Mark Murphy (London South East Colleges)

Assessor & IQA, Distance Learning, London South East Colleges

Election address

Our sector deserves better 

I am proud to stand for the NEC Further Education seat for London and the East. I believe every member deserves a strong, confident and well-resourced branch to strive for better working conditions.

I bring commitment, experience and a fresh perspective for our Further Education members. I currently serve as Chair of my LSEC Branch, FE Pay Negotiator, standing LGBT Committee member and am a regular attendee of Congress. These roles have shown me that strong, active branches are the foundations of our union.

In my teaching career I have worked with dedicated colleagues and seen first-hand the challenges we face: excessive workload, chronic underfunding and ongoing pay disparities between FE and mainstream school/6th form education. In prison education, staff face safety issues and sweeping redundancies, while Adult Education colleagues endure continual casualisation and a 40% funding reduction since 2010.

As a trade unionist, I am driven by a deep sense of justice and a commitment to supporting members. I have experience in both individual and collective casework, including investigations, disciplinaries, grievances, hearings, settlements and redundancy consultations. These day-to-day activities are what build confidence in our union, strengthen our reputation and grow our collective power.

If elected, I will push for:

·       Branches to be quipped with the tools and training they need to support members effectively, including region and industry-specific guidance and handbooks.

·       Branch support and rep development through regular bitesize updates on legislation, ACAS guidance and any relevant frameworks.

·       Workload pressures to be reduced through regular campaigning and holding employers accountable.

·       Pay parity with schools and universities in England through continual lobbying.

·       Engaging and recruiting young and new members to build awareness, and strengthen the union's sustainability.

In recent months, I have led my branch through the Build to Win campaign, growing membership and strengthening our committee through targeted actions. This has included CPD day engagement, campus visits, promotional materials and bespoke initiatives. I have delivered tailored casework training to my committee and developed branch-specific casework forms and rep handbooks to reduce workload and better equip reps. These materials are now being shared with other branches as an example of good practice. 

As a young gay member, I have seen the gaps in representation and a real need to bring younger members into our movement, not only to sustain our union's power, but to reflect the sector we work in.

I am supporting Suzi Toole (FE) and Mark Pendleton (HE) in the Vice President elections, alongside a slate of candidates which can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/NECelections2026