Latest issue 18 Feb 2026

UCU Commons newsletter #10 (election special), 18 February 2026

Dear subscribers,

This week, we have an extra, election-specific mailout.

The ballot will close at 17:00 on Monday 2nd March. We recommend that Thursday 26th February is the last safe posting date, unless you are adding a first class stamp.

Members who have not received their ballot paper can now order a replacement by filling out the online form. Replacement ballot requests must be made by Thursday 26th February.

The VP candidates’ hustings videos are now available on the UCU website. In his video, Mark Pendleton provides an opening statement before answering five member-submitted questions. Mark’s video is also available on our website, where we have broken it down question by question, as well as providing transcripts for ease of access.

Mark's full hustings video

Suzi Toole's hustings video is also available on UCU’s website. UCU Commons supports Suzi for the post of Vice President from the FE sector.

The other UCU Commons candidates up for election are Matt Barnard (Manchester Metropolitan University), Gillian Jack (the Open University) and Alex Prichard (University of Exeter). Alex and Matt are running for UK-elected seats, while Gill is running for a women's seat as well as a UK-elected seat. You can read their statements on our website.

We encourage members to vote for everyone on our slate, some of whom are not members of UCU Commons, but have been endorsed by us. We also highly recommend that you vote in every category listed on your ballot paper.

Please take the time to encourage your friends and colleagues to vote in these elections. Turnout is typically very low and it is vital that we elect the best candidates. You can download a flyer showing our slate of candidates from our website.

Want to get involved? Join UCU Commons and work with us towards a more effective union for post-16 education.

Subscribe to UCU Commons