NUS CONFERENCE OCCUPATION – SOLIDARITY FOR LEGAL ABORTION IN NORTHERN IRELAND AND STUDENT SEX WORKERS

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged #NUSConference, #NUSNC18, abortion, decriminalisation, democracy, direct action, featured, filibustering, Northern Ireland, NUS, NUS conference, occupation, protest, sex work, sit in, solidarity, student activism, welfare.

by Thai Braddick

I was elected as a delegate to NUS National Conference last year in October by students in UEA SU. I received the highest number of votes, and am proud to say that it was because I am a socialist who values and appreciates all intersections of my electorate. Today at the NUS National Conference, delegates were meant to be debating motions in the Welfare Zone, but the debate on motions W106 ‘Decriminalisation of Abortion in Northern Ireland’ and W107 ‘Students and Sex Work’ were both filibustered aggressively, with continued procedural motions and DPC and chair misconduct. These actions were taken to intentionally prevent conference being given the chance to support people in Northern Ireland’s right to choose to have an abortion and to support student sex workers through campaigning to decriminalise sex work.

VOTES AT 16: IT’S TIME FOR TORIES TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS

Posted on February 18, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Community, Perspectives and tagged awareness, conservartives, elections, engagement, england, featured, local election, norfolk, Northern Ireland, Norwich City Council, politicians, Scotland, vote, votes at 16, voting, voting age, Wales, welsh government.

by James Anthony

In January 2018, it was announced that sixteen and seventeen year-olds in Wales will be given the right to vote in their local elections, under proposals set out by the Welsh Labour government. Along with Scotland, where votes at sixteen is already reality, Welsh policy will now be at odds with England and Northern Ireland where the voting age for any sort of election is eighteen. The idea that someone who is exactly the same age and has just as many years in education as another can be denied the right to vote based on location is extremely unfair. Perhaps it’s time the Conservative government reconsider their position on the voting age.

If the national government are seemingly ok with this being a regional disparity, why not allow it to take place in areas where there is clearly a desire for it? Just under two years ago, Norwich City Council voted unanimously for a proposal which asked for Norwich to be used as a possible ‘pilot area’ for allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to participate in local government elections. Disappointingly, but perhaps unsurprisingly, I couldn’t find any official response to this request from the government although if it exists, I suspect it would be in essence – ‘piss off’. Continue Reading

T IS FOR TERRORISM. T IS FOR TORY.

Posted on June 16, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged arms deal, complicit, daesh, Democratic Unionist, Democratic Unionist Party, disillusion, DUP, Foreign Office, government, Hamas, intelligence services, IRA, Iran, ISIS, jeremy corbyn, london, lone wolf, manchester, middle east, Northern Ireland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, tech companies, terrorism, The Troubles, theresa may, Troubles, Ulster, Ulster Resistance, US.

by Gunnar Eigener

Content warning: mentions terrorism, The Troubles.

Not only has Theresa May’s snap election gamble backfired spectacularly, but the possibility of a partnership with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has left a sinister stain on the government going forward. Lurid headlines have been a constant feature of the campaign, attacking Jeremy Corbyn and his alleged links to the IRA and Hamas. But now, ironically, it is the current government that has turned to terrorist sympathisers in order to shore up their position. Time will tell if those tabloids will apply the same standard to the government as they did to Jeremy Corbyn.

Within these developments, there are two worrying aspects that have emerged – both nationally and globally. The first is the ease with which governments are able to use the fear of terrorism to further their own agenda. The second is the ability of governments to ignore or cover up their complicit actions.Continue Reading

WHO ARE THE DUP?

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged abortion, absolute boy, BLUKIP, Brexit, climate change, conservatism, conservatives, Counter Terrorism, creationism, cyber security, Democratic Unionist Party, detention bill, DUP, gay marriage, general election, Good Friday, Gordon Brown, hardline, homophobia, Ian Paisley, IRA, Irish Republican, jeremy corbyn, Labour, militia, minority government, national living wage, NI, Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly, Orange Order, Parliament, peace process, pension triple lock, Peter Robinson, protestant, PUP, racism, religion, Rihanna, same-sex marriage, Sinn Féin, terrorism, theresa may, Troubles, UK government, Ulster Defence Association, Ulster Resistance, Ulster Volunteer Force, universal benefits, US Conservative, wheat fields.

by Zoe Harding

Content warning: article mentions terrorism, (anti) abortion, homophobia, racism

So, the election was fun, right? Even if you didn’t vote Labour (and fair enough if you didn’t), watching Theresa May fall from an unassailable lead in the polls all the way to a humiliatingly hung Parliament, in a blizzard of vague soundbites, invasive and inadequate policies and flailing attempts to smear the opposition, was still rather viscerally satisfying in its own way. Early Friday morning saw a weird sense of relief from many who expected a Tory landslide.

Unfortunately, early Friday morning turned to mid-Friday morning, and then suddenly dove back into the bad old days, with the announcement that a desperate May government had decided to form a ‘confidence and supply’ agreement with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in order to form a government.Continue Reading

HIJACKING STUDENT POWER – WHY THE NUS GOVERNANCE REVIEW MATTERS

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged abortion, block of 15, democracy, governance, minority representation, Northern Ireland, NUS, NUS conference, NUS Democratic Procedures Committee, NUS NEC, NUS zones, policy, Richard Brooks, student politics, student unions, student welfare.

by Cherry Somersby

On the last day of NUS National Conference, an extensive governance review was passed amid confusion and accusations of political bias from NUS’ Democratic Procedures Committee. The review was comprised of four sections, each relating to four ‘principles for a good democracy’, and in total, sixteen amendments were submitted by delegates, many of which contained fundamental changes to the vision that the review had set out.

WE STAND ON A PRECIPICE – THE SNAP GENERAL ELECTION

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged austerity, benefits, Bernie Sanders, Brexit, british politics, caroline lucas, civil liberties, climate change, comprehensive schools, conservative party, conservatives, corbyn, cuts, education, election, elections, emmanuel macron, GE17, general election, grammar schools, Green, Green Party, green surge, greens, incarceration, international development, islamophobia, jean-luc melenchon, jeremy corbyn, Jonathan Bartley, Labour, labour party, leanne wood, Liberal Democrats, macron, market, melenchon, migration, military intervention, NHS, nick clegg, nicola sturgeon, Northern Ireland, owen smith, paul nuttall, politics, privatisation, progressive alliance, public sector, public services, sanders, schools, Scotland, scottish national party, SDLP, Sinn Féin, snp, social democratic and labour party, theresa may, Tim Farron, Tories, Tory, tory party, uk politics, Wales, war, welfare, xenophobia.

by Chris Jarvis

With Theresa May having all but called an early General Election, on June 8^th, the UK will go to the polls for yet another vote that will have long-reaching consequences for the future of the nation, the third in as many years. For the people of Scotland and Wales it will be the fourth – and those living in Northern Ireland will face their fifth. Right now, our political leaders can’t seem to get enough of sending people trudging out to schools, churches and community centres to scribble little pencil crosses in printed boxes.Continue Reading

NUS WOMEN’S CONFERENCE, STUDENT DEPORTATION AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged abortion, abuse, BME, chartered flight, chennan fei, conference, deportation, disabled students campaigns, gendered islamaphobia, ghana, Hareem Ghani, kelechi, LGSM, malia bouattia, marginalisation, MFJ, migrant rights, Movement for Justice, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, NUS, nus black students, nus womens conference, organise, prevent, prevent strategy, racism, reproductive justice, self organisation, solidarity, stanstead, student, student movement, women, xenophobia, yarls wood detention centre.

by Cherry Somersby

Content warning: article mentions physical and emotional abuse, abortion, xenophobia, gendered Islamophobia, deportation

Last week, over a hundred women+ students travelled from student unions all over the country to NUS Women’s Conference to elect a new NUS Women’s Officer, and set the direction for the NUS Women’s Campaign for the incoming year. I attended conference as a delegate from UEASU, and sat down with NUS President Malia Bouattia, and NUS Women’s Officer Hareem Ghani after having won her re-election.

This article provides an account of key events at Women’s conference, including motions passed and issues raised at plenaries and workshops throughout conference. I have also published comments given by both Malia and Hareem in response to the questions I asked about NUS, Women’s Conference, and the Women’s Campaign in the context of student deportations and migrants’ rights campaigns.Continue Reading

WE WON’T WAIT – SOLIDARITY WITH STRIKE4REPEAL

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives, Student and tagged #WeWon'tWait, abortion, Abortion Act 1967, Aislinn Shanahan Daily, Amnesty International, Black Monday, capitalism, catholic church, Dáil Éireann, direct action, disability, division of labour, Donald Trump, england, gag rule, Galway, International Women's Strike, international womens day, Irish Constitution, Magdalene Laundries, Marie Stopes, migrants, Northern Ireland, Norwich City Hall, patriarchy, Poland, precarious employment, protest, Repeal the 8th, reproductive labour, reproductive rights, Republic of Ireland, Savita Halappanavar, solidarity, strike, Strike4Repeal, Tuam, UEA, UEA Feminist Society, UEA Migrant Solidarity, UEA Movement for Justice, UEA SU, uk, women, women's rights.

By Ellen Musgrove

‘We call upon the Government to take direct responsibility for what is a violation of human rights. We believe a national strike is not only possible, but an incredible opportunity to show the sheer power of our movement, and to put pressure on the government to call a referendum. In the past 5 years, support for repeal has grown to a level that the government can no longer ignore.’

– Strike4Repeal

THE DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY FLUCTUATES AS WILDLY AS THE POUND

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged Article 50, Brexit, british pound, David Lammy, definition, democracy, EU, EU referendum, Europe, government, hatecrime, Leave, linguistics, negoitations, NHS, Northern Ireland, Parliament, pound, refugee crisis, Remain, Scotland, union, United Kingdom, vote, Wales.

by Natasha Senior

It was apparently a victory for Remainers when the High Court ruled that invoking Article 50 will require a full parliamentary process. The judges issuing the verdict were branded as tyrants by the tabloids — as if they were doing anything other than interpreting law. David Lammy — the MP for Tottenham, where 75% of the constituency came out in favour of the EU — declared he would block Brexit. He is the political Schrödinger’s cat, he behaves both democratically and undemocratically at the same time: vowing to uphold the wishes of his constituents against the wishes of the country. A majority of politicians don’t have the luxury of having voted the way their constituents did. Perhaps they would argue it differently, that they were democratically elected to represent their constituents, not vote with their constituents. It seems like a tenuous technicality but one that appears to stand up to scrutiny.

I guess it depends on what democracy really means. I’ve said the word so many times, I don’t even know anymore.Continue Reading

WHAT IS DONE CANNOT BE UNDONE. WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS OF OUR FUTURE.

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged austerity, ballot box, Brexit, capitalism, climate change, creative writing, cuts, daesh, democracy, devolution, eu ref results, EU referendum, Europe, european union, eurozone, expression, financial collapse, future, Greece, human history, immigration, Iraq War, left, left leave, Lexit, Merkel, NHS, Northern Ireland, opinion, pluralism, politics, progressive parties, prose, response, riots, Scotland, snp, solidarity, strength, terrorism, test, tuition fees, Unite, unity, voting, xenophobia.

by Natasha Senior

I keep replaying the same slide show, projecting it on the back of my mind. I see the temperature rising, 9/11, the Iraq war, financial collapse. I enter the ballot box for the first time, eager for change. The coalition forms. Mass extinctions. The SNP wins a majority. Tuition fees triple. The Arab Spring. House prices rise. Riots. The Olympics. Food banks. Austerity. Austerity. Austerity. Benefits slashed. The NHS in turmoil. The Eurozone crisis. Scotland votes for unity. Greece votes for change. They are hung, drawn, quartered. We reach the 1°C threshold. The ballot box takes away a piece of me every single time. The far left brings hope but the far right brings hate. They spread their infectious disease. Storms, droughts, forest fires. Everything I fear begins to materialise in front of my eyes. Refugees fleeing the wars we started but we just condemn them to their fates. Floods everywhere. Terrorism. Xenophobia. Half-truths and outright lies. A vote for fear, a vote for suspicion, a vote for fascism.

The weather joins us in this violence as we drive another dagger into the heart of the world. I tell myself lies to ease the pain, looking for ways to return to the past. Hindsight is 20/20 but we never learn from our mistakes. Hatred and fear, symptoms of this deeply tortured nation. I want to leave this place, I want to end the nightmare, but there is no place on Earth that isn’t infected. I collapse into the carnage. I am in free fall. At the mercy of the past. It’s over.

But it is not over. I will not let it be over.Continue Reading

Northern Ireland

NUS CONFERENCE OCCUPATION – SOLIDARITY FOR LEGAL ABORTION IN NORTHERN IRELAND AND STUDENT SEX WORKERS

VOTES AT 16: IT’S TIME FOR TORIES TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS

T IS FOR TERRORISM. T IS FOR TORY.

WHO ARE THE DUP?

HIJACKING STUDENT POWER – WHY THE NUS GOVERNANCE REVIEW MATTERS

NUS WOMEN’S CONFERENCE, STUDENT DEPORTATION AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS

WE WON’T WAIT – SOLIDARITY WITH STRIKE4REPEAL

THE DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY FLUCTUATES AS WILDLY AS THE POUND

WHAT IS DONE CANNOT BE UNDONE. WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS OF OUR FUTURE.

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