NUS President visits Sheffield to speak on structural reform

Wes Streeting, President of the National Union of Students (NUS), has been speaking in Sheffield about reforming the organisation.

The NUS Extraordinary Conference is taking place on Wednesday, November 12, in Wolverhampton in an attempt to pass a set of reforms which would dramatically change the structures of the NUS.

The changes were agreed at a similar conference last year but failed to pass at the NUS annual conference.

Streeting, elected as NUS President earlier this year, was optimistic about the reforms being voted through.

"I think there are a lot of people out there who voted no last year who’ve been saying to me that the reforms look much better," he said.

Streeting spoke to Sheffield’s delegation to the conference to encourage them to vote for the changes, which he said were set to "drag NUS kicking and screaming into the 21st century".

The changes include the addition of a trustee board, a proposal that has been met with opposition from some within the student movement.

Streeting emphasised how the reforms have changed to allow for greater scrutiny of the board, which would probably include external experts on financial matters.

He said: "We’ve introduced a whole number of checks and balances: the power of the NEC (National Executive Committee) to refer issues back to the board but also the power to sack the board individually or collectively if they step out of line."

But he added: "There’s definitely a rump of people who I think will never be happy whatever we do.

"I think a lot of them, if they are honest, though they obviously won’t be, have a lot of vested interest in the current structures."

Many of the Sheffield delegation, elected last month, are opposed to the changes being supported by Streeting, who remains keen to change their minds.

He said: "I want to dispel any myths about the reform proposals, make sure that people properly understand them but also make sure people realise just how high the stakes are for this reform process."

Streeting also recalled the role Sheffield played in campaigning for the proposals to change the NUS. Many of last year’s sabbatical officers were vocal supporters of reforming the organisation.

"I think it would be a strange about-turn on the part of Sheffield if they were to vote against," he added.

The NUS President spoke opposite Daniel Randall, a Sheffield student and former member of the NEC of the NUS, at the talk in The Source.

Union President Dave Hurst said that the officers shouldn’t be forced into a decision.

He said: "They are expected, whether for or against the reforms, to fulfil their manifesto.

"It’s a different constitution from last year. [The officers] have a duty to fulfil what they said [when running for election]."

He added that talks such as this were important and that reforms should continue to be discussed.

Kyle Christie