Michael Abberton (University of Cambridge)

Senior Assessment Manager, Cambridge University Press and Assessment, University of Cambridge 

Election address 

My name is Michael Abberton, and I am standing for re-election as  geographically elected NEC member for Higher Education in London and the East.  

I have worked in UK higher education since 2004. For the past fourteen years, I have been employed by the University of Cambridge at Cambridge University Press & Assessment, where I work as a Senior Assessment Manager in an academic-related role.  

In my local branch I have served as department rep, senior caseworker and lately Branch President. These roles have given me a strong grounding in casework, governance, and negotiation.  

During my first term on NEC and HEC, I have served on the Recruitment, Organising and Campaigns, ARPS and Strategy and Finance Committees, and currently chair the Anti-Stress, Harassment and Bullying Working Group, where my casework experience and mental-health training have been invaluable. The work has been demanding and wide-ranging, and I continue to learn from colleagues and union staff as I represent members across our region.  

My priorities  

I believe that union governance must be open, democratic and participatory.  
• Committee members should be accountable to their constituents.  
• Consultation should be regular and meaningful, not confined to crises.  
• There must be no sense of an "inner circle" that judges members on activism or attendance.  
• Our primary responsibility is to listen to members, not instruct them.  

I was pleased to support the NEC decision to reinstate hybrid Congress, enabling more members and delegates to participate fully and safely, without fear of exclusion or intimidation. I also support the aims of the Campaign for UCU Democracy, which seeks a more transparent and member-led union.  

Industrial action  

I voted against moving immediately to an industrial action ballot. The consultative ballot—and conversations with members across branches—made clear that support was not sufficient. Proposals for longer-term organising strategies were voted down, and the compressed timeframe left no capacity for the campaign we would have needed. At a moment when thousands of members face redundancy in a sector under severe pressure, we must act responsibly and strategically. The decision to ballot passed by a single vote. In my view, political affiliation played too great a role.  

Working constructively  

I encourage members to vote for Mark Pendleton and Suzi Toole in the Vice-President elections, and to support the following list of candidates: https://tinyurl.com/ucuelection26. Mark and I have voted in opposite ways on occasion, but our committees should be places where honest discussion is welcomed and where informed debate, not dogma, guides our decisions.  

If re-elected, I will continue to work for a more democratic, accountable and member-driven UCU.