N EWS Labour pledge £6,000 fee cap Faith Rider News reporter In an exclusive interview with UEA:TV, local Labour candidate Clive Lewis has confirmed that Labour will cap tuition fees at £6,000 if elected in May 2015. The party already intend to introduce a ‘graduate tax’ on the earnings of those who attend university, with shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna suggesting the system would be ‘fairer’ than tuition fees. The National Union of Students has proposed an extra tax of between 0.3% and 2.5% of graduate incomes above £15,000 for a period of 20 years, with the highest earners paying the highest rates. Labour is currently struggling to work out how to pay for the pledge it has already made to reduce university tuition fees by £3,000. The policy was announced in 2011, in an effort to win over disaffected Liberal Democrat voters angered by Nick Clegg’s reneging a pledge to
scrap fees, and signing up to Coalition plans to triple the maximum university tuition fees. This new £6,000 cap is expected to be included in Labour’s general election manifesto, but it is not yet clear how the party plans to pay for the reductions. The cut may be financed with a corporate tax increase on banks, or with higher interest rates for betteroff students. Labour may also restrict the cut in fees to certain types of courses such as technical degrees, with other students paying the current £9,000. Chuka Umunna said introducing a fullscale graduate tax “as soon as possible is my priority”. He believes: “In the medium term, a graduate tax is the way to go. It’s fairer, more progressive, and it’s the way to clear up the unsustainable financial mess that has been created by the current Government under their system”. The shadow business secretary has also stated “the reason it has taken some time to finalise our policy is because the ground has moved from us on this issue”.
Get your goat, UEA, you’ve polled Amy Rust News reporter The Union of UEA Studenst got creative for National Voter Registration day with a herd of goats taking centre stage in The Square. The ‘Goats for Votes’ drive encouraged students to register to vote in Norwich South for the upcoming general election. In exchange students were able to pet the goats, receive Goats for Votes merchandise and try some award winning local goat’s cheese. Union officers and staff were also on hand to help students register online using iPads or
find out more information about their election choices. The goats were courtesy of Sam Stiggles, owner of Fielding Cottage, located just outside Norwich. Student turnout in the 2010 general election was 64% in Norwich South, however nationally only 44% of those aged 18-24 voted. The event was highly popular with crowds taking pictures with goats throughout the day. The drive is seen as particularly important for Norwich South due to the constitunecy being a marginal seat. Fewer than 300 votes would be enough to see the current Norwich South MP, Simon Wright lose his seat to another candidate.
Full results of Concrete’s first ever Union Council survey Page 5
Council plan bus and cycle improvements Susie Smith News reporter Norfolk County Council are to spend £4m on cycle and bus routes between UEA and the city centre as part of on of the government’s “growth deals”. The money awarded to the eastern region is part of wider plans to make Norfolk and Suffolk an “economic powerhouse”. The plans will create better ‘green’ access to the university and include quicker journeys to the city centre and “a bus interchange at the university site is a possibility” a Norfolk County Council spokesperson said. Public transport and cycle ways are largely used by students and better access to the city will not only benefit students on campus but possible additional routes could increase access around student housing in the city. A university spokesperson said: “We welcome the news the government has recognised the need to invest in sustainable travel in Norfolk and in particular the Norwich Research Park. The university meets regularly with Norfolk County Council, public transport operators and others who can deliver sustainable travel solutions, and this forum has already highlighted a number of areas for improvement. “We intend to continue to work closely with Norfolk County Council to ensure the funding benefits staff, students and visitors to UEA and the wider Research Park”. Simon Wright, the MP for Norwich South, said he was thrilled at the investment: “I’m delighted to see these plans get the go-ahead. They represent a huge recognition by the Coalition Government of the high value of Norwich’s future”. He added “East Anglia is finally getting the recognition it merits as a driver of growth”.
Greens’ election campaign launched Greens hint at scrap Dan Falvey News editor On Thursday 29th January, Norwich South candidate, Lesley Grahame, official launched her general election campaign at the Forum in the city centre. Grahame is a current Norwich City councillor for the Thorpe Hamlet ward and will be fighting to become the second Green MP to be elected to the House of Commons, following Caroline Lucas’ election victory in Brighton at the last general election. Speaking at the launch Grahame said: “We live in one fine city with a tale of two visions. There’s Green and there’s other. Politics as usual is a financial and ecological hole which the big four parties seem determined to dig deeper. The ‘business as usual parties’ have a single issue and that single issue is any kind of growth at any cost to anyone and of course the planet”. She went on to say: “The alternative is an evidence based, evidence seeking Green
ANALYSIS Megan Baynes analyses the Green’s launch.
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ith less than 100 days until the UK flocks to the polls, the major parties have been battling it out for much of the last year. Last Thursday, the Green Party joined the fray. This seems
vision… It’s about aspiring to be a better society. Green values are those of caring, equality, internationalism and fairness. Those principles guide everything we do and we have the policies to make them real”. Leader of the Green Party, Natalie Bennett, also spoke at the launch. Giving the local candidate her full support, Bennett said: “We [are lucky enough to] have the force that is Lesley Grahame who has a real history and a track record. She is a person who people know they can look at and say ‘that is a real person who can represent me’”. While the event was well attended by members of Norwich Greens and the local press, UEA Young Greens did not make an appearance at the event. UEA Young Greens committee member, Josh Wilson said the absence of the society was down to timing issues: “The UEA Young Greens were of course invited to the campaign launch, like all local party members. However, we did not have a chance to organise to go as a group due to other pressures on the time of the committee such as the visit by Natalie Bennett”.
remarkably late for a party that is competing for one of the UK’s most precarious swing seats. With the seat held in the balance by just 0.7%, and the Greens narrowly winning the most votes in Norwich South during the local elections, it seems almost an afterthought for a party that repeatedly claims they are a force to be reckoned with. The lack of students present from the
of £9,000 student debt Dan Falvey News editor The Green Party is a prominent supporter of free higher education and when speaking to Concrete last week, the Green Party leader, Natalie Bennett, suggested that they will announce policies which help students currently at university paying up to £9000 tuition fees: “We will be launching our manifesto in late March and it will have full details of this but it would be utterly unreasonable to have a small group who were unlucky enough to be born in the wrong year [pay £9,000 tuition fees] whereas those born in the next year are in a different situation. I think the best answer for now is to say watch this space”. She insisted that there would be no ‘lost generation’ if her party was in power claiming that it was something she would “not allow to happen”.
UEA Young Greens is also intriguing. It feels suspicious that, in a student-dominated constituency, Norwich Green Party lacks the charisma to inspire their own student representatives into attendance. Personalities aside, the disorganised, last-minute nature of their campaign doesn’t come across well to voters, and could seriously damage the Greens prospects.
Union news round-up Proposal to rename student union’s Ethnic Minorities Officer At this week’s meeting of the Union of UEA Students (UUEAS) Union Council, on 12th February, incumbent Ethnic Minorities Officer Freddie Redfern will propose a motion to change the name of his position to “Black Students Officer”, in line with the pattern followed by the National Union of Students. The motion, proposed jointly with Campaigns & Democracy Officer Chris Jarvis, argues that “The term ‘Black’ is political, with its origins in the anti-racist and civil rights movements… Anyone considered ‘Black’ is from African, Asian, Arab or Caribbean heritage”. It adds: “the term, whilst acknowledging the immense diversity of Black communities, recognises the common oppression that seeks to hold back the advancement of people of African, Asian, Arab and Caribbean heritage….The term ‘Black’ should be used to empower our members in society”.
Boycott of Starbucks and Tate & Lyle products proposed Following on from a 2013 policy that prevented the Union from hosting or advertising firms that engage in tax avoidance, PSI 2nd Year rep Sam Jones is proposing a Union Council motion to boycott Starbucks and Tate & Lyle products. The motion, which will be proposed jointly with Liberal Democrat rep Yan Malinowski at the 12th February meeting of Council, argues that Starbucks and Tate & Lyle Sugar Group avoid tax in the UK, and that: “tax avoidance is immoral as it deprives the state of democratically set revenue that could be used to fund higher education, the National Health Service, emergency services and other public services”. If the motion is passed, all Starbucks and Tate & Lyle products – including prepackaged Starbucks iced coffee drinks, Tate & Lyle Granulated Sugar, Tate and Lyle Icing Sugar and Tate & Lyle Demerara Sugar – will be removed from the student union shop.
Proposal made to boycott Daily Star as well as The Sun Nightline rep Asia Patel, together with Campaigns & Democracy Officer Chris Jarvis, will urge Union Council at its 12th February meeting to uphold the 2013 boycott of The Sun and add The Daily Star to the boycott as well. Arguing that “the Daily Star is as problematic as the Sun and should be treated the same”, their motion notes that both newspapers publish “daily photos of topless young women” and argue that both “post controversial headlines perpetuating the oppression of mentally ill, disabled, and LGBT+ people, and ethnic minorities”. They add: “Stocking The Sun and The Daily Star is contrary to UUEAS aims of upholding values of equality for all, and of zero tolerance of sexual harassment and sexual assault in conjunction with the currently occurring campaigns”. Union Council is the representative body of the UUEAS. It decides policy for the union, elects members of union and university committees, holds union officers to account and raises issues of concern to students.