The Politics Society

The views expressed in this article are the views of the author and not the views of the Politics Society.

Hi all, and thanks for taking the time to read my article! My name’s Rob Pinfold and I’m (as of about three weeks ago) The General Secretary of the University of Manchester Students’ Union. I’ve been invited by the Politics Society to lay out my positions on some issues as well as some of the (many!) things I want to achieve in my year of office.

My main aim for the year is to increase student participation and involvement in our union. I think it’s fair to say that, in the past, UMSU has done nowhere near enough to encourage member participation. We have a strong campaigning history, but those of us who are paid by students to work for students need to recognise the lack of particpation and clear democratic deficit in our union.

Part of the solution to low turnout in election is online voting which, for some reason, is seen as a rather controversial topic. I strongly believe that, to be relevant and accessible, unions must reach out to individuals. Online voting is part of the move to break from this outdated over-simplistic conception of accessbility and service provision.

Our current system is based on the provision that students who want to get involved will take the time to find the polling stations, read manifestos, queue and vote. This is outdated, inccessible and isolates the vast majority of students. Not everyone has the ability, will or time to devote a large chunk of his or her life to the union. This year’s executive has to accept this, and move to accommodate this silent majority without compromising our political, campaigning nature, or isolating those who are currently involved in union activity.

A large part of my time this year has to be devoted to the simple but effective goal of visibility, and engaging in dialogue with membership. During union elections, many students I talked to saw myself and fellow campaigners as no better than the politcians who you only see or hear about during election time. This has got to change. Sabbatical officers have to be visible and engaging, and we have to start communicating, via the Internet, posters and face-to-face engagement what our union is actually doing. Is this so much to ask? I believe such proactive engagement should be the first objective of any sabbatical officer. It’s up to our union to change itself with the times, whilst keeping to our traditional values of solidarity and a politicsed, active, strong student union.

That’s why we need online referendums for union policy, rather than unrealistically demanding our membership clear their diares for inaccesible, macho political environments that are better known as Union General Meetings. General Meetings are the domain of the hardcore political activist, not the average student. Our union structures, officers and activists needs to get out of their ivory towers; we are here for our students, not for a political career or an inquorate philosophical debating club that ends in intimidating and alienating behaviour becoming synonymous with UMSU.
In the past, our union has done great things. Pressuring the university to stop investing in unethical companies, securing home fees for asylum seekers and leading the fight against student debt. But all of these things are worthless if no one knows what our union is or what we’ve been up to. This is why union officers have to proactively seek the views of the memebership, and break out of the concept of the union as a concrete building on Oxford Road with a bar and a shop. We need to move to a model of a UMSU that serves, represents, and is easily accessible to its ordinary members, in Fallowfield, North Campus or in further-flung locations.
I have every confidence in this year’s executive to deliver this much-need change.
Comments are greatly appreciated, if you have any feedback please email me at generalsec@umsu.manchester.ac.uk, or even better come to my office!

All the best,

Rob Pinfold
UMSU General Secretary 2008-2009