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I’ve always believed that you can either whinge about how things are or get stuck in and do something about it. I’ve been active in trade unions my entire working life, starting with USDAW at 16. When I became a biology teacher at Bolton College, I joined UCU, where our branch was strong on casework but struggling with recruitment, organisation, and campaigning. Joining the committee I brought fire, energy and a refusal to accept less than what our member's were worth, which helped transform our branch from accepting meager pay offers and disappointing 22% ballot turnouts to smashing ballot thresholds, winning unprecedented pay rises, negotiating workload agreements, and extra holidays. ​​

 

After that local success, I became more involved regionally as Vice Chair and now Chair of the North West Regional Committee. I believe wholeheartedly in connecting local FE and HE branches to help organise, share information that arms negotiations and to show solidarity. These networks are vital to an interconnected union that wins at local and national levels.

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I was elected to the NEC as a Women’s Representative, then as Chair of the Women’s Committee, and Vice Chair of the Equalities Committee. I am incredibly proud of the work conducted in these spaces, especially at our recent Women's conference where I had the privilege to work alongside amazing women activists to address vital issues like sexual harassment and gender based violence, pensions inequality, and the protection of reproductive rights. 

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Most recently, I had the honour of being elected Chair of the Further Education Committee, where I continue to focus on empowering members, building strength from the ground up, and turning frustration into collective action.

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These experiences have shown me that every day our sector strides towards breaking point. Repeatedly I hear from reps and members involved in Post-16 education that they are exhausted and overwhelmed by crushing workloads, struggling to stay afloat financially as pay continues to lag behind inflation and disheartened by management and successive governments failing to listen to and address their concerns.

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I believe in fair pay and safe working conditions. Workload needs to be addressed as an absolute priority in all sectors. We need an end to precarious and exploitative casualised contracts, we need pay parity across with schools in FE and national bargaining. I strongly oppose the insidious marketisation of education, the butchery of HE courses in arts, languages and music, the shocking 40% funding cuts to Adult Education since 2010 and the decimation of education in prisons. 

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I absolutely love this union and what it stands for. If elected I will work relentlessly with integrity and determination to unite the sectors, to ensure voices in every part of the union are heard, and to strengthen democracy so that members are at the heart of everything we do.