After the campaign, the friction within
Mar 18 2011 | Written by Joe Jervis

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Post Guild Elections, Joe Jervis reflects on the Presidential race and potential troubles within the new team

Smiles all round? Some of next year's Guild Officer team, from left to right: Jennifer Kirk, Leander Jones, Bibi Shaheen Noorie Karimbocus, Edd Bauer, Mikayla Jones, Zuki Majuqwana, Mark Harrop, Tim Smith & Hugo Sumner

Last Saturday saw the election of Mark Harrop as the new President of the University of Birmingham Guild of Students. His victory over Rachel Twumasi by a margin of 591 votes was less than surprising given that Harrop’s campaign was by far the more dynamic and inspiring.

Both on and off campus the enthusiastically enacted Harry Potter theme outshone ‘Super-Rae’ whilst Harrop himself was a recognisable figure.

Most importantly, Harrop’s manifesto was both impressive in content and clearly explained. His desire to bridge the gap between the Guild and students is to be tackled by a push to introduce loyalty cards for Joe’s Bar and mobile phone applications which give details of Guild activity. An additional draw has been the focus on library facilities. This included improved opening hours, more power outlets for laptops and cheaper printing credits for dissertation students.

Furthermore, the politics and economics student has a strong record in leadership roles and involvement in University societies. His CV includes the Presidencies of both the Aitken Wing Residence Association and the European Politics, Society and Economics (EPSE) group as well as a role as a Guild Counsellor.

While Twumasi also had a strong mandate, a lack of communication left students questioning what it was that she stood for and therefore her electability. Fellow members of the electorate felt that the height of her campaign amounted to a single Facebook event others were unfortunate enough not to receive an invitation.

To politicised voters, a concern regarding Harrop’s election may be his previous involvement as Publicity Officer in the Birmingham University Conservative Future (BUCF). The pro-cuts agenda of the Conservatives appears at odds with the current interests of university students given the eighty per cent reduction from the Government’s budget for higher education. The absence of a pledge to fight cuts in his campaign manifesto fuelled such speculation but the newly elected President has given healthy assurances to Redbrick that the concerns of the student body are now – and always have been – his resounding priority.

‘The cuts and fee rises meant that I distanced myself from the Conservative party post-General Election’, Harrop told the paper. ‘I can make this vow that, although I have voted Conservative in the past, I do not support the cuts that the Coalition Government are introducing and will fight against them with the rest of the Sabbatical team in order to achieve what is best for the 28,000 students we represent.’

Harrop also emphasised that his decision to vote Conservative in the 2010 general election was due to ‘foreign policy and environmental issues’ and that he is dedicated to ‘lobbying the University and Government.’ However, his agenda was ‘less about the negative of batten down the hatches’ and more about ‘implementing policies which save students money and give them a better university experience.’

Of course, it should be made clear that party politics is hardly prevalent in the Guild, nor is it necessarily influential on the average voter. Yet to some candidates the backing of certain University societies is an important source of support.

Last year current Guild President Dora Meredith benefited significantly from the support of Birmingham University Labour Students (BULS), of which she was Chair in 2009, whilst Rob Hunter also ran a successful vice-presidential campaign backed by political societies. However, this year lackadaisical campaigning from the BULS contributed to losses for its respective candidates in every position. The President of the BUCF (Birmingham University Conservative Future) was inevitably pleased to see such a change and hoped that Harrop’s tenure would see a ‘more centralist’ Guild rather than one of ‘left-leaning persuasions.’

There was, however, a notable exception to the trend. The election of radical political activist Edd Bauer’s as Vice President of Education was a common conversation-starter on election night.

As an instigator of grass-roots movement Stop Fees and Cuts at Birmingham University, Bauer won a hard fought victory on far-left ideological grounds with a manifesto aimed at, amongst other things, ‘human rights and an end to global injustice.’

The controversial figure has had a tendency to split opinion and in hindsight this will have helped his election campaign. His success in mobilising his dedicated socialist following proved just enough to see off the challenge of James Wickett-Whyte whose campaign as the more pragmatic candidate fell just short.

It will be interesting to see how Bauer works alongside the other Sabbatical Officers given his dislike for the current system and his uncompromising ethical approach. His performance as the Ethical and Environmental non-Sabb officer gave heed to worries that he has little time for pragmatic solutions. Negotiating with Bauer may be Harrop’s biggest presidential challenge.

Shortlink: http://redbrick.me/18781

Written by Joe Jervis on Mar 18 2011. Filed under Campus Comment, Comment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry