Dr Loes Veldpaus (Newcastle University)

Dr Loes Veldpaus (Newcastle University)

Election address

After finishing my PhD in the Netherlands, I came to the UK for a job at Newcastle University in 2016. After various precarious contracts, I am now a permanently employed Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University. 

I have been a branch activist in the Newcastle University UCU branch since the 2018 strikes when I became a Rep for my School. After finally obtaining a permanent contract, I stood to become the branch Equalities Officer on the branch committee. I have just been elected for a third year on the branch committee (2025-2026), this time as the Branch Secretary. Fighting for equality issues and social justice has been, and will remain, incredibly important in everything I do. As a member of the Regional Committee since 2023, I am also well aware of the challenges we are facing in the wider region, both when it comes to HE and FE. I am also a board member of Food & Solidarity, a Newcastle-based member-led organisation fighting food poverty and housing inequality. 

I am proud of my branch, members have been consistently amazing, whether it's in standing up for Palestinian Solidarity, Trans Rights, Migrant member rights, reducing casualisation, or fighting for our jobs. We actively supported the student Gaza Solidarity Encampment, and have set up a local migrant members working group, and an equality working group in the last few years. 

It is through organising and action that we have built a strong and committed branch. The most recent fight, as you may know, was against compulsory redundancies at Newcastle University. I had the privilege of representing the branch in weekly meetings with the university's executive board, as I was one of the negotiators. Our victory of stopping compulsory redundancies now, and having plans for 'workforce re-sizing' next year taken off the table, is a massive win for our branch and the wider Union! Solidarity to all branches fighting very similar fights. 

We can see an unprecedented crisis in higher education unfolding. I am standing for NEC because we need to fight this together. We need to stand in solidarity with each other, and we need a national strategy. Solidarity is hard work, and it needs to be practised again and again. Together, we can make hope possible, make another world possible.