Name:
Lee Bradshaw.
Year: 2
Course:
Politics – currently taking a sabbatical year as Campaigns Officer for the Student Union.
Position Running For:
President.
Why are you running for this position?
Because I feel the Union needs strong leadership, I think we are coming through a really tough year, in the next twelve months, and I think we need a strong leader to take us forward, things around the recession and the economy, there’s a higher education funding review about the fee levels, the cap on fees coming up in the next twelve months; just to keep building on the great work we started this year, as a team this year we’ve really done well.
I’m the only person that’s re standing out of the whole sabbatical team that we’ve got, I think it’s important to have a bit of continuity, hence why I’m running for President! I think it would be great to have a second year leading the team, and taking the team forward into the next academic year with all the stuff that’s coming ahead.
Experience and Skills?
I have the current, last year which has been a massive, massive help for me, Campaigns Officer this year, before that I was a part-time officer, been a faculty rep, a course rep for three years so, I know the Union, I know the University, I know senior staff, I’ve built those relationships. I’ve worked with regional Universities, I’ve worked with Liverpool Guild of Students, which is the SU in Liverpool, Manchester Met, Manchester University Student Union, on Campaigns such as ‘In the Red’ which is a campaign about student debt, the wall of debt and all the stuff we did in November which was really successful.
I have loads of contacts with the NUS, I was a regional observer to the National Executive Committee of NUS, so I’ve watched all the big important meetings, all year, so that’s given me loads of experience, I know what the local and national issues are that are going to be coming up in the next 12 months. I’ve also made contacts in all those organisations, so I can bring that in as well and that all adds to the experience.
Top 3 goals whilst in office?
The first one would be keeping up the good work we’ve done this year, I think that’s really important to state, it’s moving on with the momentum, make sure that momentum is carried on, we’ve had a really strong this year; focussed on campaigning, focussing on getting students involved. I think it’s really important that we carry on that work.
I found out which I found really bad, well disgusting actually, that not all the part-time and casual jobs in the University that can be done by students are sourced in The Bridge. All the ones in the Library, like all the part-time staff that can be done by students are sourced through The Bridge, which is the student job shop, yet none of the advancement jobs are sourced through us that students can do, so it’s bringing all those in, especially at a time of a recession, when industries that students work in, like retail and catering are going, jobs are going in those industries, the University needs to be supporting it’s student body to find work, to keep them at University, there’s such a big furore about getting students here, it needs to support them when it gets them here, by making sure they’re offered those kind of jobs, and all those jobs are sourced through The Bridge, so only students can go for them, and it keeps students employed so that they can carry on with their degrees, that’s also one of my big priorities in the next year, and make sure those jobs are transferred through The Bridge.
Finally, another big point is making sure that UCLan’s voice is heard when it comes to the funding review that is going to happen. There are institutions out there that want to raise the cap of fees, the Vice Chancellor of Oxford has said he wants to raise the cap to £8,000 a year, if that happens then they’re going to raise our fees to easily £6,000 a year. Now that won’t affect the current students as they are at the moment, the next generation of students, brothers, sisters, children of current students, are all going to be affected and before you know it, you have a two tier system, where only the super-rich can go to the elite institutions and it leaves everyone else going to institutions that have less money going to them, not that they aren’t good enough, but it creates a two-tier system, and it suddenly becomes going to university on your ability to pay rather than your your ability to learn or your ability to perform and I’m really against that, I think that’s an unfair system, and something we have to fight the government on.
Campaign plans?
The experience that I’ve got, that leadership, I think when you’re Campaigns Officer it’s about working with people and getting people to work together and gelling and taking that and making sure, and I think that’s what the President is there to do, is to bring all the experience in and take that forward and move that on. So I think that’s one of the key things I’m going to take forward. An actual physical campaign that I want to transfer to next year that I will be doing is the Voter Registration Campaign, it’s getting students acting, voting in not just union elections which is really important, but local, regional, and European elections as well. With the European elections happening this year, trying to do a big push on that, that’s in the planning processes, and with the General election having to happen next year I’d like to continue that process and take that forward. But I think it’s making sure I’m there as a guide as a second year sabbatical in leading the team into the next 12 months and making sure we really focus and keep going as well as we have; making sure we’re a campaigning focussed Union, rather than a really disjointed executive sabbatical team, I think that I will be the person to gel everything together and make everyone work cohesively.
What are your negatives?
I’m quite loud. It’s not really a negative but I have my opinions, I’m always willing to listen to opinions, but I am quite opinionated, I’m a politics student, it goes with the degree, some people find that intimidating, some people find my opinionatedness, not necessarily my opinions, the fact that I am so opinionated, I have an opinion on anything, some people find that quite intimidating, to work with. I have, I must admit, from last year to this year, toned it down a hell of a lot, I am definitely more accepting, I used to be, well even before Uni, I used to be very much my opinion, it’s my way. Now it’s definitely give and take, so I think I’ve curbed that one slightly, but you’d have to ask the others!
I can be indecisive, there are points, on big decisions, I like consultation, especially in a team like this, not that all the decision are from one person, even as President, I think because we all have the same liability for the union and all have the same sort of responsibility just split up within job roles I think, could that be seen as a negative? I like to consult.
What do you think are the main factors affecting the unions future?
The recession, a massive one, obviously, the way we perform commercially, affects what we can do for students, because of the Back2U, whatever students spend goes back to the student body, so if students aren’t going out, aren’t going to gigs, not going to Source, it kind of has a knock on effect, so that’s going to be a massive thing in the next twelve months, so it’s trying to cater and change as students change, so students aren’t going out as much, they’re not going out and getting hammered like they did in the 90′s, where it was five-nights a week, it was fine.
Students don’t do that any more, so it’s changing the way the Uni work, things like the Atrium coming out is brilliant, because that’s a good healty-eating restaurant, which is big at the moment with the environment and healthy eating. So, the main one is recession I’d say. Recession, and fighting fees.
How can you improve on your predecessor?
Gavin has been a brilliant President, what I think I will bring is the experience that Gavin lacked at the start, so I’ll be able to start on day one, on the 1st of July. The training that I will have will be the training with the team, rather than the training for the job, I know what working here is like, I have done it for a year, I have got that experience. Gavin had a good two, three months where he had to learn about the Union as well as learn how to be President, I know the Union, I just need to work out what my place is in the team.
So I think that’s definitely going to be the biggest advantage that I’d have over Gavin, it’s just experience. Gavin has been a brilliant President, once he got that on board, he was a brilliant President.
How are you going to cope with the added responsibility and pressure?
I don’t think there is any extra pressure, I think it’s just your focus shifts, so where at the moment I am very focused on minority groups, LGBT, disabled students, black and ethnic minority students and so forth, it’s just I’ll focus more on national, local issues with the community with Burnley College, with the campus that’s starting. I don’t think it will be more stressful, I just think my focus will change, I don’t feel it’s a more stressful job.
Why should we elect you as President?
Because I bring passion, I bring experience and I bring knowledge to the role that I think that the other candidate can’t bring because I’ve been so involved, because I know the Union really well, it’s just what I’m good at, it’s just what I’ve done since I started. I also bring good leadership qualities, which is what you need as President, you need to bring that all in for the team, I’m a good touch person, I’m able to bring all those qualities together and I’m hoping I can be a President that people can rely on, as the experienced one to guide them through the next year and I think that’s one of the best things I bring to President and also my vocalisation of issues.
If you’re going to vote, and I recommend you read stuff, vote for the person who you think will be the best for the Union, vote for the best future for the Union, and I think that person is me!
