Jo Grady was an outsider, elected as a change candidate when she became just the second ever general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU) five years ago.
After a reign dominated by almost constant industrial strife, her best chance of being re-elected in the union’s poll that runs from 25 January to 1 March is perhaps now as the face of continuity, overseeing a rebuild of the union after a bruising couple of months. She told Times Higher Education last month that the union under her leadership was in “reflective” mode, celebrating a “historic, landmark win” on securing lower contributions to the Universities Superannuation Scheme pension scheme, yet finding the going tougher on persuading employers to improve their pay offers.
Yet, while Dr Grady remains the candidate with the highest profile in the election, the three standing against her all pose varying challenges to the incumbent.
“I have been in this union a long time and I know it very well and I know when things are going wrong,” said one of those challengers, Vicky Blake, a past president of UCU.
