An emergency motion, passed today at The Green Party spring conference in Cardiff, has thrown the party's support behind students who have been occupying Aberystwyth University since Tuesday.
Leila Kiersch, lead Green candidate for Mid and West Wales for the Welsh Assembly elections, said that she "fully supported the students right to protest" and that the protest is "an understandable expression of their extreme frustration at both the cuts to university teaching budgets along with the hike in tuition fees."
Kiersch also said that she supported the student demand that Noel Lloyd, vice-chancellor of Aberystwyth University, and Chair of Higher Education Wales (1), should publicly oppose the cuts to education.
Notes
1) Higher Education Wales is the Welsh branch of Universities UK. HEW membership includes all the heads of the universities and higher education institutions in Wales.
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Text of Emergency Motion:
This conference notes that:
On Tuesday 24 February Aber Students Against the Cuts began an occupation of two lecture halls in the University. This occupation is now generating significant support from both students and lecturers.
Aber Students Against the Cuts continue to press for the Vice Chancellor Noel Lloyd, chair of Higher Education in Wales, to publically reject and condemn the current ideologically driven degradation of education by raising tuition fees and reducing the available funding to Higher Education.
Conference calls upon the Executive, officers and leaders of the party to show support for this occupation and other student occupations pursuing similar objectives. In particular conference calls for the executive to write an open letter to university vice chancellors across England and Wales regarding our position.
Conference further asks that candidates in the Welsh Assembly Elections show their support for this occupation and others taking place around the country.
Proposer: Moth Foster, Ceredigion GP & Welsh Assembly Candidate
Seconder: Leila Kiersch, Ceredigion GP & Welsh Assembly Candidate
Pippa Bartolotti, SE Wales GP & Welsh Assembly Candidate
Jake Griffiths, Cardiff GP & Welsh Assembly Candidate