Students’ Union Election 2008 :: Wessex Scene Online

Students’ Union Election 2008

The simple skin theme for the elections

22nd June 2008
Ashleigh Toll

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Mar 09 - O’Reilly Wins Presidential Race
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Feb 06 - Make your vote count
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Mar 07 - The Lost Election

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A record number of Southampton students turn out to vote this year, with some surprising results

A record number of 4724 students turned out to vote in this year’s Southampton University Students’ Union election.

With the option of either voting online or at the polling stations on campus, the electoral turnout increased by 1000 students compared to this time last year. Whilst the 21.2% turnout may seem slight in comparison to the 22,000 students currently at the University, the figures do infact suggest that the University has experienced its highest ever voting rate, and in national terms, one of the highest voting rates among UK Universities.

The Students’ Union were not only setting an example in voting terms however, because for the first time, the election results evening was broadcast online via www.susu.tv, meaning that friends and families around the world were able to watch all the proceedings online. Figures suggest that over 1,500 logged on, which is testament to the hard work of the ‘Stream Team’ and current VP Comms, Nick Culley.

In this year’s election, twenty-two students vigorously campaigned for the six available sabbatical positions – SUSU President, AU President, VP Media and Communications, VP Welfare and Societies, VP Education and Winchester President. And after weeks of preparation and campaigning, the results were finally announced to a packed Stags Head on the evening of Wednesday 27 February. The Wessex Scene team were of course there to bring you all the highs and lows of the evening.

With the election turnout at a new high this year, all candidates had to work very hard to secure votes. There were a number of close races for each of the positions, the closest of which was for the Winchester Presidency - the first result of the evening. Three candidates ran for the position this year, but on the final stretch, Cassie White secured a three vote lead over Gareth Tilbury. This aura that anything could happen set the tone for the proceedings as there were more than a few unexpected results throughout the course of the evening, with tears and champagne running equally freely by the conclusion.

The announcement for the VP Welfare and Societies position is one such example as current Men’s Officer, Dan Francis swept to victory despite a relatively low level campaign. Whilst Francis was clearly one of the most experienced contenders for the position, many Union observers expected the more media savvy, Tim Berryman to take the lead at the final hurdle. However, the announcement of Francis’ victory was met with huge cheers for a candidate who is clearly very deserving and dedicated and he was quick to thank his “campaign team and the other candidates for all their hard work.”

Speaking to the Wessex Scene about his campaign, Francis said: “I felt that campaigning went very well, particularly when speaking to students in lectures and in halls.” When asked what he planned to do next, Francis added: “Firstly I’m going to sleep! But then I’m going to get started on putting my manifesto into action, especially focusing on Lovers Walk.”

The Education race saw an eventual victory by Joe Leigh who won all four voting rounds, with JP Mattar coming second at the expense of Max Tolhurst who came in third place. The news was met with gasps of astonishment from the crowd as Tolhurst was widely tipped to secure the position. However, whilst highly experienced, it may have been his decision to use a somewhat flamboyant campaign which may have deterred him from securing some votes, as many students expressed a desire to see a serious Education VP, with both Leigh and Mattar presenting themselves as exactly that. Speaking to the Wessex Scene, a clearly elated Leigh said:

“My feet haven’t touched the ground yet! It was so nerve racking since the vote was so close and the other candidates were so strong.” He also revealed that his promise to shave off his beard if he won would be fulfilled in Freshers’ Week next year, and any sponsorship gained would be used to benefit students.

There was one widely expected result during the evening though, that of the tremendously popular Henry ‘Harry’ Potter for AU President, but even then, the scale of his victory shocked all. He secured 2222 votes to win over his nearest competitor, Claire ‘Gobby’ Bridges who received 1253 votes respectively. Potter joins only a handful of past SUSU candidates who have achieved a first round victory. The result was greeted with rapturous applause and chanting from the front of the Stag’s Head, before a mass exodus to Jesters by his campaign team. Just before he left Potter added that he put his victory down to “good policies and a great campaign team.”

Some results saw a comforting return to form though with Adam Parker using his monstrous regiment of campaign volunteers and old tv sets to bash his way to a 400 votes victory in a tightly contested Media and Comms race between him and another highly experienced and dedicated member of SUSU media, Lucille Starkey. There were loud cheers from his supporters as the result came in, and Parker was clearly delighted: “Everyone, thank you so, so much,” he said. “Have fun for the rest of the night, I’m going to stay and see what happens with the Uni President.”

It was the announcement of the new Union President which was clearly the most contentious result of the evening though.The Presidential race was described by at least one campaign volunteer as a contest between “the experienced candidate, the people person and the pretty candidate,” which provoked amusement among the candidates.

On the night though, the eventual victory went with the “pretty” one, Alex Tanfield, which divided opinion as expected, with outrage from some circles and bemusement from others. One volunteer was heard muttering “the devil wears Prada” as he sloped off to the bar.

The campaign for the Presidential position was certainly a tense one; current Societies Officer, Tom Constable has years of experience working in the Union, and on a huge amount of committees and societies, however whilst he was clearly more than equipped to fulfil the requirements of the position, it has been suggested that his relatively low level campaign may have been the reason for him eventually coming third. And whilst Joel Braham lead a clearly ‘visible’ and great campaign, with neon lights, banners and a looping video situated from his house on University Road, it was Alex ‘Tanners’ Tanfield’s huge ‘green’ army of predominantly female volunteers which lead to her eventual success. Her election shouldn’t surprise though, for her campaign was tightly run and effective and she was considered the frontrunner due to her high popularity. Her victory by a hundred votes should be congratulated if only for the fact that she has had little in the way of contact with Union Politics.