On 3rd June 2025, Vicky Redwood, Nathan Street and Elle Chilton-Knight, all members of the University of Bristol UNISON branch committee, travelled to London to take part in the national parliamentary lobby, representing the branch alongside dozens of other branches across the country.
Nathan Street, one of the branch’s co-secretaries, was able to meet his MP Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) and had what he considered to be a constructive conversation with Kerry and a member of her staff team.
They talked about the importance of UoB as an employer within the city of Bristol, how staff’s pay has not met inflation since 2008, and the possible impact of the upcoming immigration white paper on Bristol’s reliance on international student recruitment. They also talked about Temple Quarter Campus and local student housing, the number of restructures at UoB, and the future higher education white paper.
Kerry was open to talking to UoB staff living in Bristol East about higher education funding in the future.
Despite writing to her MP in advance, Vicky Redwood, the branch’s other co-secretary, was disappointingly unable to meet her MP Karin Smyth (Bristol South) but will continue to try to meet her in the upcoming weeks.
Elle Chilton-Knight, a branch chairperson, lives outside Bristol but also met her MP alongside a number of Unison members at that local University.
We thank the other members of the branch who have written to their MP too but were unable to agree a meeting.
We will continue to campaign by whatever mechanism possible to help fix Higher Education funding, including attending this Saturday’s No to Austerity 2.0 demonstration.
We would also like to encourage members to continue to take part in the campaign and write to their local MPs about HE funding.
