Aaron Ross Porter (born 11 January 1985)
is a former president of the
National Union of Students in the United Kingdom; he was elected with a 65% majority and took office in June 2010 for one year.
Background and positions held
In 2010, Porter lived with his parents in
Norbury
Norbury is an area of south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross.
Etymology
The name Norbury derives from ''North Burh'', (North Borough). Some local histories note that ...
,
south London. His father is a policeman who grew up in London and his mother is a teacher from
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
.
Porter studied at
Wilson's School
Wilson's School is a state boys' grammar school with academy status in the London Borough of Sutton, England.
It was founded as Wilson's Grammar School in Camberwell in 1615, making it one of the country's oldest state schools. The school move ...
in
Wallington in south London, before studying English Literature at the
University of Leicester
, mottoeng = So that they may have life
, established =
, type = public research university
, endowment = £20.0 million
, budget = £326 million
, chancellor = David Willetts
, vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah
, head_lab ...
, graduating with a BA in 2006.
He took a leading role in the
University of Leicester Students' Union, serving as the Union's Finance and Services Officer, and then as its Academic Affairs Officer, as well as being the editor of the student magazine, ''
The Ripple''.
Prior to becoming NUS President, Porter was twice elected as the NUS Vice-President (Higher Education), serving from July 2008 to June 2010.
He was the first officer from the University of Leicester Students' Union to be elected to the National Union of Students' Executive Committee.
Presidency of the National Union of Students
Porter stood for the Presidency of the NUS as the candidate of the
Organised Independents faction, but is a member of the
Labour Party.
He was subsequently elected with a 65% majority and took office in June 2010, which he would hold for the period of one year.
Taking control of the Union, Porter put forward his views that he was in favour of lowering the voting age to sixteen,
and stated he would lead a national demonstration against the government's
planned rise in tuition fees before any vote in Parliament on the issue.
On taking up the NUS Presidency, Porter was profiled in ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' where he re-stated his opposition to any increase in tuition fees as well as the need for a new approach to campaigning that includes both formal lobbying as well as active campaigning.
Backing a
graduate tax
A graduate tax is a proposed method of financing higher education. It has been proposed in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Background
Under the Higher Education Act 2004 British and European Union students at publicly funded univ ...
as an alternative method of financing higher education, Porter stated that funding would need to be fair and progressive for students to support it. A keynote speech on the future of higher education warned of the implications of a funding crisis.
He has also been vocal on the issue of graduate employment with significant national coverage.
In November 2010, Porter appeared on the ''
Daily Politics
''Daily Politics'' was a BBC Television programme which aired between 6 January, 2003 and 24 July, 2018, presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. ''Daily Politics'' took an in-depth review of the daily events in both Westminster and other areas ...
'' television show, arguing against the raising of students' tuition fees.
In response to the review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance chaired by
Lord Browne, the
National Union of Students organised a
National Demonstration in London jointly with the
University and College Union
The University and College Union (UCU) is a British trade union in further and higher education representing over 120,000 academics and support staff.
UCU is a vertical union representing casualised researchers and teaching staff, "permanent" ...
. 50,000 protestors took part in the protest, at the end of which Porter addressed a
rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event
Sport ...
outside
Tate Britain
Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...
.
During the immediate aftermath of this demonstration on 10 November 2010, by over 50,000 people, Porter condemned the occupation of the
Conservative Party's
headquarters, referring to it as "violence by a tiny minority".
In January 2011 at an anti-cuts march and rally in Manchester, Porter was escorted away by police from a small section of the crowd of student protesters who were
heckling and shouting "you're a Tory too" – a chant commonly used against Liberal Democrats during the
student fees protests. There was also a report claiming their photographer had overheard anti-semitic abuse, despite Porter not being Jewish.
In February 2011 Porter said he had decided not to seek re-election for Presidency of the
NUS NUS or Nus may refer to:
* National University of Singapore
* Nus, a town in the Aosta Valley of Italy
* Neglected and Underutilized Species, or Neglected and Underutilized Crops
* National Union of Students (Australia)
* National Union of Students ...
, stating he felt the Union would benefit from new leadership.
Post-Presidency
In September 2011 Porter contributed to the book ''
What Next for Labour? Ideas for a new generation''; his piece was entitled "Where Next for Labour’s Higher Education Policy?"
Porter now holds a portfolio of roles primarily in the higher education sector. He is Director of External Affairs for the National Centre for Universities and Business, Associate Director (Governance) for the Leadership Foundation, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Winchester and is on the Advisory Board for the Office for Fair Access (OFFA).
In July 2014, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by his alma mater, the University of Leicester at their summer graduation ceremony to recognise his contribution to higher education and the student experience.
[http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2014-archive-1/july/figures-from-public-life-to-be-honoured-by-university Figures from public life to be honoured by University]
References
External links
NUS Connect-blog, Aaron PorterAaron Porter@TwitterLeft Foot Forward – posts by Aaran Porter''New Statesman'' – Articles by Aaron Porter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Aaron
1985 births
Alumni of the University of Leicester
English LGBT politicians
Living people
Labour Party (UK) people
Presidents of the National Union of Students (United Kingdom)
21st-century LGBT people