The true cost of Guild elections

The Tab has done all the digging for you, and found the cold hard numbers behind the elections.

cost elections guild LGOS liverpool student

Recent documents unearthed by The Tab have shown that over the few weeks that Guild elections last, a possible total of up to £4000 will be spent, on top of the £18,000 salary that the victor will pocket.

Electoral turnout is under 33% at Liverpool which, despite being one of the best in the country, leaves most of the student faculty being rather non-plussed about the whole event. So can the cost be justified?

Epitomising student indifference

The £4000 will be spent upon, amongst other things, paying for the promotional material that is plastered acrossvnotice boards around campus and on events such as Meet, Greet and Eat (those muffins weren’t free after all).

This represents double what has been spent in previous years, with the cheap as chips 2012 election costing a mere £1,948. On the other hand, 2011 must’ve been a far more glamorous affair, with over £3,000 spent.

Such figures are dwarfed by those that can be claimed in expenses by the Board of Trustees- of which the President acts as chair of – which in 2011 claimed almost £10,000. Guild politics really does set you up for a life at Westminster!