Saturday 10 July 2010

Regent House votes non-placet

The Regent House has voted 1,142 non-placet to 345 placet to retain the lift. The results was, I fear, inevitable once the Council managed to delay the vote until the lift was installed and so presented the Regent House with a fait accompli. Given the financial circumstances many members of the RH, who wanted to censure the Council for their conduct of this matter, felt that they could not force the Council to expend more money on the removal of the lift. So they held their noses and voted against the lift. If the vote has been taken last year when it should have been the boot would have been on the other foot. But even so we must recognise that this was the decision of the Regent House, the governing body of the University, it is legitimate decision and we must respect it. At least we ensured that it was the Regent House that decided and that - given the opposition to that from the Council - is no small thing.