UCU Commons newsletter #24, 12 August 2026
Dear subscriber
Welcome to the UCU Commons newsletter, a curated set of links and information about what's happening in UCU Commons, our union, and our sectors more generally. As always, we welcome any feedback you may have on this or any other matter.
In today's issue:
What UCU Commons has been doing
As we reported last week, our member Madeleine Moore (Loughborough University) is running for election to the casual vacancy for UK rep (HE) on UCU’s NEC. If elected, Madeleine would sit on UCU’s NEC and HEC until the close of Congress 2027. Please do read about Madeleine at her page on the UCU Commons website and share with contacts and colleagues. In addition to giving Madeleine your number 1 vote, we are recommending that you vote for Tilia Lenz (Bournemouth University) as second preference. Running at the same time and on the same ballot paper is an election for a casual vacancy for women’s rep from the FE sector until the end of Congress 2028. Since this is an equality seat, both HE and FE members can, and should, cast a vote in this election. We strongly encourage you to give this vote to Helen Kelsall (Trafford and Stockport College Group). Bijan Parsia says, “I’ve worked with Helen on the Legal Support Panel and the NEC and she is a model rep. She engages with the details while keeping an eye on the bigger picture. We often discussed how to transfer lessons from one sector to the other building on one of UCU’s unique strengths”.
Voting in this casual vacancy election, which must be done postally by law, opens on 17 August and closes on 17 September. Please do ensure your details are up-to-date in MyUCU so that you receive the papers.
Our report from the first Higher Education Committee (HEC) meeting of the current cohort, held on 26 June 2026, is now available to read. Key highlights include the comprehensive HE Strategy adopted at the meeting and an update from the Secretary of State dispute Working Group, whose recommendations were all accepted by HEC.
News from UCU
We were glad to see that UCU’s response to the announcement of technical education courses in schools made it very clear that any improvements to our sectors must come with a serious review of funding. Since the first two years of this Labour government did very little for post-16 education (other than play off our sectors against each other to fuel a made-up culture war), Burnham and Powell need to listen to trade unions, staff and students and take the crisis we are facing seriously.
Institutions in Scotland are taking industrial action over job losses. Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) were on strike on 4 August in response to senior managers’ decision to place 100 jobs under threat while simultaneously purchasing new property. Over in Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt UCU were on strike on Friday 7th and Monday 10th August over job cuts and possible redundancies, which Vice President and Chair of HEC Mark Pendleton attended. Chris O’Donnell, President of UCU Scotland, says, “all parties in Scotland have repeatedly agreed that HE is in a funding crisis and we cannot see Scotland thrive for its people without a healthy vibrant HE. It’s great to see GCU and Heriot-Watt taking a stand for themselves and for the people of Scotland to address the country's needs”.
In our sectors
The global crisis in higher education is affecting all disciplines, but is particularly acute in the humanities. Historians are one group of impacted scholars who have been particularly visible recently. A special discussion forum was published in the leading Australian historical journal recently, and last week saw the Royal Historical Society, the Institute for Historical Research, the Historical Association and History UK co-convening a meeting to discuss the crisis with several hundred historians in attendance. Several Commons members also attended that meeting, which productively explored practical steps the discipline can take together to confront the crisis. Mark Pendleton was there, and said, “It’s great to see so many important initiatives by disciplinary bodies and learned societies to document the crisis and support people working in endangered departments and disciplines. We also need to be talking across disciplines and developing sector- and UK-wide responses, which is where UCU can play a key role. A part of our new higher education strategy is to build better connections between those bodies and across the sector – if you’re active in a national academy, learned society or relevant professional body, do get in touch to discuss how we can better join up the fight to address the crisis”.
A much-needed major review of Welsh HE finances has been announced by the Welsh Government, acting in the face of nearly £100m worth of debt across the sector. Vivek Thuppil says, “With Welsh universities on the brink, this review is very welcome and it is heartening that Plaid Cymru’s promise to commission a review in the first 100 days of the new government has been fulfilled. Given the tight limits placed on the Welsh Government by the current devolution settlement (individual English councils have more borrowing powers than the entire country of Wales), the recommendations in this review must be revenue neutral. However, even within a context of no extra money, there is room for improvement. We have seen Welsh universities squander millions on overpaid consultants and vanity building projects at the behest of unaccountable Vice-Chancellors. It is imperative that this review is not dominated by those same voices, and that UCU and other recognised trade union voices representing university workers are placed front and centre. The Welsh Government must seize this opportunity to ensure that Welsh HE institutions are governed and run for the public benefit as places of learning”.
Brutal cuts to Arts institutions have come into force, affecting the University for the Creative Arts, which has campuses across Kent and Surrey, particularly hard. Rob Clarke, who works at the University of Arts London, which will lose over 25% of its teaching grant, says, “These cuts disproportionately affect both the creative arts as a discipline and the (more often that not) post-92 institutions that teach them, but they are completely in line with the hierarchy of both disciplines and institutions this government seems intent on creating, based on their notion of education as an economic commodity rather than a social good. This decision is short-sighted, foolish and will ultimately be detrimental to society as a whole”.
Embattled Vice Chancellor of the University of Greater Manchester, George Holmes, has been sacked. Jo Edge says, “to be honest, after years of senior managers spending thousands of pounds of institutional finances on lapdances at Spearmint Rhino, relocating their pets from Hong Kong and jollies to the Times Higher awards, it’s nice to see some actual consequences for actions, even if the bar is ‘get arrested on suspicion of criminal activity’. I also note Holmes’s total lack of dignity or humility in his response: this isn’t the sort of person who should ever have been put in charge of something as precious as a university in the first place".
We hope you have enjoyed this round up. Want to get involved? Join UCU Commons and work with us towards a more effective union for post-16 education here.
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