A question I have been asked a number of times over the last two months is why I wasn't running for EUSA Sabbatical. I want to put these comments on the record, because I feel it is something I should do.
Running for Sabb is a hard job. It isn't something you do lightly, and it isn't something you do if you aren't 100% in the right frame of mind to do. When I discussed who was running for what this year with a number of people, the names that kept coming up for President & VPS (the only two positions I have ever considered running for amongst the Sabbs), were those who I believed were strong candidates, and candidates who came with a substantial backing from certain areas. EUSA is becoming a harder place for the non-aligned, and independent candidates to mount a successful and viable campaign.
Having run for President last year, I believed I could run again if I wanted to - I had a manifesto framework designed, and I had ideas on what I wanted. However, I lacked two things: I didn't have a team of people behind me - unlike people like Josh, Adam, Tom and Stuart; more crucially, I didn't have the mental fight to go 12 rounds with any of them. I would have loved to be EUSA President or VPS - over the years I have been involved with EUSA, I have stood on many of the things that my 2006 Presidential campaign were based - and I believe that these are at the heart of what makes a Students' Association.
Students aren't interested in party politics - people got really aggrieved and annoyed when EUSA decided it would try and "be clever" by taking a stance in the Rectorial elections. People get turned off by the constant political infighting, and people don't even know that the elections are happening. It takes wide scale change for people to be more interested, and with turn out breaking 20% this year, it is a start. It is a choice I made to sit this battle out - I believe I have given everything I can to EUSA and given the opportunities to people to vote for me and vote for what I believe in. People have - on a regular basis - decided against voting for me: for a number of reasons. It is something I obviously wish they didn't do, but that is democracy.
Having fought the fight, having got involved and having decided that as a person I had done my upmost to improve student life in Edinburgh, I believed it was time for me to step aside, and move on to other things. Of course, it isn't an easy decision: leaving something that you have heavily been involved in for the better part of 4 years is something that can't be done lightly. But that is what I am doing.
I probably haven't explained this as best as I can, for which I apologise, but I hope this makes my views a little clearer.
Sunday 18 March 2007
Friday 9 March 2007
Looking Forward ...
Many people have asked me over the last few days for my thoughts, predictions and other ideas for the races that are going to happen in 12 months time. It's a hard one to really scope out.
Thinking back to twelve months ago, the money then was that I was would run again this year - against Josh & Adam - in a re-run of last year's External Convener battle. People suggested that Tom French & Steven Lauder would slug it out against Sara Bodle running for VPSA. No one would have mentioned Ben, Anna or Bruce for VPAA and Kwan was fairly unsure if he'd stand again. And Chris Arnold was as anti-EUSA as you could get, let alone thinking about a stab at VPS. Twelve months ago, so many varied names were being suggested from within those elected back then, that you might have put money against any of them.
To use the Grand National analogy a final time - predicting this far out, is like attempting to predict the runners in that race, without seeing what they do in between, knowing their form in the mean time, knowing their handicaps and their advantages.
In twelve months, EUSA could be a very different political animal, and the forthcoming year's Sabbs (those who have just been elected) could turn people on or off to EUSA depending on what they do.
Looking at it objectively, you can pick anyone on CoM or SRC Exec or in SRC and say "they will run because ..." and make your own reasons. People like Katherine Sellar, Nick Ward and Guy Bromley are inevitably going to be linked with standing next year. People who've just been elected for the first time may also be linked with a possible race next year. The issue is - as I say above - what will the next 8 months bring before people begin to make their minds up?
What about the people who aren't "EUSA people" currently? The likes of Will Searle, Chris Arnold and Chris Williams - people who before the beginning of February most people hadn't heard about, and most people would never have imagined standing.
What I want to see is a completely different thing (forgive the political sounding-ness of what follows). I want to see elections for Sabbaticals that are well challenged and where the electorate has a big cross-section of people to choose from. I want to see people from outside EUSA stand, and take part in elections. And I want to see new ideas in the election campaigns. Of course there are people I'd like to see stand and then go on to win, but this far out, I don't know if they will stand come next February.
Put simply - to predict now would be foolhardy, and the merits of it would be very questionable. Feel free to comment.
Thinking back to twelve months ago, the money then was that I was would run again this year - against Josh & Adam - in a re-run of last year's External Convener battle. People suggested that Tom French & Steven Lauder would slug it out against Sara Bodle running for VPSA. No one would have mentioned Ben, Anna or Bruce for VPAA and Kwan was fairly unsure if he'd stand again. And Chris Arnold was as anti-EUSA as you could get, let alone thinking about a stab at VPS. Twelve months ago, so many varied names were being suggested from within those elected back then, that you might have put money against any of them.
To use the Grand National analogy a final time - predicting this far out, is like attempting to predict the runners in that race, without seeing what they do in between, knowing their form in the mean time, knowing their handicaps and their advantages.
In twelve months, EUSA could be a very different political animal, and the forthcoming year's Sabbs (those who have just been elected) could turn people on or off to EUSA depending on what they do.
Looking at it objectively, you can pick anyone on CoM or SRC Exec or in SRC and say "they will run because ..." and make your own reasons. People like Katherine Sellar, Nick Ward and Guy Bromley are inevitably going to be linked with standing next year. People who've just been elected for the first time may also be linked with a possible race next year. The issue is - as I say above - what will the next 8 months bring before people begin to make their minds up?
What about the people who aren't "EUSA people" currently? The likes of Will Searle, Chris Arnold and Chris Williams - people who before the beginning of February most people hadn't heard about, and most people would never have imagined standing.
What I want to see is a completely different thing (forgive the political sounding-ness of what follows). I want to see elections for Sabbaticals that are well challenged and where the electorate has a big cross-section of people to choose from. I want to see people from outside EUSA stand, and take part in elections. And I want to see new ideas in the election campaigns. Of course there are people I'd like to see stand and then go on to win, but this far out, I don't know if they will stand come next February.
Put simply - to predict now would be foolhardy, and the merits of it would be very questionable. Feel free to comment.
Saturday 3 March 2007
Post Race Analysis - Overall
Well, what can be taken away from these elections? Is it about hard campaigning; cheating; being from one political faction or another? Or can nothing be taken away?
Well look at the break up.
The Sabbaticals are split, with two Labour members - one of whom (Josh) is in Labour Students, whereas the other (Tom) has made a pact with the Green Devil in return for his safe package to election. Anna also made an 'informal' alliance with the Greens, and Gordon is so close to be a Labour Club person, that he is one. So an even split, although crucially the President continues to be red, rather than green.
The SRC Exec is also taking a red tinge to it, with the 4 of the 6 non-Association Exec Members also being red, against the crucial votes of Emma's more neutral political viewpoints and Jonathan's right leaning political character. It will be interesting to see what policy decisions come out of this body that would await the SRC's approval.
The Unions are full of former Sabbs, and this seems to be the only part of the Ballot paper which the red Labour boys/girls did worse than the Greens, and I wonder how this interaction will work in reference to the new VPS.
The debate and discussions that will happen it might well surround the Sabbaticals itself - will Tom surivive a whole year? Will Josh be able to work with Tom for that long? Will something else come along? Difficult to say currenly - there are simply too many factors to be able to clearly say one over the other.
Well look at the break up.
The Sabbaticals are split, with two Labour members - one of whom (Josh) is in Labour Students, whereas the other (Tom) has made a pact with the Green Devil in return for his safe package to election. Anna also made an 'informal' alliance with the Greens, and Gordon is so close to be a Labour Club person, that he is one. So an even split, although crucially the President continues to be red, rather than green.
The SRC Exec is also taking a red tinge to it, with the 4 of the 6 non-Association Exec Members also being red, against the crucial votes of Emma's more neutral political viewpoints and Jonathan's right leaning political character. It will be interesting to see what policy decisions come out of this body that would await the SRC's approval.
The Unions are full of former Sabbs, and this seems to be the only part of the Ballot paper which the red Labour boys/girls did worse than the Greens, and I wonder how this interaction will work in reference to the new VPS.
The debate and discussions that will happen it might well surround the Sabbaticals itself - will Tom surivive a whole year? Will Josh be able to work with Tom for that long? Will something else come along? Difficult to say currenly - there are simply too many factors to be able to clearly say one over the other.
Post Race Analysis - CoM/Union Exec
The last part of the Analysis is in the Unions, sitting at the bottom of the ballot paper. With three distinct categories, there were three very interesting results.
In the Senior Member battle, Ben McNab took home the bacon, polling over half the votes in the first round, and winning by a clear majority. I'm sure that Ben will do a good job, but I am disappointed he got elected. Paul is a good friend of mine, so I would have loved to see him on the Committee, especially as he heavily uses the Unions, and was until the end of the last festival one of the senior staff in the Pleasance (the proper Pleasance, not Pleasance at Potterrow). Iain has been doing a damn good job for the previous three years and I think he too would have been a great continuance in the role.
What however annoys me the most - and why I gave Ben the lowest preference - is that he wants to "resign" at the end of each year to fight his seat again, in a John Major-esque put up and shut up. The point of the Senior Member is that they are there for three years to provide continuity and a guiding hand in a Committee which has its membership change annually. Ben's rather odd decision is jepoardising the stability of the committee, which isn't big, isn't smart and really isn't rather clever. Also by resigning each year (something he would have to do well before nominations open), would mean that Committee of Management would be short of a Senior Member for upto 3 of its 8 annual meetings.
Looking at the Union Executive, and again, it is full of the returners - not a single new person elected; although at least this year the members of UnionExec have a mandate, after the 3 being returned unopposed last year. Ellie Price's "upgrade" from 1st Year Union Exec member is to be congratulated, and gives the Green's a continued voice. Pete Harris makes his return from Canada - although I'm wondering if we can keep our Moose, and if that will keep him there (see his website for more info): he's not caused us any trouble this year, and I quite would like that to continue. James Wallace also makes a return for a 3rd Year on Union Exec - quite an impressive run of results, and something that rivals the Senior Members for continuity. However, with James possibly off to Texas for 2007-2008, will his stay be a short one to the end of May, with the seat coming available again in the October Elections. If so, expect it to be highly contested, and a chance for the losers to get in.
Commitee of Management was a much tighter election with the final two positions being elected at the death, in a battle that looked to go any way depending on who was dropping out. With Tom French "elected elsewhere" (and how many of those in the room wish he wasn't) and James Wallace elected above, the field was cut to 10. It was a surprise that the polling numbers came in as they did. Rosy's excellent performance in the first round is testament to a good clean campaign, a good facebook group, an excellent website - which related to what she was standing for (unlike Nick & Katherine) - and probably because she asked lots of people to vote for her for this position, rather than spending time asking them to vote for other people or vote for other positions: I'm guessing this is what happened to Katherine, Nick, Stewart, Stephen, Ondrej and Alasdair.
All suffered really quite badly, and peformed a lot worse than expected. Tim Goodwin was in the lead from the start, and to be honest that is what you expect from a Sabbatical, so Tim Gee polling lower numbers than Rosy is surprising - no doubt this is in part due to the Green vote being split between himself & Alasdair. Having a total of 3 Sabbaticals on the CoM will be tough next year, and having two former VPSs as well as the current one will also be interesting - especially as Pete & Tim Gee both "supported" Tom this year. It is therefore upto the rest of the Committee to ensure that he does not get away with blue murder or just putting things through. Of the 6 ordinary members who will make up the Committee until after the October elections, only Rosy is the complete new comer to EUSA politics, and Commitee of Management: best of luck, because it's going to be a tough year.
In the Senior Member battle, Ben McNab took home the bacon, polling over half the votes in the first round, and winning by a clear majority. I'm sure that Ben will do a good job, but I am disappointed he got elected. Paul is a good friend of mine, so I would have loved to see him on the Committee, especially as he heavily uses the Unions, and was until the end of the last festival one of the senior staff in the Pleasance (the proper Pleasance, not Pleasance at Potterrow). Iain has been doing a damn good job for the previous three years and I think he too would have been a great continuance in the role.
What however annoys me the most - and why I gave Ben the lowest preference - is that he wants to "resign" at the end of each year to fight his seat again, in a John Major-esque put up and shut up. The point of the Senior Member is that they are there for three years to provide continuity and a guiding hand in a Committee which has its membership change annually. Ben's rather odd decision is jepoardising the stability of the committee, which isn't big, isn't smart and really isn't rather clever. Also by resigning each year (something he would have to do well before nominations open), would mean that Committee of Management would be short of a Senior Member for upto 3 of its 8 annual meetings.
Looking at the Union Executive, and again, it is full of the returners - not a single new person elected; although at least this year the members of UnionExec have a mandate, after the 3 being returned unopposed last year. Ellie Price's "upgrade" from 1st Year Union Exec member is to be congratulated, and gives the Green's a continued voice. Pete Harris makes his return from Canada - although I'm wondering if we can keep our Moose, and if that will keep him there (see his website for more info): he's not caused us any trouble this year, and I quite would like that to continue. James Wallace also makes a return for a 3rd Year on Union Exec - quite an impressive run of results, and something that rivals the Senior Members for continuity. However, with James possibly off to Texas for 2007-2008, will his stay be a short one to the end of May, with the seat coming available again in the October Elections. If so, expect it to be highly contested, and a chance for the losers to get in.
Commitee of Management was a much tighter election with the final two positions being elected at the death, in a battle that looked to go any way depending on who was dropping out. With Tom French "elected elsewhere" (and how many of those in the room wish he wasn't) and James Wallace elected above, the field was cut to 10. It was a surprise that the polling numbers came in as they did. Rosy's excellent performance in the first round is testament to a good clean campaign, a good facebook group, an excellent website - which related to what she was standing for (unlike Nick & Katherine) - and probably because she asked lots of people to vote for her for this position, rather than spending time asking them to vote for other people or vote for other positions: I'm guessing this is what happened to Katherine, Nick, Stewart, Stephen, Ondrej and Alasdair.
All suffered really quite badly, and peformed a lot worse than expected. Tim Goodwin was in the lead from the start, and to be honest that is what you expect from a Sabbatical, so Tim Gee polling lower numbers than Rosy is surprising - no doubt this is in part due to the Green vote being split between himself & Alasdair. Having a total of 3 Sabbaticals on the CoM will be tough next year, and having two former VPSs as well as the current one will also be interesting - especially as Pete & Tim Gee both "supported" Tom this year. It is therefore upto the rest of the Committee to ensure that he does not get away with blue murder or just putting things through. Of the 6 ordinary members who will make up the Committee until after the October elections, only Rosy is the complete new comer to EUSA politics, and Commitee of Management: best of luck, because it's going to be a tough year.
Post Race Analysis - SRC
So, with the Exec/Officers covered, who else was elected to the SRC. And how could they affect the policy outcomes. With many more school reps & ordinary members the situation is slightly different, but I'll take a look at who might be shaping the decisions.
Looking across the schools, its great to see that all schools bar one have members filling seats, and are therefore represented - I hope that the October election see a top up with the remaining seats filled. In amongst the mix are a number of returning members, and it is good to see continued involvement - the likes of Adam Apostoli in ACE, Stephen McFadden in Chemistry, Stewart Martin in GeoSci, Ben P in History, Bruce Golding in Maths, Ondrej Nenadl in Physics to name some.
Equally pleasing is the number of new names in the school seats, many of whom stood on manifestos which obviously really engaged with students and got people in their respective schools to vote for them; people like Rosy Burgess in BioSci, Karen Apitzch in Management or Gabriel Arafa in PPLS (even if Gabriel has been on the fringes for a while).
Going onto the Ordinary Members, this is a bit of an old hacks convention. With Tim Goodwin, Tim Gee & Tash Shotton all making the cut in the first two rounds, and Pete Harris joining them after a 14 round slog (surely he should have done better?), this part of the ballot really doesn't have too much new. The first round however did bring the surprise of the massive total for Hannah Critchlow, who's only campaign credentials seem to be her green-ness. Also elected in this round was Adam Ramsay. On the night, I'm sure that this didn't seem like an important win, but this gives Adam the chance to put something back into the SRC, and to what extent he does, depends on how much he feels like re-involving himself, as I noted below. So after 5 candidates being elected in Rounds 1 & 2, it took 'til round 11 before another, and I'm sure Stephen Allinson's fairtrade stance no doubt won him a few votes along the way - as well as being top of the ballot paper; a similar sentiment can probably be attributed to Ellie Price's victory a couple of rounds later. Also joining Pete in the final round were George Thomas and Anne Clark.
So who are these "ordinary" people? Well - the majority seem to be Green or Labour, with only a couple of independents thrown in. Most are hack, and are heavily involved in EUSA. What it may mean is that the debates in SRC are going to be heavily polarised. It could also be highly "intelligent" debate. We'll wait and see.
Looking across the schools, its great to see that all schools bar one have members filling seats, and are therefore represented - I hope that the October election see a top up with the remaining seats filled. In amongst the mix are a number of returning members, and it is good to see continued involvement - the likes of Adam Apostoli in ACE, Stephen McFadden in Chemistry, Stewart Martin in GeoSci, Ben P in History, Bruce Golding in Maths, Ondrej Nenadl in Physics to name some.
Equally pleasing is the number of new names in the school seats, many of whom stood on manifestos which obviously really engaged with students and got people in their respective schools to vote for them; people like Rosy Burgess in BioSci, Karen Apitzch in Management or Gabriel Arafa in PPLS (even if Gabriel has been on the fringes for a while).
Going onto the Ordinary Members, this is a bit of an old hacks convention. With Tim Goodwin, Tim Gee & Tash Shotton all making the cut in the first two rounds, and Pete Harris joining them after a 14 round slog (surely he should have done better?), this part of the ballot really doesn't have too much new. The first round however did bring the surprise of the massive total for Hannah Critchlow, who's only campaign credentials seem to be her green-ness. Also elected in this round was Adam Ramsay. On the night, I'm sure that this didn't seem like an important win, but this gives Adam the chance to put something back into the SRC, and to what extent he does, depends on how much he feels like re-involving himself, as I noted below. So after 5 candidates being elected in Rounds 1 & 2, it took 'til round 11 before another, and I'm sure Stephen Allinson's fairtrade stance no doubt won him a few votes along the way - as well as being top of the ballot paper; a similar sentiment can probably be attributed to Ellie Price's victory a couple of rounds later. Also joining Pete in the final round were George Thomas and Anne Clark.
So who are these "ordinary" people? Well - the majority seem to be Green or Labour, with only a couple of independents thrown in. Most are hack, and are heavily involved in EUSA. What it may mean is that the debates in SRC are going to be heavily polarised. It could also be highly "intelligent" debate. We'll wait and see.
Post Race Analysis - SRC Exec/Officers
Having taken a look at the results from the top of ballot paper, tonight's results look elsewhere and take a look (albeit briefly at times) into what it might mean for the year ahead. First up is the top of the SRC - the Executive and the SRC Officers.
With three convenerships returned unopposed, we've had three candidates who we (as an electorate) don't really know what they stand about or stand for. Laura & Thomas are as red as they come, and I'd be surprised if they weren't actually card carrying members of the Labour Party. Laura's behaviour towards some of the other candidates in this elections means that I'm very sceptical of her, and what she might do. She's also a first year currently and I wonder how much influence she will be able to have over others as External Convener - I also wonder what her leadership skills are like. As I said before - if I wasn't a final year student, I'd have relished taking on Laura in battle for External Convener. Thomas, as I've already said, I'm not totally convinced has the character to do the job in hand. Jonathan's problem as PG Convener, is that currently he is a Committee of 1. But knowing Jonathan, I'm sure he'll make something of it.
That leaves us with three other elected members of the Exec.
First off, SRC Editor. In what could be the last person in the role, Guy Bromley took the election by some margin from Ross Cullen. Guy is, of course, a member of the Labour Club, which can't have done him any harm, but to be honest this won't have single handedly won him the election. My best guess, is that he had a website, whilst his opponent didn't, although Ross did have some interesting posters. Either way, Guy's in the job. The SRC Editor appears to do bugger all these days, and I'd be interested to see what Guy makes of the role - he can't be any worse in the job than the current incumbent. Guy has given us some results as Academic Services Convener, so maybe that will continue as SRC Editor.
Welfare Convener also went to a Labour Club man, but the race between Nick & Adam was more a microcosm of the election as a whole: Labour man against a man put up by the Greens. Well, it was close to that. Adam & Nick are apparently good mates, so maybe Adam'll contribute ideas to Nick, but either way this could be interesting. Nick has - in some circles - been described as a man who is just "a brain dead lump", which I feel is slightly harsh. I hope that Nick remembers that he has a whole University of students to represent and that welfare is a universal issue, not one based on any of the usual discriminants. However, what is interesting is that he has loyalty to both Tom & Josh: so is he really going to be independent on the Exec, or will he take orders from one, the other, or both?
Teaching & Learning Convener had originally 5 candidates, which dropped to 4 after Stewart Martin's withdrawn papers. Leaving 4 candidates, all of whom stood on similar issues, the decision for voters was always going to be a tough one. I was surprised Leah polled as few votes as she did - proving looks aren't everything, and proving I can be wrong; I do think her poor showing was down to her effectively withdrawing from competing in the race. Leaving three candidates, Emma's re-election posters no doubt didn't do anything but help her; although the last person to ask for re-election was Josh MacAlister in the External Convenor elections last year ... and he lost. As it was, Emma romped to victory, leaving Stephen & Ondrej in her wake. I expect Emma to do more of the same as this year - although hopefully a few more appearances at SRC won't go a miss.
That leaves the 6 non-Assoc Exec members of the SRC Exec, being a 4 Labour, 2 Independent split. More of which in a later post.
So the officers. Matt Mole was returned unopposed, and Schools & Induction Officer is a position I hope he really gets involved in.
Accommodation Officer saw a tight battle between Sam Hansford and Greta Dargie. I'm personally disappointed that Greta didn't get in: she's further along in her Uni career, and has clearly shown her involvement and wanting to get involved in the issues after her General Meeting Motion on Grant Management - something that took a lot of balls and hard work. Sam, it seems, is a P&P/Green leaning lackey, and has been elected after a very good leafleting campaign.
Community Officer saw a win Jude Harrison by some margin. As I said in earlier posts, I did not think it was right to re-elect Joe after doing bugger all this year. I honestly cannot think what impact he has had, and I hope that this fresh set of ideas will have some impact on the role. Jude's victory was a surprise in only so far as how large it had been. Again, this could be down to a good Facebook group, and his Labour party support. Either way, his manifesto did look good, and this may well have caused his win.
Finally, in this section, there is the Equal Ops Officer. Nahuel beat Kiril by a comfortable margin. I can't claim to know anything about either of these guys, but like Guy, this could be the last year for the position, so I wonder what they will do with the job. With Tom French in the VPS seat, he will no doubt push for reforms to the Liberation Groups, which Nahuel will be heavily involved with. Time will tell to see how far these reforms go.
With three convenerships returned unopposed, we've had three candidates who we (as an electorate) don't really know what they stand about or stand for. Laura & Thomas are as red as they come, and I'd be surprised if they weren't actually card carrying members of the Labour Party. Laura's behaviour towards some of the other candidates in this elections means that I'm very sceptical of her, and what she might do. She's also a first year currently and I wonder how much influence she will be able to have over others as External Convener - I also wonder what her leadership skills are like. As I said before - if I wasn't a final year student, I'd have relished taking on Laura in battle for External Convener. Thomas, as I've already said, I'm not totally convinced has the character to do the job in hand. Jonathan's problem as PG Convener, is that currently he is a Committee of 1. But knowing Jonathan, I'm sure he'll make something of it.
That leaves us with three other elected members of the Exec.
First off, SRC Editor. In what could be the last person in the role, Guy Bromley took the election by some margin from Ross Cullen. Guy is, of course, a member of the Labour Club, which can't have done him any harm, but to be honest this won't have single handedly won him the election. My best guess, is that he had a website, whilst his opponent didn't, although Ross did have some interesting posters. Either way, Guy's in the job. The SRC Editor appears to do bugger all these days, and I'd be interested to see what Guy makes of the role - he can't be any worse in the job than the current incumbent. Guy has given us some results as Academic Services Convener, so maybe that will continue as SRC Editor.
Welfare Convener also went to a Labour Club man, but the race between Nick & Adam was more a microcosm of the election as a whole: Labour man against a man put up by the Greens. Well, it was close to that. Adam & Nick are apparently good mates, so maybe Adam'll contribute ideas to Nick, but either way this could be interesting. Nick has - in some circles - been described as a man who is just "a brain dead lump", which I feel is slightly harsh. I hope that Nick remembers that he has a whole University of students to represent and that welfare is a universal issue, not one based on any of the usual discriminants. However, what is interesting is that he has loyalty to both Tom & Josh: so is he really going to be independent on the Exec, or will he take orders from one, the other, or both?
Teaching & Learning Convener had originally 5 candidates, which dropped to 4 after Stewart Martin's withdrawn papers. Leaving 4 candidates, all of whom stood on similar issues, the decision for voters was always going to be a tough one. I was surprised Leah polled as few votes as she did - proving looks aren't everything, and proving I can be wrong; I do think her poor showing was down to her effectively withdrawing from competing in the race. Leaving three candidates, Emma's re-election posters no doubt didn't do anything but help her; although the last person to ask for re-election was Josh MacAlister in the External Convenor elections last year ... and he lost. As it was, Emma romped to victory, leaving Stephen & Ondrej in her wake. I expect Emma to do more of the same as this year - although hopefully a few more appearances at SRC won't go a miss.
That leaves the 6 non-Assoc Exec members of the SRC Exec, being a 4 Labour, 2 Independent split. More of which in a later post.
So the officers. Matt Mole was returned unopposed, and Schools & Induction Officer is a position I hope he really gets involved in.
Accommodation Officer saw a tight battle between Sam Hansford and Greta Dargie. I'm personally disappointed that Greta didn't get in: she's further along in her Uni career, and has clearly shown her involvement and wanting to get involved in the issues after her General Meeting Motion on Grant Management - something that took a lot of balls and hard work. Sam, it seems, is a P&P/Green leaning lackey, and has been elected after a very good leafleting campaign.
Community Officer saw a win Jude Harrison by some margin. As I said in earlier posts, I did not think it was right to re-elect Joe after doing bugger all this year. I honestly cannot think what impact he has had, and I hope that this fresh set of ideas will have some impact on the role. Jude's victory was a surprise in only so far as how large it had been. Again, this could be down to a good Facebook group, and his Labour party support. Either way, his manifesto did look good, and this may well have caused his win.
Finally, in this section, there is the Equal Ops Officer. Nahuel beat Kiril by a comfortable margin. I can't claim to know anything about either of these guys, but like Guy, this could be the last year for the position, so I wonder what they will do with the job. With Tom French in the VPS seat, he will no doubt push for reforms to the Liberation Groups, which Nahuel will be heavily involved with. Time will tell to see how far these reforms go.
Friday 2 March 2007
Post Race Analysis - VPSA
Elections shouldn't take that long to announce, and so by the VPSA result, the crowd was thinning, and people were growing tired especially after two hard days of campaigning, not to mention the long battle beforehand. The reasoning must have been sound to leave it all the way to the last, but it was probably for a good reason.
Gordon's victory over Will was predicted in some quarters, and yet also a dissapointment to many. This was seen as the most likely race to result in a non-EUSA hack winning, but it wasn't to be, as Gordon took victory by a significant margin.
It's difficult to ascertain how good Gordon will be - his position within the Exec is crucial, and could be seen as powerbroker between Tom & Josh. Gordon's work will be hard, but he is cut from the same cloth as Tash, and I believe he has the makings of a good VPSA. His work throughout the last Freshers' Week involved a lot of varied things, and having seen first hand what he has done, I've been impressed.
For Will, he must take away the fact that he ran an excellent campaign, which brought a lot of people into the 'EUSA arena' and got them involved. It was refreshing to have a serious, open and honest candidate (and a KB kid) standing, who really made the elections a better place to be over the last four weeks. If he stands again, there'll be a tide of support for him.
Gordon's victory over Will was predicted in some quarters, and yet also a dissapointment to many. This was seen as the most likely race to result in a non-EUSA hack winning, but it wasn't to be, as Gordon took victory by a significant margin.
It's difficult to ascertain how good Gordon will be - his position within the Exec is crucial, and could be seen as powerbroker between Tom & Josh. Gordon's work will be hard, but he is cut from the same cloth as Tash, and I believe he has the makings of a good VPSA. His work throughout the last Freshers' Week involved a lot of varied things, and having seen first hand what he has done, I've been impressed.
For Will, he must take away the fact that he ran an excellent campaign, which brought a lot of people into the 'EUSA arena' and got them involved. It was refreshing to have a serious, open and honest candidate (and a KB kid) standing, who really made the elections a better place to be over the last four weeks. If he stands again, there'll be a tide of support for him.
Post Race Analysis - VPS
Quite frankly, where do I start on this one.
First off, I'm surprised it wasn't closer. I truly believed that this would go to a second round, and that second preference votes would come into play. Secondly, I didn't expect Tom to win as many votes as he did, nor Stuart to get as low a total he did - even Chris' extremely high vote total (higher than mine in last year's Presidential race) is excellent for a candidate who came into the race 4 days before nominations closed and created a manifesto, website and all the rest at such short notice, whereas Tom/Stuart were planning this assault for months.
However, what worries me is Tom himself. As one candidate put it to me last night, Tom is a case of "tick, tock, tick, tock - a bomb waiting to explode". Tom's performance on stage in his acceptance speech was diabolical, and made Tim Cobbett's comments almost look polite. To be honest, I didn't mind Tom's diatribe against me for the entirely reasonable actions I took to protect my intellectual property (as opposed to the ludicrous accusation that I was trying to divert democracy), and was quite touched to get such a large amount of appluase. What frustrated me (amongst other things) was the fact that he didn't even mention his opponents who had worked tirelessly to make the election something; that he made it clear that one Sabbatical had actively helped him in his campaign; that he suggested that Adam Ramsay was the "rightful winner", when the democratic vote (yes, the democracy that Tom is so fond of) had said otherwise; and also Tom's general behaviour on the night.
This is a man who is meant to be in charge of the Association's finances over the next year, and yet doesn't clearly know how to budget £95. His constant cheating and rule breaking frustrates me (as much as it frustrates me that the Returning Officer did nothing), and I am worried for the state of the Unions over the next year. I do hope that the Committee of Management/SRC manage Tom and keep him in line.
I worry also for the state of EUSA if Tom doesn't get his way - Tom has been seen to act like a spoilt three year old when he hasn't got his way before, and if he doesn't agree with things in the next few months, and during his time in Office, then heaven help EUSA. He has to learn how to get on with his colleagues on the Association Exec, and he will need to learn how to mend/build bridges and not destroy them. Last night's speech was the opening gambit to war, not the opening speech to a better EUSA.
Feel free to agree/disagree in the comments.
First off, I'm surprised it wasn't closer. I truly believed that this would go to a second round, and that second preference votes would come into play. Secondly, I didn't expect Tom to win as many votes as he did, nor Stuart to get as low a total he did - even Chris' extremely high vote total (higher than mine in last year's Presidential race) is excellent for a candidate who came into the race 4 days before nominations closed and created a manifesto, website and all the rest at such short notice, whereas Tom/Stuart were planning this assault for months.
However, what worries me is Tom himself. As one candidate put it to me last night, Tom is a case of "tick, tock, tick, tock - a bomb waiting to explode". Tom's performance on stage in his acceptance speech was diabolical, and made Tim Cobbett's comments almost look polite. To be honest, I didn't mind Tom's diatribe against me for the entirely reasonable actions I took to protect my intellectual property (as opposed to the ludicrous accusation that I was trying to divert democracy), and was quite touched to get such a large amount of appluase. What frustrated me (amongst other things) was the fact that he didn't even mention his opponents who had worked tirelessly to make the election something; that he made it clear that one Sabbatical had actively helped him in his campaign; that he suggested that Adam Ramsay was the "rightful winner", when the democratic vote (yes, the democracy that Tom is so fond of) had said otherwise; and also Tom's general behaviour on the night.
This is a man who is meant to be in charge of the Association's finances over the next year, and yet doesn't clearly know how to budget £95. His constant cheating and rule breaking frustrates me (as much as it frustrates me that the Returning Officer did nothing), and I am worried for the state of the Unions over the next year. I do hope that the Committee of Management/SRC manage Tom and keep him in line.
I worry also for the state of EUSA if Tom doesn't get his way - Tom has been seen to act like a spoilt three year old when he hasn't got his way before, and if he doesn't agree with things in the next few months, and during his time in Office, then heaven help EUSA. He has to learn how to get on with his colleagues on the Association Exec, and he will need to learn how to mend/build bridges and not destroy them. Last night's speech was the opening gambit to war, not the opening speech to a better EUSA.
Feel free to agree/disagree in the comments.
Post-Race Analysis - VPAA
It's hard to critique a race in which all four of the candidates were running and standing on nearly exactly the same issues. With the candidates all approaching the race with the same stand point, and the real lack of tension between them (come on, have you ever seen such a bunch of nice opponents), the only thing going for this race was the fact that four people were standing. That and perhaps the old/new Labour battle: Bruce is a senior Labour Club member, appearing in a party broadcast (as seen on YouTube) for the Labour Party, so it was perhaps a surprise that the majority of Labour Club members were on Ben's team ... or more crucially that Ben was on Josh's team, something I had seen when he went into a Josh campaign meeting on Tuesday night.
The fight itself played out like the Presidential race from last year, except that this time new Labour (Ben) didn't defeat Green (Anna). Anna's win obviously was a shining moment for the Green/P&P group (contrast Tim Gee's reaction with Anna, with that of Josh), and I'm not too surprised she won. As I said to her 4 weeks ago at the Politics Away Weekend, she was always going into this race as odds-on favourite, more so especially as the only female sabb candidate. She went for the Sabrina Russo Method: pretty picture on the posters, combined with a strong manifesto. I doubt it was all down to this, but in an election which didn't set the pulses racing, it's hard to tell.
It'll be an interesting year in the next SRC, with Bruce returned to Mathematics and Ben to History & Classics, it'll only be Kwan not at the SRC, which is a step down after 2 years of heavily committed time on many EUSA and Uni committees. I would like to see Kwan make a return - hopefully in the October elections as Physics Rep, and I am sure that Bruce & Ben will continue to do a damn good job in their respecitve schools.
The fight itself played out like the Presidential race from last year, except that this time new Labour (Ben) didn't defeat Green (Anna). Anna's win obviously was a shining moment for the Green/P&P group (contrast Tim Gee's reaction with Anna, with that of Josh), and I'm not too surprised she won. As I said to her 4 weeks ago at the Politics Away Weekend, she was always going into this race as odds-on favourite, more so especially as the only female sabb candidate. She went for the Sabrina Russo Method: pretty picture on the posters, combined with a strong manifesto. I doubt it was all down to this, but in an election which didn't set the pulses racing, it's hard to tell.
It'll be an interesting year in the next SRC, with Bruce returned to Mathematics and Ben to History & Classics, it'll only be Kwan not at the SRC, which is a step down after 2 years of heavily committed time on many EUSA and Uni committees. I would like to see Kwan make a return - hopefully in the October elections as Physics Rep, and I am sure that Bruce & Ben will continue to do a damn good job in their respecitve schools.
Post-Race Analysis - President
So as the dust begins to settle in the 2007 EUSA General Elections, the first (possibly of many, but lets see how it goes) part of the analysis into the race. This isn't going to be a Grand National style race re-run to see where the runners and riders fell, but more or a look at the results.
Josh's win over Adam was less of a surprise - simply because for many the race was too close to call throughout the contest, with the two neck and neck. The margin of victory though was a surprise - I wouldn't have expected a 600+ vote win, and would have thought that Chris Williams' transfers would have come into play. However, a turn out in excess of 4700 for the Presidential vote is unheard of, and that really would have affected the way that voters cast their vote (Josh won with nearly 900 more votes than Tim Goodwin did last year). I wonder what a couple more candidates would have done - especially if they were none EUSA hacks, who would have brought some more uninterested and normally non-participating students into the Elections. Josh also is the second Labour-based President, following Tim, and the question now has to be asked - are we in a Labour era, following the three P&P Presidents (Will Garton, Steve Cockburn, Ruth Cameron)?
Where does the win leave EUSA? Well I believe that Josh will have a postive effect on EUSA - his policies seem to have some sound backing behind them. He does need to ensure he represents all students, as I believe Tim Goodwin has done, and does not lead EUSA down a merry Party Political path like Ruth Cameron. Josh may well be a Labour student and be proud of it, but he will no doubt get a lot of stick from some of the defeated Green elements - anyone at the count last night will have been hard pushed not to notice Tim Gee's body language when congratulating Josh on stage: it could not have said "I don't like your win" any clearer or louder.
Josh will have a tough year ahead: he will be working with Mark Ballard as Rector - a man who has made it quite clear that he supported another candidate in these elections; and Josh will also have to deal with the fall out from the Holyrood Elections. If Labour retains power, I hope Josh uses the Political Capital he has for the benefit of students, rather than for himself. Josh also will have to deal with a couple of other factors that will spring up during the year, and I haven't even mentioned the VPS yet.
As for Adam - a year back in the backbenches, taking a step down from External Convenor. Adam has two options: he can continue his fight from regularly turning up to the SRC sub-committees, and push for the policy he can actively engage with; alternatively he can take a route take by many defeated Sabb candidates (Pat Hannon, Gill Dunn, Sara Bodle spring to mind), who get quickly bored of the SRC and don't engage. Adam also has the option to run again next year, if he feels it's the right thing to do - or will it be a different P&P candidate? The choice is his.
Josh's win over Adam was less of a surprise - simply because for many the race was too close to call throughout the contest, with the two neck and neck. The margin of victory though was a surprise - I wouldn't have expected a 600+ vote win, and would have thought that Chris Williams' transfers would have come into play. However, a turn out in excess of 4700 for the Presidential vote is unheard of, and that really would have affected the way that voters cast their vote (Josh won with nearly 900 more votes than Tim Goodwin did last year). I wonder what a couple more candidates would have done - especially if they were none EUSA hacks, who would have brought some more uninterested and normally non-participating students into the Elections. Josh also is the second Labour-based President, following Tim, and the question now has to be asked - are we in a Labour era, following the three P&P Presidents (Will Garton, Steve Cockburn, Ruth Cameron)?
Where does the win leave EUSA? Well I believe that Josh will have a postive effect on EUSA - his policies seem to have some sound backing behind them. He does need to ensure he represents all students, as I believe Tim Goodwin has done, and does not lead EUSA down a merry Party Political path like Ruth Cameron. Josh may well be a Labour student and be proud of it, but he will no doubt get a lot of stick from some of the defeated Green elements - anyone at the count last night will have been hard pushed not to notice Tim Gee's body language when congratulating Josh on stage: it could not have said "I don't like your win" any clearer or louder.
Josh will have a tough year ahead: he will be working with Mark Ballard as Rector - a man who has made it quite clear that he supported another candidate in these elections; and Josh will also have to deal with the fall out from the Holyrood Elections. If Labour retains power, I hope Josh uses the Political Capital he has for the benefit of students, rather than for himself. Josh also will have to deal with a couple of other factors that will spring up during the year, and I haven't even mentioned the VPS yet.
As for Adam - a year back in the backbenches, taking a step down from External Convenor. Adam has two options: he can continue his fight from regularly turning up to the SRC sub-committees, and push for the policy he can actively engage with; alternatively he can take a route take by many defeated Sabb candidates (Pat Hannon, Gill Dunn, Sara Bodle spring to mind), who get quickly bored of the SRC and don't engage. Adam also has the option to run again next year, if he feels it's the right thing to do - or will it be a different P&P candidate? The choice is his.
Live Results - VPSA
This is it. Final one.
So after 6 schools, Gordon leads Will 162-110
So after 9 schools, Gordon leads Will 244-156
So after 12 schools, Gordon leads Will 649-389
With Tash racing along, its hard to keep track ...
With 6 schools left, Gordon leads Will 1074-678
With 5 schools left, Gordon leads Will 1233-760
With 4 schools left, Gordon leads Will 1393-844
With 3 schools left, Gordon leads Will 1442-881
With 2 schools left, Gordon leads Will 1558-966
With 1 schools left, Gordon leads Will 1633-1013
Therefore Gordon Aikman is elected the next EUSA VPSA - unsurprisingly his song is Flash Gordon by Queen.
His speech is very complimentary and although he fails to mention his opponent in it, it is a breath of fresh air after Tom's performance a couple of hours ago.
And that completes the results section of this blog. Coming up in the morning will be a summary of the results, how I see the division of power and a number of other things.
So after 6 schools, Gordon leads Will 162-110
So after 9 schools, Gordon leads Will 244-156
So after 12 schools, Gordon leads Will 649-389
With Tash racing along, its hard to keep track ...
With 6 schools left, Gordon leads Will 1074-678
With 5 schools left, Gordon leads Will 1233-760
With 4 schools left, Gordon leads Will 1393-844
With 3 schools left, Gordon leads Will 1442-881
With 2 schools left, Gordon leads Will 1558-966
With 1 schools left, Gordon leads Will 1633-1013
Therefore Gordon Aikman is elected the next EUSA VPSA - unsurprisingly his song is Flash Gordon by Queen.
His speech is very complimentary and although he fails to mention his opponent in it, it is a breath of fresh air after Tom's performance a couple of hours ago.
And that completes the results section of this blog. Coming up in the morning will be a summary of the results, how I see the division of power and a number of other things.
Live Results - SRC Ordinary
The SRC Ordinary Results are ongoing - they have been for a while.
So far, the three returning Sabbs have been returned - Tash, Tim & Tim, alongside defeated Presidential Candidate, Adam Ramsay and Hannah Crichlow.
We are currently redistributing votes in the middle order with people who haven't achieved quota. Its a slow business.
Joe Calvert has just lost his third election and as such does not have a seat on the SRC next year.
Stephen Allinson has now been elected. Nearly half of the votes he collected at this stage didn't have a further preference, so we are in for another long haul.
Ellie Price has now been elected - getting quota by 3, and with 3 places left. A rare victory for the Greens tonight.
Sarah Clarke, Pete Harris and George Thomas have all now been elected, thereby completing this stage of the proceedings.
Four returning Sabbs and a few other interesting people, basically.
Couple of school results follow - Management and something else.
So far, the three returning Sabbs have been returned - Tash, Tim & Tim, alongside defeated Presidential Candidate, Adam Ramsay and Hannah Crichlow.
We are currently redistributing votes in the middle order with people who haven't achieved quota. Its a slow business.
Joe Calvert has just lost his third election and as such does not have a seat on the SRC next year.
Stephen Allinson has now been elected. Nearly half of the votes he collected at this stage didn't have a further preference, so we are in for another long haul.
Ellie Price has now been elected - getting quota by 3, and with 3 places left. A rare victory for the Greens tonight.
Sarah Clarke, Pete Harris and George Thomas have all now been elected, thereby completing this stage of the proceedings.
Four returning Sabbs and a few other interesting people, basically.
Couple of school results follow - Management and something else.
Live Results - CoM and Finance
So, whilst the Tom French debacle rumbles on in the debating hall, more results have been announced.
Union Exec sees the return of James Wallace (maybe he will put some sense in to Mr French), Ellie Price gets upgraded from 1st Year Rep to full member and also Pete Harris in his return appearance from Canada.
Next up are the "junior" positions on Finance for full time students. Winning this are Guy Bromely on a massive first preference lead, followed by Monisha and completing the trio is Jonathan Hogg who had a massive battle with Ondrej Nenadl, with the 3rd position swapping between them.
And then comes Committee of Management. Winning here, with the largest first preference vote is Tim Goodwin, followed by Rosy Burgess and then Tim Gee - although the process was quite slow with a small amount of transfers each time. I'm thrilled Rosy is on CoM, and I know that as Bar Staff she'll make a great impact.
Still to come SRC Ordinary and VPSA.
Union Exec sees the return of James Wallace (maybe he will put some sense in to Mr French), Ellie Price gets upgraded from 1st Year Rep to full member and also Pete Harris in his return appearance from Canada.
Next up are the "junior" positions on Finance for full time students. Winning this are Guy Bromely on a massive first preference lead, followed by Monisha and completing the trio is Jonathan Hogg who had a massive battle with Ondrej Nenadl, with the 3rd position swapping between them.
And then comes Committee of Management. Winning here, with the largest first preference vote is Tim Goodwin, followed by Rosy Burgess and then Tim Gee - although the process was quite slow with a small amount of transfers each time. I'm thrilled Rosy is on CoM, and I know that as Bar Staff she'll make a great impact.
Still to come SRC Ordinary and VPSA.
Thursday 1 March 2007
Live Results - VPS
The election has been one of the dirtiest on record, and now comes the fun - the election of the VPS.
So after 3 schools, Stuart leads Tom then Chris 140-79-46
So after 6 schools, Tom leads Stuart then Chris 188-183-82
So after 9 schools, Tom leads Stuart 333-251
So after 12 schools, Tom leads Stuart 696-416
So after 15 schools, Tom leads Stuart 939-531
With 5 schools remaining, Tom leads Stuart 1303-770
With 4 schools remaining, Tom leads Stuart 1370-809
With 3 schools remaining, Tom leads Stuart 1442-842
After Round 1, Chris - 739; Tom French - 1777; Stuart - 995
Tom French elected as the next EUSA VPS. His song is Chumbawamba's classic hit about getting knocked down ....
The nightmare scenario - Tom French & Josh MacAllister elected.
A very interesting and very long speech, in which I, Adam Ramsay and half the P&P people got thanked. He even suggests that Adam Ramsay should be the next President, which is booed out. He thanks Anna Davidson for winning "for being the right person to do the job". To a chorus of boos and slow hand claps he refuses to leave the stage.
A Tim Cobbett-esque speech. EUSA should be warned. The Unions should be worried. Oh dear.
So after 3 schools, Stuart leads Tom then Chris 140-79-46
So after 6 schools, Tom leads Stuart then Chris 188-183-82
So after 9 schools, Tom leads Stuart 333-251
So after 12 schools, Tom leads Stuart 696-416
So after 15 schools, Tom leads Stuart 939-531
With 5 schools remaining, Tom leads Stuart 1303-770
With 4 schools remaining, Tom leads Stuart 1370-809
With 3 schools remaining, Tom leads Stuart 1442-842
After Round 1, Chris - 739; Tom French - 1777; Stuart - 995
Tom French elected as the next EUSA VPS. His song is Chumbawamba's classic hit about getting knocked down ....
The nightmare scenario - Tom French & Josh MacAllister elected.
A very interesting and very long speech, in which I, Adam Ramsay and half the P&P people got thanked. He even suggests that Adam Ramsay should be the next President, which is booed out. He thanks Anna Davidson for winning "for being the right person to do the job". To a chorus of boos and slow hand claps he refuses to leave the stage.
A Tim Cobbett-esque speech. EUSA should be warned. The Unions should be worried. Oh dear.
LIve Results - SRC
A few school reps have been announced including Ben & Camilla in History, and Rosy & Naomi in BioSci - I've got to say how pleased I am that Rosy has been elected!
Coming up - VPS
Coming up - VPS
Live Results - VPAA
Now the VPAA results,
After 3 Schools, Anna is leading Kwan, 25-15
After Law & Medicine (5 Schools), Anna is leading Ben 169-144
After 9 Schools (inc Vet & Politics), Anna is leading Ben 353-239
After 12 Schools, Anna is leading Ben 493-325
After 15 Schools (inc BioSci), Anna is leading Ben 726-473
After 18 Schools (inc GeoSci), Anna is leading Ben 938-647
With 4 remaining, Anna is leading Ben 1275-854
At the end of Round 1, Kwan - 715; Anna - 1359; Bruce - 401; Ben - 941
At the end of Round 2, Kwan - 767; Anna - 1467; Ben - 1049
At the end of Round 3, Anna - 1771; Ben - 1239
Anna Davidson is the next EUSA VPAA
Congrats to Anna - no idea what her song was!
After 3 Schools, Anna is leading Kwan, 25-15
After Law & Medicine (5 Schools), Anna is leading Ben 169-144
After 9 Schools (inc Vet & Politics), Anna is leading Ben 353-239
After 12 Schools, Anna is leading Ben 493-325
After 15 Schools (inc BioSci), Anna is leading Ben 726-473
After 18 Schools (inc GeoSci), Anna is leading Ben 938-647
With 4 remaining, Anna is leading Ben 1275-854
At the end of Round 1, Kwan - 715; Anna - 1359; Bruce - 401; Ben - 941
At the end of Round 2, Kwan - 767; Anna - 1467; Ben - 1049
At the end of Round 3, Anna - 1771; Ben - 1239
Anna Davidson is the next EUSA VPAA
Congrats to Anna - no idea what her song was!
Live Results - SRC Officers
After the Debates Committee, the SRC Officers.
First up, Accommodation Officer, where Greta Dargie (of Grant Management GM Motion) narrowly lost to Sam Hansford. Greens win this from the independent.
Next up, Community Officer, where Jude Harrison takes over from Joe Calvert, who lost in the first round. Labour win over the Greens here.
Final Officer, is the Equal Ops Officer, and that goes to Nahuel over Kiril, both after spirited campaigns. One for the Greens.
VPAA now coming up.
First up, Accommodation Officer, where Greta Dargie (of Grant Management GM Motion) narrowly lost to Sam Hansford. Greens win this from the independent.
Next up, Community Officer, where Jude Harrison takes over from Joe Calvert, who lost in the first round. Labour win over the Greens here.
Final Officer, is the Equal Ops Officer, and that goes to Nahuel over Kiril, both after spirited campaigns. One for the Greens.
VPAA now coming up.
Live Results - President
This is it the big one ...
after Bio Science, Josh is leading Adam 375-229 (3 Schools)
after Education, Josh is leading Adam 550-351 (6 Schools)
after Health & Wellbeing, Josh is leading Adam 891-580 (9 Schools)
after Infomatics, Josh is leading Adam 1162-181 - Chris Williams is on 197 (12 Schools)
after LLC, Josh is leading Adam 1571-1148 (14 Schools)
With 6 Schools remaining, Josh is leading 1598 to Adam's 1175
With 5 Schools remaining, Josh is leading 1696 to Adam's 1231
With 4 Schools remaining, Josh is leading 1807 to Adam's 1281
With 3 Schools remaining, Josh is leading 1943 to Adam's 1391
With 2 Schools remaining, Josh is leading 2291 to Adam's 1651
Josh MacAllister is the next EUSA PRESIDENT, winning 2471 votes to Adam's 1809 and Chris Williams's 470
Congratulations to Josh. His winning tune was D:Ream's Thing's can only get better as used in a certain election in 1997 by a certain red party. Glad that I had some hand in choosing that music!
after Bio Science, Josh is leading Adam 375-229 (3 Schools)
after Education, Josh is leading Adam 550-351 (6 Schools)
after Health & Wellbeing, Josh is leading Adam 891-580 (9 Schools)
after Infomatics, Josh is leading Adam 1162-181 - Chris Williams is on 197 (12 Schools)
after LLC, Josh is leading Adam 1571-1148 (14 Schools)
With 6 Schools remaining, Josh is leading 1598 to Adam's 1175
With 5 Schools remaining, Josh is leading 1696 to Adam's 1231
With 4 Schools remaining, Josh is leading 1807 to Adam's 1281
With 3 Schools remaining, Josh is leading 1943 to Adam's 1391
With 2 Schools remaining, Josh is leading 2291 to Adam's 1651
Josh MacAllister is the next EUSA PRESIDENT, winning 2471 votes to Adam's 1809 and Chris Williams's 470
Congratulations to Josh. His winning tune was D:Ream's Thing's can only get better as used in a certain election in 1997 by a certain red party. Glad that I had some hand in choosing that music!
Live Results - SRC Exec
Live blogging from the corner of the debating hall.
Turnout is up by some 62% according to Tim Goodwin, with 5442 people voting. First result was out at 2120, some 50 minutes later than originally scheduled.
First elected was Emma Chapman who won the T&L race over two rounds - I appear I was wrong, and Leah Volger didn't attract nearly as many votes as expected.
Next up was the hottly contested Welfare battle with Nick Ward romping home over Adam Knight. First blood to Labour.
SRC Editor next with Guy Bromley taking the win over Ross Cullen. Second Blood to Labour.
Ellie Price wins Societies Secretary. One for the greens.
Finance Senior Member has also been announced - Neil wins over Tim, in a battle much closer than anyone in the hall expected with 1015 votes playing 969.
And the big one is about to be announced. President coming up.
Turnout is up by some 62% according to Tim Goodwin, with 5442 people voting. First result was out at 2120, some 50 minutes later than originally scheduled.
First elected was Emma Chapman who won the T&L race over two rounds - I appear I was wrong, and Leah Volger didn't attract nearly as many votes as expected.
Next up was the hottly contested Welfare battle with Nick Ward romping home over Adam Knight. First blood to Labour.
SRC Editor next with Guy Bromley taking the win over Ross Cullen. Second Blood to Labour.
Ellie Price wins Societies Secretary. One for the greens.
Finance Senior Member has also been announced - Neil wins over Tim, in a battle much closer than anyone in the hall expected with 1015 votes playing 969.
And the big one is about to be announced. President coming up.
The Home Run ...
The final fences are gone, and all that is between the candidates and the 1900hrs voting shut down is the home run. Traditionally this is when nearly every candidate campaigning enters Pollock for one last try at getting votes out of the Freshers ... but it appears quite in Pollock thus far, and from speaking to the candidates earlier today, it appears most aren't going to come down to Pollock, citing the fact that many got a bad reception last night.
So with the clock running down, the runners and riders are approaching the finishing line - but let's not forget that in the Grand National, that last bit of the run in has been the undoing of many - anyone remember Devon Loch?
75 minutes to go ...
Edit (@1830hrs): I was wrong - the last minutes of the campaign brought out Anna, Stuart, Josh and of course this year's election couple - Adam & Tom. I suppose its ironic that having seen them start their campaigns together, they are ending it together.
So with the clock running down, the runners and riders are approaching the finishing line - but let's not forget that in the Grand National, that last bit of the run in has been the undoing of many - anyone remember Devon Loch?
75 minutes to go ...
Edit (@1830hrs): I was wrong - the last minutes of the campaign brought out Anna, Stuart, Josh and of course this year's election couple - Adam & Tom. I suppose its ironic that having seen them start their campaigns together, they are ending it together.
Who Wins? You Decide ...
Big Brother-esque, it might sound, and that's what it is. In under 24hrs a new EUSA President will have been announced, and EUSA will have a new team of elected representatives to take on the views of 25000+ students and Life/Associate Members.
The choices in the Sabbatical elections are quite stark: there are candidates at opposite ends of the spectrum; there are candidates selling their soul; there are "ordinary students". The question now is, what will people decide that they want. People have asked me to state on this blog who I think would be right for EUSA: I don't believe I should say - people can work it out from my posts above what I think about the candidates, and people who know me, know I have the bad touch when I sometimes publicly support candidates, so I won't do that here.
Democracy is a dangerous weapon - and the people have it.
As a footnote to the democracy point (and in the interests of accountability ...) those who know how NUS Delegates work will have noticed that two of the Presidential Candidates already have seats on the bus to Blackpool, and will have also noticed that the President-elect also gets a seat. As such, should either Josh or Adam win, their elected NUS Delegate seat would go to the next highest losing candidate on the NUS election list from last October ... which irony of ironies would be me. Funny how these things work.
The choices in the Sabbatical elections are quite stark: there are candidates at opposite ends of the spectrum; there are candidates selling their soul; there are "ordinary students". The question now is, what will people decide that they want. People have asked me to state on this blog who I think would be right for EUSA: I don't believe I should say - people can work it out from my posts above what I think about the candidates, and people who know me, know I have the bad touch when I sometimes publicly support candidates, so I won't do that here.
Democracy is a dangerous weapon - and the people have it.
As a footnote to the democracy point (and in the interests of accountability ...) those who know how NUS Delegates work will have noticed that two of the Presidential Candidates already have seats on the bus to Blackpool, and will have also noticed that the President-elect also gets a seat. As such, should either Josh or Adam win, their elected NUS Delegate seat would go to the next highest losing candidate on the NUS election list from last October ... which irony of ironies would be me. Funny how these things work.
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