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Day: 27 September 2011

Labour, the Slightly-Less-Nasty-Party

Written by Gareth Lewis on . Posted in Opinion.

A right to education, regardless of ability to pay used to be a mantra of the Labour Party. This weekend Ed Miliband’s proposal of a £6,000 cap on fees left that tradition in tatters. It seems the student’s favourite for leader last year now not only has abandoned his graduate tax proposal, but in fact supports higher tuition fees.

Mr Miliband claims that the cap will make a university education more affordable than the current £9,000 ceiling and Labour have positioned the policy as ‘an alternative available to this government.” If Labour propose to simply double tuition fees rather than treble them, it is not clear what sort of an alternative this presents.

We have received no news yet on changes to rates of repayment. As such, we should be forced to assume that Mr Miliband’s proposal would operate under the same system as the forthcoming Coalition arrangement. Indeed, it will make no material difference for the thousands of students who will never pay back their full loan.

As the Universities Minister David Willetts has so rightly pointed out, Labour’s proposal will not change a thing for the lowest earning graduates. Those earning under £35,000 a year will not have repaid a substantial portion of their student debt by the time it is expunged in 30 years. It will in fact mean richer students are able to repay their debt faster. It’s not clear how Miliband intends to side with any majority, let alone the ‘decent majority’, if he seriously intends to put such an unfair proposal into action.

Why then have the Labour leadership championed this pale imitation of the existing Tory policy? It belies a wider policy change within the party. With Ed Balls’ apology for economic failings, the idea of denial has become dirty. Mr. Balls’ dogged line of “too far, too fast” is part of this. It appears Labour’s alternative is to be the Slightly-Less-Nasty-Party. What is more, a Tory lead in the most recent ComRes poll shows that the electorate doesn’t care for this approach.

Ed Miliband must recognise now that doing just a little less than the Tory government will not win the debate, or an election. If we are to expect a Labour party who won’t lead, who won’t set out a real challenge to Conservative policy, who refuse to bring their own ideas on how to confront the future, a bleak four years await us all.

Student arrested after ‘hate Clegg’ protest

Written by Katie Burgess on . Posted in News.

An officer at The Birmingham Guild of Students has been arrested after unfurling a banner during the Liberal Democrat party conference.

Edward Bauer, who holds the elected position of Vice President of Education, was charged with causing danger to road users while protesting against the Lib Dem conference in Birmingham last month.

Mr Bauer, 22, and two others scaled a bridge to hang a banner reading “Traitors not welcome – hate Clegg love NCAFC (National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts)”, causing debris to fall onto the road below.

The three men were held in custody, and over the weekend they faced magistrates and pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecution accepted that no damage or injury was caused during the incident and consequently the other two protesters were released on bail.

Mr Bauer was remanded in custody until a hearing last Monday, in which he was granted bail before his trial in late October.

This is, according to his Twitter account, Mr Bauer’s second arrest in the space of six months, and his position as Vice President of Education is under scrutiny.

The Guild of Students has been quick to distance itself from Mr Bauer’s actions. A spokesperson said, “This protest was not organised or endorsed by the University of Birmingham or its Guild of Students”. The guild’s constitution is apolitical.

The President of the Liberal Democrats Society at the University said that Mr Bauer’s actions “show his contempt for democracy and free association and bring the guild into disrepute”.

However, Alice Swift, a student who saw Mr Bauer’s protest said, “Students voted for Ed to have a voice in the debate surrounding the attack on our education. It would be a disgrace if University management were to sack an elected student representative”.

Charles Kennedy launches attack on Lib Dems

Written by Solomon Radley on . Posted in News.

Nick Clegg’s decisions in government are damaging the party’s image, the former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has said in a scathing film to be aired on the BBC.

In the five minute film Mr Kennedy outlines what he sees as the party’s key difficulties in government – their failure to prevent a rise in tuition fees, the AV referendum defeat, electoral decline in Scotland and England, David Laws’s resignation, Chris Huhne’s indiscretions and the UK riots

“In the words of the song ‘If I could turn back time’”, he says, “Well, in the Lib Dems we can’t. We’ve had twelve months of real grind in government and with it policy splits at the top, electoral setbacks – some of them very severe – the loss of the AV referendum, and more recently and disturbingly the riots on the streets.”

He fails to mention a single Liberal Democrat achievement in government, before concluding, “Although I take the view that former leaders should be seen occasionally and not heard too often, if I did have one wee word of advice for Nick Clegg, it would be this: at the moment there is a sense that we are trying to fight on too many fronts at the same time.”

The film suggests that the Liberal Democrats would have been better off now if they had not formed a coalition with the Conservatives and implies that Nick Clegg has made too many empty promises, which has damaged the party’s image.

Mr Kennedy failed to make an appearance at the Lib Dem party conference earlier this month despite being booked to attend a number of events. His aides cite a family illness as the reason for his non-attendance, but the film clearly shows his dissatisfaction with the party and with Nick Clegg.

Meanwhile at the conference last month, president of the Lib Dems, Tim Farron, attacked the Conservatives in his speech while remaining supportive of the current leadership.

Show Applications are now open and close Sunday 2nd at 11pm. Apply via our website www.fusefm.co.uk

Written by hattie pearson on . Posted in Societies.

Welcome week is over, lectures have begun and most importantly Fuse FM covered the week’s events by broadcasting live from The Student’s Union. On Sunday night we hit the “on air” switch and from 6pm we brought you all the latest from Battle of the Brands.  Club Academy was packed out and with some of Manchester’s finest DJs on the decks we can safely say the evening was a cracking way to begin our Welcome Week broadcast.

As this issue of The Mancunion went to print we were eagerly anticipating getting ourselves back on the airwaves after a long summer break. Head of Programming, Dean Webster had prepped the presenters. Head of Marketing, Clifford Fleming had a thousand clothes pegs in a carrier bag – don’t ask. Our Treasurer, Vicky Bond had our sponsorship forms in a pretty pink folder and our Station Manager, Dan Alani had already moved out of his house in Fallowfield and made the studio his new home.

We were out in full force at the Student Fair; interviewing societies, DJing live from the balcony and playing your requests. With Touchdown on Saturday and the arrival of the one and only Zane Lowe looming ever closer we were frantically planning how on earth we could persuade the world renowned DJ and radio superstar to put Radio 1 in the past and convince him to become a permanent fixture in the Fuse studios. I’ll let you know in next week’s issue how we got on with that one…

So with Welcome Week over Fuse FM has begun its eleventh year of producing student run radio and Student Media is living life to the full like never before. Communications Officer of the Student’s Union, Jeremy Buck explains why Student Media is a great way to make a difference to the University: “[It] gives students a voice and a platform. From pushing new student talent, to getting news stories that matter to students out onto campus and into the wider press arena. Student media puts some punch behind what students think, say and do!”

Buck continues: “For students that want to gain skills in journalism, studio tech, presenting or music, student media is the perfect place to do it, and you don’t need to worry about being given the grinding jobs like you would on an unpaid internship, as everything you do is student led and chosen by you!”

 

Meet The Committee – Dean Webster

Course and year: “Physiology, third year.”

 

Where are you from?: “Reading brappp!!”

 

Committee position: “Head of Programming.”

 

What does your role entail?:  “Scheduling the shows, doing a bit of training and making the station sounds lush.”

 

How can members get involved in your area?: “Drop me an email at [email protected] or if you see me say hi – I don’t bite (unless you’re Nandos chicken).”

 

What are you most looking forward to over the year being a part of Fuse?: “Being on air is always a good laugh and the Student Radio Conference, basically our annual road-trip, is probably the most fun ever!”

 

Most embarrassing Fuse moment: “The studio gets really hot, so I took my trousers off and did the show in my undies once, only to discover that there is a webcam. Whoops!”

 

Committee member with the worst habit: “Oh definitely me. I’m always late to meetings (sorry)! and when I turn up I don’t pay attention (sorryyyy)!”

 

What do you want to be when you grow up, don’t feel like you need to say something in radio: “Radio 1 DJ.”

 

Even for someone who isn’t thinking about a career in the media why would you recommend getting involved with Fuse: “There are lots of other things you can do with us, such as DJing, gig reviews, and more. Plus our socials are wild and you’d be joining the coolest cats in town.”

 

Favourite radio station (apart from Fuse): “Kiss 100.”

 

Name a radio show that you listen to every day and why it’s so amazing: “I have to say I absolutely love the Chris Moyles Show. He’s marmite, but I’d spread him all over my toast!”

 

Your earliest Fuse memory: “I swore on air.”

 

One top tip on being ‘good’ at radio: “Don’t swear.”

 

If you could interview anyone in the world who would it be: “Barack Obama.”

 

Favourite Manchester night out. Where is it and what is it?: “Full Moon at Sankeys every Thursday. Its all about the mad dash from the taxi, into the club, and up the stairs for the RnB and Hip Hop before it get to capacity. Every man for themself!”

 

A band we should all be keeping our eyes on at the moment: “One Direction (obvs).”

 

The first thing you put in your shopping basket when you go food shopping: “Sainsbury’s Basic Vodka (I’m a classy bird).”

 

Favourite place on campus to eat: “Potters Cafe.”

 

Favourite place on campus to sleep: “Every single lecture theatre.”

 

And finally, sum up Fuse in 3 words: “Better than sex.”

 

How to hear more

If you missed us at the Student Fair and on Monday’s info session get in touch – we’d love for you to get involved, it’s not too late!

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