Margaret Thatcher famously claimed there was ‘No Alternative’ to the way she re-shaped public institutions in the UK, and this neoliberal mantra is repeated endlessly by the new highly paid managerial elite who run British Universities. But as David Ridley expliained today, this is an untrue – there are many different models of governance which could be adopted, which would make Coventry University less of the stressful pressured and toxic workplace it has become for staff and students. It’s not just staff unions which are systematically shut out from decision making. Students have no real voice except within the consumerist framework of the NSS, which bears little relationship to what education is supposed to be about, and certainly offers no voice in things that really matter, like the volume of debt they are all accruing. But what about Coventry University’s relationship to the city itself. According to the Guardian newspaper 33 student accommodation tower blocks have been built in the last two years. Were the people of Coventry involved in any of the decisions which have completely re-shaped the built environment of the city? What about the impact this had on property prices and the availability of accommodation for people living in the city? Within the marketised growth model adopted by Senior Management at Coventry – where an unrealistic ‘growth at any cost’ model is relentlessly pursued – these issues are not even allowed to be discussed. It was great to have David talking today about how UCU needs to think about co-operative models of ownership and governance – which could allow staff, students and the community itself to become stakeholders in the University.