Joint President, Congress,

Steve Wharton, Joint President (well, for the next quarter of an hour at least) and Bath.

Well, we’ve done it. Third time lucky. AUT and Natfhe are no more, and UCU begins its first full year without transitional machinery. This week’s Congress and Sector Conferences have, on the whole, demonstrated that we have created something new.

I have been fortunate enough, owing to the timing of the merger, to have served as both the last AUT President and first Joint President of UCU. As such, I have been privileged to see the new union develop. And, I hope, to have made positive contributions to that.

As both activist and Executive member, I have always been impressed with the dedication and commitment of the staff of the union. Having served the last two years in harness at HQ and from visits to regional HQs, I can only say how much more impressed I have become – our union is very fortunate indeed to have such a team of people supporting the work of the members, and I ask you to join with me in saluting them and their efforts.

I also wish to pay tribute to the support I have received from members of the TNEC and TAC. In the latter case particularly, the last twelve months have seen many hours of work put in to ensure that the structures in place from today, which are to guide the new union, are as they are.

And in particular, I wish to thank my Joint President, Dennis Hayes. Many of you will have read mischievous press articles about tensions in the union leadership over the past twelve months. All I can say is, not with Dennis and me. You may have heard us referred to as Ant and Dec, or indeed (as I discovered part-way through our term of office) as The Two Ronnies. No-one was unkind enough to say Tweedledum and Tweeledee. However, unlike the arguments they had over rattles, and whatever the pairing you wish to use, we were a team; a team that worked effectively and in the best interests of the union in the transitional year, and I thank him for it.

One final word of thanks, to someone who isn’t here today. My partner Diego, who lives and works in Italy, has had two years in which to put up with me not being around in Bath (where he could usually reckon I was); instead, phone conversations were often snatched, texts not sent, and our joint projects put on hold as the union came first. He has been fantastic, and I couldn’t have done it without him.

So that’s the thanks; for the time being at least. Now a couple of words of wisdom. And as we know, no-one has the monopoly on that. But here’s what I think:

UCU is developing, both in terms of policy and in how it operates. We have the opportunity to build something special, something new. Something which in its actions and its words, encapsulates and epitomises the profession in which we work. Which is guided by reasoned debate. Reason, not slogan; debate, not dogma. I know it can be done, and I call on all members of the union to work to achieve it. It is the members through branches which should determine our policy, and it is our duty to ensure that we do all we can to achieve well-attended LA/branch meetings which fully debate and engage with the issues which our members expect us to represent: concentrating on terms and conditions, pay, challenging inequality. We are a member-led and campaigning union, and we must do everything we can to engage the members and ensure that when we campaign, we do on the basis of issues around which our members can unite, not those which divide.

Congress, it’s been a long week. We’ve all worked very hard in and out of the chamber, and debate has continued in the bars and restaurants as well as the BIC. It’s time to go home. But before we do, let me say a few final words of thanks.

When I joined the AUT National Executive, to try in some small way to repay to the union the tremendous debt I owed it for its support of me when my career was threatened by homophobia in parts of my institution, I never expected to run for office. And when I did become President, I certainly never expected to do it for nearly two years. I have made many new friends, some really special friends, and on the whole have enjoyed every minute (although salmonella at the TUC could not be regarded as a high point). It has been a tremendous honour and privilege, and I thank you all for it.

Long live UCU.