THIS MATTERS: A STUDENT MANIFESTO
GEnEral ElEctIon 2015 thIS mattErS
Introduction In November 2014 the Students’ Union launched its General Election campaign with one core aim: to ensure the student voice is heard both at a local level in the community and at a national level in government, ahead of the May elections. The campaign comprises of three stages. Stage one was to seek student feedback on issues that they wanted the Government and their local authority to address. Stage two is to promote voter registration to students, ensuring that they are ready to vote come May 7. In the final stage we’ll be encouraging our members to turn out and vote by organising walking buses to polling stations and talking to students about why it’s important to vote. This manifesto focuses on stage one – the student voice. In November 2014 the Student Exec Officers and student volunteers went out and engaged with our membership, to see what issues mattered to them and what they would like to see improved in their community or in the country as a whole. We spoke to hundreds of students about the campaign and received more than 200 individual ideas that they wanted to see addressed. Students put forward ideas on both a local and national scale which shows that students do care and are interested about the political issues that affect them. Common concerns which students raised included tuition fees and the future of the NHS, as well as local issues in Kirklees such as transport costs and car parking. The purpose of this manifesto is to shape these views into coherent recommendations and communicate these to the local candidates so they can be addressed. As a Union we want these issues to be listened to and for the candidates to think of ways to tackle them. There are more than 20,000 students in Huddersfield studying at the University and local colleges. These students can have a huge impact on the result of the election in the Kirklees, Dewsbury and Colne Valley constituencies, and so their voice should not go unheard. Not only can these students have a massive swing on the election results, but young people are the ones that will be most affected by the changes made by the next Government both now and in the future. This is why it is important to engage with us and our membership. Our students contribute to the community and deserve for their voice to be heard – this matters.
Josh Elderfield SU President (on behalf of the Student Exec)
Student Support Cuts in public funding have made those most vulnerable in society the hardest hit which is evident within the student community. In a 2013 report conducted by NUS, 20% of students considered themselves to have a mental health problem, while 13% have had suicidal thoughts. But, there is no funding to support these students, especially with the proposed cuts to the Disabled Students’ Allowance.
This is why we believe the next Government should: • Scrap plans to remove the Disabled Students’ Allowance. • Invest in supporting students with mental health issues.
Transport The University of Huddersfield recruits students from across the world, however a large number of them come from the local area. A large proportion of these students rely on local transport to get to university however the current transport system within Huddersfield and Kirklees is inadequate and does not meet the needs of it users. Moreover, parking within the town centre is at a premium and a new approach to affordable parking is most definitely required.
This is why we believe the next Government should: • Invest in local transport infrastructures and adequately fund local councils to make repairs. • Introduce a student transport card that gives students discounts on all public transport. • Invest in a park and ride system in Huddersfield.
Graduate Employment Graduate employment is an issue that both universities and students’ unions are attempting to tackle. More and more students are struggling to get into graduate level jobs six months after leaving university and they are met with confusion, delays, and poor advice when accessing job centres and employment advice. This needs a national response to end mass youth unemployment and get young people into work.
This is why we believe the next Government should: • Overhaul the advice given to graduates by Jobcentre and make it fit for purpose. • Create a task force made up of business leaders, universities, and students to look at graduate employability.
Almost 750,000 young people are now unemployed Democratic Engagement In the last General Election only 44% of people aged 18 – 21 voted. We need to remove the barriers to voting and educate young people about the importance of being an active citizen. We believe there is more work to be done in this area and would like the next government to make this a priority.
This is why we believe the next Government should: • Change the way that people register to vote including allow people to register on voting day. • Make democracy education mandatory for all students in education up to the age of 18. • Create a national framework for local councils about engaging people in democratic processes and voter registration.
Only 44% of people aged between 18 - 21 voted in the last general election
Accommodation costs have doubled in the last decade
Accommodation Student accommodation is a lucrative market and the cost of student accommodation is now completely disproportionate to how much students can afford to pay. An NUS report in 2012 found that the cost for accommodation had doubled in the last decade. This is a national issue and we need the Government to act now to make sure that this issue doesn’t spiral further out of control.
This is why we believe the next Government should: • Create a national landlord accreditation scheme and make it mandatory for all landlords with two or more houses in multiple occupation (HMO) to sign up to it. • Cap the amount students are allowed to be charged in halls of accommodation.
International students bring in £179.6 million GDP in benefits, across the Yorkshire and Humber region Healthcare Healthcare in this country is in disarray, we need more doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals so all students can access the support they need, when they need it. We also need to support healthcare students while they are at university and provide them with the opportunity to gain experience while studying. One of the biggest issues facing any health faculty is finding students placements in the local area and all too often students have to travel many miles to go on placement - this cannot continue.
This is why we believe the next Government should: • Remove the £150 fee for international students to access the NHS. • Extend the NHS bursary to more allied health courses and increase the amount offered. • Make it mandatory for all healthcare professionals who access the NHS bursary to offer students placements within three years of graduating.
Student Funding and Finance Student finance is a shambles. Students are struggling to pay for accommodation, transport and essential equipment that they need to be able to succeed while at university. In 2013 the UK spent less than 0.5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on public higher education, this needs to change. We need to make sure that universities are an affordable option for anyone that wishes to attend.
This is why we believe the next Government should: • Reduce and then remove tuitions fees and restore public funding to universities. • Completely overhaul Student Finance England and review the cost of living for students. • Encourage and incentivise universities to offer cash bursaries to students in place of fee waivers.
Huddersfield Students’ Union University of Huddersfield Queensgate Huddersfield HD1 3DH 01484 473555 students.union@hud.ac.uk www.huddersfield.su Charity number: 1137401
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