UCU elections 2026
Elections to the following roles will take place between 30th January and 2nd March 2026:
- Vice president from the further education sector, becoming President 2028-29
- By-election Vice President from the higher education sector, becoming President in 2029-2030
- Members of the national executive committee
Why should I vote?
Our NEC and it’s subcommittees, Higher Education committee (HEC) and Further Education Committee (FEC), are responsible for the execution of policy and the conduct of general business for our Union between meetings of Congress. These committees take critical decisions about our Union’s priorities, direction and strategy, including industrial action strategy.
The decisions of NEC, HEC and FEC can make or break our Union and our action.
It is critical that we elect the right candidates to represent us. Voting in NEC elections is every bit as important as voting in industrial action ballots, yet only a tiny fraction of the membership votes – turnout was only around 15% in last year’s NEC elections.
We urge you to use your vote, to vote for the candidates below and encourage your colleagues to do the same. Help us build a better union!
UCU Commons Candidates
The following members of UCU Commons are standing for election:
- Mark Pendleton is standing for the role of Vice President from the higher education sector
- Matthew J. Barnard, Gillian Jack and Alex Prichard are standing for the role of UK-elected members (HE).
- Gillian Jack is also standing for the role of representative of women members in the higher education sector
Recommended candidates
The following list is our recommended votes in the UCU NEC Elections 2026. Members of UCU Commons are identified in italics. We also support the other candidates listed.
With the exception of our own candidates, who we encourage you to number first, names are listed in alphabetical order. Please vote for all candidates listed in each category below in your preferred order.
You will not have a vote for every category, but it is essential that you exercise your vote in every category that is included on your ballot. FE members can vote for some HE candidates and vice versa, and we strongly recommend that you do so.
Vice President from the further education sector
- Suzi Toole (Bolton College)
By-election Vice President from the higher education sector
- Mark Pendleton (The University of Sheffield)
Northern Ireland FE [uncontested]
- Ms Bernie Rutherford (North West Regional College)
North East HE
- Terry Murphy (Teesside University)
North East FE [uncontested]
- Rachel Minshull (Luminate Education Group (Leeds City))
London and the East HE
- Michael Abberton (University of Cambridge)
- Anastasia Christou (Middlesex University)
- Bianca de Haan (Brunel University)
London and the East FE
- Mark Murphy (London South East Colleges)
- Averil Young (West Suffolk College)
UK-elected members HE
- Dr Matthew J. Barnard (Manchester Metropolitan University)
- Dr Gillian Jack (Open University)
- Professor Alex Prichard (University of Exeter)
- Michael Abberton (University of Cambridge)
- Anastasia Christou (Middlesex University)
- Bianca de Haan (Brunel University)
UK-elected members FE
- Rav Lall (Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges)
- Maria Vasquez-Aguilar (City Literary Institute)
Representatives of women members in the higher education sector
- Dr Gillian Jack (Open University)
- Poppy Gerrard-Abbott (University of Edinburgh)
- Anastasia Christou (Middlesex University)
Representatives of women members in the further education sector
- Monica Lawson (New College Swindon)
- Maxine Looby (Oldham College)
FE North West Casual Vacancy (1 seat)
- Dr Andrew Oldham (Hopwood Hall College)