Sally Hunt, the general secretary of our Union, ran on a platform promising a ballot before any boycott. You can read her statement here. After she won the General Secrataryship, UCU Congress backed the campaign for a boycott of Israel, circulating the call for a boycott to all branches. Why, then, hasn't there been a ballot on these proposals?
The reason is simple: Some members of the Natioanl Executive are still pushing for a boycott, but are actively preventing the direct expression of members views, by blocking proposals for a ballot. The details are in this letter printed in the Times Hiigher:
Boycott clarification, Alan Carr, Published: 20 July 2007, THES
Your report "No boycott vote till '08" (July 13) was not quite accurate. The University and College Union strategy and finance committee substantially approved a paper detailing plans to implement the congress decision to discuss a proposed academic boycott of Israel; however, it voted narrowly to delete (but not to reject) a recommendation to put the outcome of those discussions to a consultative ballot of members. This recommendation will need to be revisited. Members cannot be excluded from playing a full and equal part in the discussions and in the decision-making process that must follow. The UCU congress deserves the opportunity to take an informed final decision in the full knowledge of membership views.
Alan Carr, Honorary treasurer, University and College Union
So the people associated with UCU Left have already blocked proposals for an indicative ballot introduced by Sally Hunt to our union's Strategy and Finance Committee. They are planning to block a ballot on the National Executive Committee on the 30th November.