Vote in UCU NEC's Casual Vacancy Elections!
Dear subscribers,
As you may have already heard, voting opens today for two casual vacancy elections on UCU’s NEC. One is for a UK-elected seat, and the other is for a North East regionally elected seat, and these were created when Ann Gow and Andrew Feeney were elected as UCU Scotland Honorary Secretary and UK-wide Honorary Treasurer respectively. Elected reps will take up their seats immediately and their terms will end with UCU’s Congress in May 2026.
The elections will take place by post, and the voting window opens on 18th August and closes on 18th September.
We are delighted that UCU Commons member Matt Barnard is running for election in the UK-wide seat. Matt (he/him) is a Lecturer in Philosophy at Manchester Metropolitan University, and you can find out more about him, including his election address and who has endorsed him, on the special web page we have set up here.
Since Matt is standing for a UK-elected seat, this means that no matter where in the UK you work, you can vote for him!
There is also a candidate standing for the North East regionally elected seat whose name is Adam Hansen. Adam works at Northumbria University, and while he is not a member of UCU Commons, he has worked effectively alongside many of us on NEC in recent years. Therefore, the UCU Commons NEC members have written the following collective endorsement for him:
“As the UCU Commons members of NEC, we are delighted to endorse Adam Hansen for the North East seat in the current casual vacancy election for the NEC. Adam is conscientious, honest and hardworking as both an elected representative at the national level and as a branch activist. Having worked with Adam on NEC in recent years, we have been impressed by his commitment to equalities work, and his approach to industrial action - striking to win, and working to bring the largest possible section of the membership along with us when we do - aligns closely with our own core values. As the Chair of a large and active post-92 branch, Adam’s work also led to the cancellation of plans for compulsory redundancies at Northumbria University in 2024: a huge victory. Please vote for Adam and encourage your colleagues to do so!”
Since this is a regionally-elected seat, only members who work in the North East region (which consists of the Northern and Yorkshire and Humberside regions) can vote in this election. This means that if you work in either of these regions that make up the North East, you will be able to cast a vote for both the NE and UK-wide seats.
Once you have voted in the casual vacancy elections, please do let us know via Bluesky, and urge your colleagues and friends to vote, too!
In solidarity,
UCU Commons