Toni Pearce has been announced as the new President of the National Union of Students (NUS).
The results were announced this afternoon at the NUS National Conference in Sheffield, with Pearce claiming victory over Vicki Baars and Peter Smallwood in the first round of voting. Samuel Gaus, who was running in the election on behalf of the Inanimate Carbon Rod pulled out of the running earlier this morning.
Her total of 424 votes secured a landslide victory over Baars (210 votes), Smallwood (90 votes), and the option to re-open nominations, which drew seven votes for delegates at National Conference. Pearce had been the favourite to be elected, having received backing from Labour Students and from incumbent Liam Burns.
Her supporters in the election also included YUSU President Kallum Taylor who told Vision: “She was always going to be the clear winner and, in my opinion, was the only candidate able to tread the fine line between being politically strong and also credible.
“There’s a lot of work to do though and I hope that she can win the arguments both nationally and on campuses across the country. Students need to start seeing value in the NUS beyond the discount card; and this is very winnable.”
Following her victory Pearce said: “I’m really proud to have been given the opportunity to build the student movement around a vision for public education, and to be leading NUS as we build towards the next general election.
“Between now and 2015 we need to hold a full and frank debate about what education means to society and to properly articulate the public value of education in communities up and down the country.”
Pearce did not attend university and is the first President to come from a purely further educational background. She has worked her way up through the NUS since becoming Union President at Cornwall College in 2009.
Her manifesto outlined plans to link college and university students’ unions together to fight for local wins in the upcoming general election, to target a single central admissions system for all colleges and universities, and to increase efforts to organise and support students to run and win campaigns in their local areas.
Pearce is currently Vice-President for Further Education of the NUS and will succeed Burns to the presidential post for the coming academic year.
Yesterday the NUS drew criticism after cheers and applause were heard following the announcement of the death of Margaret Thatcher at National Conference. The annual meeting of the NUS continues until tomorrow with further elections for NUS posts to follow.
I presume she will be terrible as every President has been, like, forever. YUSU Bastard sees through her simple and abominable rhetoric. She is doomed to an embarrassing failure and will as a result be rewarded with a Labour safe seat at the 2015 election.
Congratulations to Peter Smallwood. He only gained 12.4% of votes but was the only person to stand up for the silent majority of students.
My only experience of Toni has been pretty negative – when trying to set up a student union at Truro College in Cornwall, a few of us asked her for help. She met up with us, then said she’d get in touch with loads of advice, information and support, and never did. Put a bad tinge on my view of her as a student politician. But who knows, she might be OK.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9982628/National-Union-of-Students-elects-president-who-doesnt-believe-in-university.html