The National Union of Students (NUS) has elected Megan Dunn, current vice president for higher education, to replace Toni Pearce as president.
Dunn, 24, told the NUS conference in Liverpool that she wants the organisation to “finally deliver” on its values – to stand for free education and to tackle what she describes as a cost of living crisis facing students.
She has also promised to stand up to politicians and deliver a series of employment campaigns “ending unpaid internships and exploitative work”.
She says: “I’m really proud to have been given this opportunity to build a movement and to push for a rise in the minimum wage and the living wage for apprentices. The focus needs to be on how someone wants to learn and what they want to study, rather than what they can afford.”
Dunn, an independent candidate who studied an MA in politics and international relations at Aberdeen University before becoming president of Aberdeen University Students’ Association, received 413 votes for the position.
Her only rival, Beth Redmond, a “revolutionary socialist feminist”, received 202 votes, while 79 people voted to reopen nominations.
Addressing the conference in Liverpool on Wednesday, Dunn said she would fight for free higher education and stand up to the government on student issues. “We have to be ready to stand up alongside each other and say enough is enough,” she said.
Thanks so much to everyone who voted for me. I am proud and honoured to have been elected. #NUSconference #nusnc15
— Megan Dunn (@megandunn116) April 22, 2015
In her manifesto, Dunn states: “With a new government, we have to be clearer than ever that we won’t take a back seat on the issues that affect us. As president, I’ll make sure that politicians never get away with going back on their promises.”
She also told the conference that the National Union of Students needs to change. She promised to make sure that the organisation “finally delivers” on its values.
She said: “Sometimes making change involves shouting from the rooftops but sometimes we need to just get down off our soapboxes and do the work. I want to put more effort into supporting campus unions, and transforming our national movement to support the work that you do.”
