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FEATURES
12th December 2023
In conversation with Chloe Field Eleanor Radford Features Editor
Our Features editor sat down with Chloe Field, the new Vice-President of Higher Education at the National Union of Students. She previously represented students at the University of Liverpool as the Vice-President Sabbatical officer. They discussed her new role, renting reform, and what the next general election means for students.
Image: UEA SU
Q: What initially drew you to the role? What keeps you motivated?
At the second reading, Michael Gove decided to get rid of no-fault evictions until there is a whole new reformed legal system, which is to be decided by a future government as to when that has happened.
A: We try to provide a megaphone for students, we don’t speak for students, it’s providing a voice to them. This is incredibly important in this day and age, when cost of living is drastically affecting student experience and rent is going up far more than student loans.
The biggest exemption added, that matters for students is the proposal to make students exempt from the ban on fixedterm contracts. This is something that landlords really benefit from as they can charge for over the summer and lessens the likelihood that student will complain.
Q: What are your primary goals or focussesonyourroleasVicePresident?
Q: There has been a recent report on antisemitism within NUS and failings by the organisation for Jewish students. What’s happened since then? What has been done to help the situation?
A: One main focus for me, and NUS, is the run up to the next general election. I think this is a really historical moment. We are clearly seeing the demise of the current government and a change in hands of power. This is such an important opportunity to grasp and put forward what students need and want right now. The university system is on a downwards spiral, and has been for years, especially with the cost-of-living crisis. For the general election, we need to show how radical change is needed, otherwise we are going to have no accessible higher education system left. For example, we haven’t always had to pay university fees and we don’t have to continue.
Image: Unsplash Image: Wikimedia Commons
Housing and Communities, by the Renters Reform Coalition, something NUS is part of. It mainly seeks to ban no fault evictions, get rid of fixed term contracts for rolling contracts, and create an ombudsman for landlords to be held account to.
Q: Cost-of-living is a major issue for students at the moment, do you think there are any other serious issues that aren’t getting enough media attention? A:Rent is covered a fair bit by the media, but politicians seem to completely disregard it, despite it being a day-to-day issue. For a lot of students, it takes up most, if not all, of your maintenance loan. The renting market has become super unsustainable with landlords dropping all their houses on one day. This stops students from properly checking out the house and having a proper look at the market. Q: You spoke in Parliament recently on the Renters Reform Bill. Could you explain alittleaboutwhatthisbilldoes? A: It was proposed to Michael Gove, as Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
In 2022, at the NUS annual conference, a number of complaints were raised to do with antisemitism within the organisation and frustration from the Jewish student community. A: NUS commissioned a Kings Council report on antisemitism in the organisation and the student movement. It was found that there were a number of things that NUS had failed on. It was also important to highlight that antisemitism doesn’t exist in a vacuum and it was important for other student unions to learn from our report, as there were similar problems across the country. We created an action plan based of the recommendations from the report. Antisemitism is embedded in our society, the same as all prejudices, and can’t be solved overnight, but we have put things in place that are on track with the action plan.Wealsocreatedanantisemitismadvisory panel, which aims to add longstanding accountability to the organisation. We’ll also be working closely with the Union of Jewish Students to make sure we are on the right track. We want to create a culture of learning and growth. Q: Covid-19 and its aftermath has affected massive parts of people’s degrees and lives during their time at university. Is there anything being done to help those looking to get compensation for this? A: A law firm have set up a group claim at certain universities for test cases. University College London was a test case, the court recommended that you
need to go through the proper processes of complaining to your university and exhaust all other methods then go to the OYA as an independent adjudicator. We are advising students to see what the court comes out with and see how the test case goes at UCL. These disruptions wouldn’t be so negative if universities prioritized student experience over income and fees. Q: Labour for a long time has been seen as the ‘party for young people’, with the recent U-turns and votes. Do you think that that may lead to students voting for a different party than before? Or not voting at all? A: One side of our campaign is student registration. Students need to see themselves represented to go out and care to vote. It’s so understandable that students don’t feel like they care about voting as there’s nothing to vote for that’s better than what we have experienced for the last fifteen years. We want to shift that by getting people registered, which influences manifestoes and what politicians do. We need to show that the student voice is strong. Q: How can NUS support students who find themselves with a lack of trust in the current system? A: We are talking to candidates, especially those in large student populations, about why higher education and students are so important. We’re also trying to get local candidates to get more involved with the student unions. This helps to humanise the candidates and approach the candidates and hold them to account. Q: What do you hope to see from parties running in the next general election? A: An attitude change around students needs to happen. They work, live and invest in the community they are near. Just because they’re young doesn’t mean that they should have to live in shoddy accommodation or being paid barely anything. We are the workers of tomorrow.