Apathetic Excuse for An Election
UCLU’s Autumn Elections – for part-time halls and faculty representa- tives, the union’s delegation to the NUS conference and student mem- bers of the all powerful UCLU Trus- tee Board – have traditionally been, well, a bit shit. Despite enthusiastic publicity drives in recent years, spear- headed by the likes of former Democ- racy and Communications Officer Hannah Sketchley, turnout usually hovers around 5%.
Regardless of the student body’s basic disinterest in what goes on at 25 Gordon Street beyond paninis and pitchers of snakebite, their apathy was never for want of effort on the part of keeno union hacks. So how to solve the many problems of student democ- racy? Well, if you ask this year’s co- hort of sabbs, the answer would most likely involve not telling anyone about the democracy bit at all.
Turn Out For What?
When compared to last year’s packed programme of workshops for the weird few considering a shot at elected office (see CG 45), public- ity for this year’s Autumn Elections was virtually non-existent – beyond, that is, token mentions in the Union’s weekly email, which internal sources have revealed is now written almost entirely by a paid staffer, and not the sabbatical officers whose wisdom it purports to trumpet. The almost se- cretive conduct of the elections was borne out by their results: 16 halls of residence are now without representa- tives, and turnout for the student trus- tee elections – last year a precursor to the clubs and societies-led struggle to smash up the calcified bureaucracy of the union – nosedived from 1053 to 326.
Unfashionably Late
There were, however, no shortage of candidates – though those brave, foolhardy or bored enough to turn up to the almost facetiously-titled Elec- tion Results Party in the Quad mar- quee were well within their rights to think otherwise. Slated to begin at 6pm, confused attendees – among their number the election’s returning officer – were kept waiting for forty minutes before members of the sab- batical team including Asad Khan and Mohammad Ali belatedly turned up with friends in tow, eating takea- ways. Results were then announced in a bizarre, piecemeal fashion, with no mention of overall turnout or detailed breakdown beyond who won.
Left For Dead
What was clear, however, was that the once unstoppable UCL left, hav- ing lost many of its biggest beasts to the ravages of time, is now a shadow of its former self as far as electoral suc- cess is concerned. Its candidates were routed: even infinitely likeable IOE Bar quizmaster Omar Raii, fresh from his stint as External Affairs and Cam- paigns Officer, failed to win a spot as NUS delegate – something that would have been a veritable shoo-in in previous years. Indeed, the lefties were nowhere to be seen among the ready salted crisps, chilli rice cakes and was- abi peanuts of the results party. Many were privately furious at the lack of publicity, with one insider suggesting this was a deliberate ploy to ensure the union’s structures were filled with pli- ant allies of some of the current class of sabbs – many of whom were elected by landslides amid allegations of vote- rigging (see CG 48).
Answer Me This
Alas, some things never change. As has been the case since Malcolm Grant was still provost, a brilliant year of democracy inaction began with an inquorate general assembly (see CGs passim), which – as these things have always done – ended up with professional nusiance and former postgrad officer Ben Towse tak- ing Michael Arthur, who bizzarely appeared out of character as part of a Q&A, to task over pet causes from his well-thumbed outrage playbook, including tuition fees and living costs. No doubt the Provost finds some of the current sabb cohort’s seeming aversion to student democracy very promising indeed.