor.
Below is a wonderful picture of Paul in action in the Guild Council chambers, where many BULS members can still reguarly be found, debating and snoozing through Guild Councils. Paul will receive a BULS salute the next time we are in the pub. If any other former members are reading, please get in touch, we would love to hear from you!
Paul Crofts and co in action, 1973
Whilst hundreds of Labour activists enjoyed the excesses of conference, BULS was hard at work recruiting and welcoming new members into our movement. We were not alone though in our efforts, MP for Hall Green and Government Whip Steve McCabe stopped by to say hello to some of our new recruits as well as our older members.
This week on campus we have been campaigning to make the minimum wage fairer, by calling on the Government to provide the higher rate to people between 18 and 21. Our petition has had over 350 signatures and we’ll be spreading the message out to halls next week and in the next couple of months.
Another highlight of our stall has been our political compass. We took the idea from the popular website and asked people to guess where they might put themselves on the spectrum. We managed to put a few famous people on as well, including our own Guild President Jen Larbie and local Thatcherite Daniel O’Doherty.
I’m really looking forward to the year, we’ve got some great events planned which I hope all of our new members can enjoy! Can’t wait to get to know you all!
Welcome Back!
I wanted to let you know our whereabouts this week at freshers. Please come and see us if you would like to renew your membership or find out more information about our club.
We have stalls at;
The Change your World Fair on Tuesday in the Deb Hall (1st Floor in the Guild), 10am – 4pm.
The Societies Fair on Thursday in the Marquee (behind the Guild), 11am – 4pm.
The Societies Fair on Friday in the Marquee (behind the Guild), 11am – 3pm.
DATE FOR YOUR DIARY:
Wednesday 1st October. We will be collecting signatures for our minimum wage petition, meeting outside the Guild at 4pm making our way back to Joes for a complimentary drink (for campaigners only!) at 5.30pm, then we shall go for our annual freshers curry at Chamon for 7pm. Come to as much or as little as you want – we will welcome you with open arms of socialism!
We have many more exciting things planned this year so make sure you stay tuned to the blog. Hopefully this term we will be playing football against the Tories on campus as well as going to Labour Students political weekend.
Hope to see you soon!
All the best,
Tom
I find the summers strange in general. Especially this year. Although Uni finished some time ago and I havn’t been back to selly oak for a few weeks, I have found myself continually thinking about and planning our freshers recruitment drive, our priority campaign for the year and upcoming events.
Last Sunday BULS attended a training session with other Labour Clubs, hosted by the National Organisation of Labour Students (NOLS). Perhaps the most useful part of the day for myself was hearing about the different campaigns labour clubs are running. There were so many examples of clever ways to draw attention to the blunders of local Tory and Lib Dem politicians, and by doing so helping to attract new members. This has inspired BULS to run a campaign on educating the Tory council in Birmingham on the differences between Birmingham, UK and Birmingham, AL.
It’s always really useful to meet more Labour Students so that we can share best practice on a variety of strategies and a big thanks must go to the NOLS office for organising such a well-turned out event. Hopefully there will be more to come throughout the next 12 months!
The core tenet of the Labour Party is that by the strength of our common endeavour we can achieve more together than we can alone. Conference season beckons and as the National Policy Forum showed us, the organised youth and student movement within the party can affect real positive changes for young people across the country.
Giving more young people a real say in politics, by extending the franchise, is not a patronising ploy to boost turnout – but a necessary progression in the development of our healthy democracy. It is another tick-box in our quest for true equality and self-determination.
Long before this summers NPF, and long before I joined the party, I was encouraged to campaign and speak up for votes at 16. This Labour Club has a long history in supporting progressive policies that it hopes the party will ensue, and I hope we can continue that tradition.
Adopting the policy at conference won’t deliver an election victory, and might not even deliver many more votes. Yet, that shouldn’t stop us. The Minimum Wage was almost an experiment, people on both sides of the divide erred on the cautious stance. Yet the NMW is a moral imperative, giving people a fair start and chance in life is what the party is about. Extending the franchise is also a moral imperative.
Our goal as young members of the party should always be to drive change towards a policy direction that delivers for young and student members of our society. So I plead for all supporters of this campaign to register their interest and support by visiting this website. Together as both socialists and democrats we can affect change.
The latest comment from Dan OD bears a strange remeblance to a comment made 2 days ago elsewhere! Keep up the good work Dan!
What’s the point of having a blog?
Our blog has been around for quite a while now, we’ve had highs and lows, but what is it actually worth? Should it over-reach and try and contribute to national debates? Should it be a point of contact for students and young people to the labour movement? Or perhaps it should be a place where contributors can highlight news stories that might be of interest from a variety of sources?
I personally think it should be all of these things and more, but I’d be interested to hear what other people think?
Pat McFadden MP gloriously put Mad-Nadine Dorries in her rightful place, rejecting outright her wish to debate abortion and not the important matter of minimum wage enforcement. Here is the exchange:
Mrs. Nadine Dorries (Mid-Bedfordshire) (Con): I hope to be called to speak later as my interests are wide and varied, but for now I ask the Minister to inform me why he feels that this Bill is more important than the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, which we should have been debating today?
Mr. McFadden: The House discusses many important issues, and I disagree with the hon. Lady if she feels that it is not important that the House debates minimum wage enforcement and the other subjects the Employment Bill addresses. I am glad we have this opportunity to debate them today.
Mr. McFadden will recieve a BULS salute when we return from our summer hols in September.
Following on from our recent series on legendary MPs, in which we exposed Nick Palmer to be the comic genius he truly is, I wanted to turn BULS’ attention to Mr. David Clelland. The Labour MP for Tyne Bridge will recieve a full BULS salute when we return to Uni in the Autumn. You may have heard that Mr. Clelland recieved a rather rude letter from a constituent, informing him that he was actually a fascist and was always voting the wrong way, for his party. Mr. Clelland sent back this wonderfully crafted letter to his constituent. I for one know similar people I would like this letter to be sent to and I hope Mr. Clelland won’t mind if I do a little copy and paste job.
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.
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.
The future events page is now being updated regularly to keep our members at the University of Birmingham informed of upcoming events. Many of these events are members only, but if you’d like to come and meet us to see what the club gets up to then drop us a line.
Next friday we will be heading to Erdington for some leafletting, contact us if you’d like to come.
Congratulations to Members of Parliament for highlighting a very serious matter which has been in my mind for weeks.
Can I encourage all readers to get their MPs to sign?
Something strange seems to be happening. It might be revision ’stress’ but I seem to be focussing more on random jokes than serious political matters. Perhaps it is David Peters influence who thinks students shouldn’t have opinions. Anyway, here is a funny video!
BULS learned last week that Daniel O’Doherty, more Thatcherite than maggie herself, had been elected as Chair of Birmingham University Conservative NO Future. DoD is memorable to BULS readers for his readiness to get stuck into topical debates and we really hope the spirit of cordiality continues between both chairs.
Guise and DoD have already held top-level talks to discuss future co-operative events and some progress will soon be made public. However, we can exclusively reveal that next year there will indeed be a BUCF Vs BULS football match. Brigid Jones has been despatched to provide healthy-half-time snacks, and Matt Reeves is in negotiations with Aston Villa, to secure a loan deal for Luke Moore and Olaf Mellberg.
According to the Trades Union Congress;
“As of 1 October 2007, the adult rate for workers aged 22 and over is £5.52 per hour. The development rate for 18-21 year olds and for workers receiving accredited training in the first 6 months of a new job is £4.60 per hour. The rate for 16-17 year olds starts lower at £3.40 an hour.”
No I haven’t just noticed this, but I want this to be a key campaign for BULS over the coming 12 months. I find it completely abhorrent that we treat our younger workers differently. Now that the minimum wage has successfully worked, whilst still promoting economic growth, lets build upon our foundations and really entrench it into society, as a cornerstone achievement of this Government.
It was the first miserable day in a long time. For months now, BULS had been planning to unveil its new committee in full sunshine in Mermaid Square, infront of thousands of students. The event was forced inside, to the dingy basement, in the deepest depths of the Guild of Students. Tom Guise entered to, less than raptuous applause, to sign the official papers which saw his political career come to its esteemed conclusion, having trod carefully a long path for his entire life, Tom Guise finally became Chair of Birmingham University Labour Students.
The event highlighted many early problems that Guise has experienced, Tom Marley his predecessor was nowhere to be seen, it is rumoured that they no longer exchange cordial discourse. Guise’s vice-chair had been whisked away to Downing Street for top-level talks with the PM. The challenge for Guise and his team is ensuring there aren’t early divisions in the committee. Guise will need his top-aide Brigid Jones, to act as his eyes and ears amongst grassroots members, as well as to perform any tasks that he does not neccessarily want to do.
“A new era has dawned on BULS” Guise said, to a virtually empty basement, “we will not stand for division, for splits and disloyalty, we will severely punish members who step out of line.” This reputation and attitude has already earned Guise the nickname, ‘Gung-ho.’
Recently commenting on the by-election campaign in Crewe and Nantwich,popular blogger and all-round nice guy Dominic Fischer (otherwise known as Praguetory) made a rather severe threat to Labour activists. Check it out here.
“If Labour activists try any of these ’stunts’ on me this Saturday, they might find themselves kicked into the middle of next week.”
This self-styled karate kid will be one to watch.
He told the President that three Brazilian soldiers were killed in Iraq.
To everyone’s amazement, all the colour ran from President Bush’s face, then he collapsed onto his desk, head in hands, visibly shaken, almost whimpering.
Finally, he composed himself and asked Petraeus, “just exactly how many is a brazilian?”
After the election post-mortem, the BULS head office turned to further naval gazing, this time over the monthly performance of the blog. In Tom Guise’s, first month as chair, the hits plummeted from 5543 to a meagre 5065. Guise’s aides claimed this was due to their leaders busy month of campaigning, and thus meant he was unable to steer them to further gains.
The news was greeted by a series of frantic blogs by disgraced former chair, Tom Marley who attempted to re-align himself within the hearts and minds of grassroots members. To add further poison to Guise’s woes, another former chair, John Ritchie returned for the local elections and has since been blogging as well. A source close to BULSInside suggested that both Marley and Ritchie were attempting a cous-d’etat, and that it was imminent. Guise, reportedly entered exile in London and has not been seen in Birmingham since he was spotted roaming Broad Street in the early hours of Friday morning. His parents have expressed mild-concern, close friends could not be located.
BULS members have blocked the email account in head office with calls for resignations. One member said “we need to know where we stand, we’ve lost the plot a bit. We just need to be able to tell people what it means to be BULS again.” Others were less couteous, demanding Guise’s head and other vital body parts. It will be hard to envisage how Guise and his aides can turn BULS around but we expect to hear further news on Wednesday afternoon, after Guise leads the new committee in their first meeting since assuming power.
I leant upon a coppice gate When Frost was spectre-gray,
And Winter’s dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires.
The land’s sharp features seemed to be
The Century’s corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
Seemed fervourless as I.
At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.
So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.
Even Thomas Hardy wasn’t supporting Boris…
Was there, for the first time from the chair, a recognition that he cannot go on like this and will not now hang on to the bitter end?
His monthly press conference crackled with the anticipation that, this time – unlike so many before it – it really had to deliver.
And deliver it did – in spades if you are of a mind to accept Tom Marley’s nods and winks unquestioningly.
But even for the cynics there was at least enough to think the last two weeks may have shifted the political landscape irrevocably.
In some carefully worded pronouncements Mr Marley, looking far less confrontational than we had been led to believe, delivered something significantly new.
He dropped the defiant old “here to serve a full third semester” stuff, in favour of an entirely different form of words.
And it was all about standing down soon enough to give his successor time to establish himself, or bed himself in.
Deirdre Alden has published shock revelations that “Birmingham University Sudents support Boris“. BULS, which (as of October when the photo was taken) has more members than BU Lib Dems and BUCF put together, would like to clarify that despite being University of Birmingham students, they are not terribly fond of Boris.
For the 6th consecutive month the BULS blog has recieved a boost to its viewing figures which analysts are attributing to a Guise-bounce. A delirious Guise (76) said to reporters in the early hours “I have shown the world what I can do, Marley is toast and I am the butter!” Commentators have noticed a distinct anti-marley agenda running through the club as Guise positions Labour Students to take on an ambitious political agenda.
Mr. Guise, who has taken the nickname recently, Gung-ho Guise, (after allegations he forced grassroots activists to return to the site every five minutes), will no doubt be pleased to see the figures which indicate a sense of relief amongst the blogosphere that Marley’s tenure is over. A source close to Marley (54), believed to be his father said, “Guise has being going on about it constantly. Marley was great for the club and believes substance is more important than popularity.”
Over the coming months it will be interesting to see the relationship between these two giants of the Labour movement, it is yet to be seen if Brigid Jones (30) will emerge as an intermediary between the two, hosting them for dinner to smooth the surface during the Easter vacation. Jones made headlines last month in the local press after an outrageous drunken incident at Chamon.
BULS ended the month of March having had 5543 visitors to its website.
Astute and regular readers will have noticed a very slight and subtle revamp to their faithful BULS site over the last couple of weeks. Such loyalists will be pleased to hear that a fellow top-level news website has followed in BULS’ ever-pioneering footsteps.
BULS congratulates the Beeb on their bravery at this new design and hopes to continue a long and frutiful relationship of solid journalism.
Rarely does a normal birthday attract such attention than this one. BULS’ own Brigid Jones is celebrating her 30th Birthday today. It’s a big landmark and BULS would like to officially salute their stalwart of feminism.
After a raptuous reception in her native Eastbourne, Jones will return to Selly Oak before embarking on a tour of Birmingham, taking in such sights as Bartley Green, Quinton, Hodge Hill, Tyburn and Ladywood!
I remember the time when I would watch blue peter and get told about evil bullies at school, this distressed me greatly, so I think it was particularly upsetting when I saw this facebook group. Our very own Ed (Meakin) Sparkes is being horribly vindicated victimised because of his ill-chosen name. BULS would like officially extend our offer of counselling and guidance during these rough times. We wish Ed all the best of luck on the Tory frontbench, however BULS’ annual prize for most silly name goes to ‘Warwick Lightfoot’
BULS refuses to comment on accusations that the quality of blogging has gone drastically downhill as of late. We would also like to extend special thanks to Ben Whitehouse.
Tom Marley, chair of BULS has recieved a positive boost from the visitor numbers for last month. BULS’ blog attracted 4515 visitors during one of the busiest periods in Guild politics. Marley will be cheered by the figures which will be a clear sign that, despite further allegations of sleaze, he has full control over the club and its members.
One senior committee member has spoken to BULSinside accusing Mr. Marley of assault and forcing them to write more posts. Mr. Marley’s top aides deny such claims and suggest that Marley has a very diplomatic and consensual style. In response to the numbers Mr. Marley said; “In what will be my final month as chair I intend to make sure that we recieve over 5000 visitors.”
The statement of resignation will send a lightning bolt through the BULS committee who have been positioning themselves for the top job. It is still expected that John Ritchie, former chair, will be returning at the annual general meeting to take over the club. After Fidel Castro’s resignation letter it has also been muted that the former Cuban dictator will be spreading his brand of socialism to the West Midlands, Jim Murphy MP has also expressed an interest.
I don’t think I’ve ever been referred to as a left-winger in my entire life. So I was honoured to see this post on the “award-winning” Birmingham University Conservative Future blog, accusing us comrades of harbouring secret left-wing tendencies.
The problem with BUCF is that they mostly appear to spend all their time on their own blog, or on other people’s blogs. Another problem is they get very upset when you call them Thatcherite. They shouldn’t be ashamed of it. I spend an incredible short time on their blog, but what I do see is truly harrowing. Borderline racist, homophobic and anti-disablist comments can often be seen (please don’t make out that I’m blanketly calling them all racist/homophobic etc. I’m far from it). It’s just evidence of how out of touch I believe they are and how shocking it is that they represent the “future” of their shameful party.
They claim to be part of the changing party. Supporting a party that believes all married couples should be given that little-extra tax break (because being married is so worthy of state support). That’s not being the party of change, that’s being the party of rigid, dictatorial and traditionalist dogma which is trying to instil unto us that if you’re from a single parent household, you’re going to be somehow damaging the state of our country in such a way that the Government must step in to control this unruly rabble.
We have a different approach in BULS, we go out and campaign, in our Guild and in our local area, and I will walk the streets until I am without shoes to ensure that a Conservative Government remains a thing of the past and never a thing of the future.
Tom Marley- “I’m gonna buy Obama’s book tomorrow!”
Me- “Er, what does audacity acutally mean?”
Tom Marley- “Dunno. Sounds good, though.”
For the benefit of Tom, our friends at dictionary.com define audacity as
Audacity (aw-das-i-tee) -noun, plural -ties.
1. Boldness or daring, esp. with confident or arrogant disregard for personal safety, conventional thought, or other restrictions.
2. Effrontery or insolence; shameless boldness: His questioner’s audacity shocked the lecturer.
3. Usually, audacities. audacious acts or statements.
The Red Flag is a popular and uplifting song for socialists during hard times. One of BULSinside’s moles has revealed that a certain former chair of Birmingham University Conservative Future and new comrade has returned to his former haunts of Thatcherism.
Having attended a BUCF event with Rt. Hon. Michael Portillo, Joseph Brewer (spotted here in the backrow) commented that it was “a good little event”. It looks like he’s been able to patch up things with his old friends and has been welcomed back with open arms. Either that or he is trying to garner further support in a bid for the Guild Presidency.
The BULS blog continues to confound expectations. January was its best month ever reaching 3,222 visits. That means it beat its previous best in December of 2,648. In a statement to the press, having reached the landmark early in the morning, a weary eyed Tom Marley (BULS chair) said; “Under my leadership the blog has gone from strength to strength.” In, what analysts will view as aggressive dominance, Mr. Marley exclaimed; “I will be working my committee hard to ensure they deliver a February of above 4000 visits.”
Mr. Marley brushed off any rumours of a leadership challenge, dismissing them as petty Guild gossip. Sources have revealed that John Ritchie may make a shock return at the clubs next AGM in order to oust the current leadership.
Editoral Note: Admittedly most of the hits are probably praguetory.
Rumours were circulating Guild circles last night that this year’s famous Refreshers Fair will not go as smoothly as planned, after rumours that members of Conservative Future on campus were looking to hijack the now famous speed dating event.
A source close to a senior Conservative Future member has told BULSInside (the new investigative journal of BULS) that Conservative Future members are planning a coup at the Speed Dating Society, with a view to having the event moved to a local old peoples’ home this year.
The revelations come amid a number of blog posts appearing on the Conservative Future blog, appearing to worship various octogenarians to a degree that a number of Guild members have called “just plain sick.” In a bizarre twist, the CF source allegedly stated “there seems to be no stopping the idea now, it’s just gained that critical momentum. They were even talking about trying to get Cilla Black in to host it, but weren’t sure if they could get their speaker approval form in on time.” Cilla (pictured) is a prominent Tory supporter.
BULSInside were unable to contact any members of the CF committee last night, and Cilla’s office was unable to comment. A senior BULS member said “we have nothing against CF members worshipping whoever they please in their own time. Indeed, a number of excellent politicians remain very active well into their eighties and some are deserving of praise. These allegations do appear to put a more sinister spin on what we already saw as a developing problem within CF, however.”
Well, chuck, you chose number one, and that’s our Betty and she’s from Windsor! Come out Betty!
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