Radical reform and protest marked this year’s Extraordinary Conference of the National Union of Students’ (NUS) in Wolverhampton last week. 

Last Tuesday, as Barack Obama was being sworn into his new role as President of the United States, student politicians achieved a milestone of their own – voting to overhaul the way in which the NUS is run in what is being described as a ‘landmark’ vote for the UK’s student representative body.

The proposals had previously split the organisation, having been voted down at the NUS annual conference last year. They will see the current elected national executive committee replaced by a governing board, which will be advised by a senate of student representatives.

There will also be five policy ‘zones’ which will feed into the senate, holding their own conferences to identify areas of consensus and improve efficiency.

NUS President Wes Streeting said he was ‘ecstatic’ at the vote, stating that “the gravity of the decision taken today is without doubt the biggest shake up of NUS’ democracy and status in its history.

“The student population has changed dramatically in the past decade, but NUS has stood still. Today, that inertia comes to an end. It’s the most radical turn NUS has taken for a generation and one that will put students’ interests and students’ needs at the forefront of a dynamic, relevant and effective campaigning organisation.”

The changes will reduce the current influence of hard left and other minority groups who have campaigned heavily against the reforms.

In particular, before the vote concerns were raised by campaigners for black representation, who are worried that the reforms will reduce the influence black students will have in the new NUS structure.

Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence was drawn into the political row stating: “I am disappointed to hear that, as the 10th anniversary of the Lawrence inquiry approaches, the NUS is planning to roll back black students' representation.

“I was proud to support the creation of a black students’ officer in the NUS. The position is vital in ensuring the NUS properly represents black students, and challenges institutional racism.”

LGBT groups were also against the proposals arguing that an impact assessment should have been carried out before any vote took place.

However, Streeting labeled these arguments ‘cynical political ploys’ to block reform, pointing out that representatives of other minority groups such as feminist campaigners and disabled students supported the proposals.

The final count of the vote could not be completed because student members of the radical left group Respect stormed the stage to protest against NUS’s stance on the current crisis in Gaza.

They were protesting against NUS’s refusal to take any position other than calling for an immediate ceasefire in the region, and demonstrated these views by occupying the stage.

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