Janet Farrar (UCU) and Richard Leonard MSP

This morning we welcomed Richard Leonard MSP and Janet Farrar from the UCU. On the menu: sausages, eggs, tatty scones, and some great craic with our new friends.

Richard, a long-time trade unionist and former leader of the Scottish Labour Party was once described by comic book author Mark Millar as “the most exciting thing to happen up here in decades”. A man ahead of his time Richard has long advocated nationalising the scottish rail network and providing free public transport. Ideas subsquently adopted by the Scottish Government.

Honoured to stand in solidarity with Heriot-Watt UCU branch and Janet Farrar this morning. All UCU members have my 100% backing in ther fight to stop this pensions robbery. – Richard Leonard, MSP

Janet is President Elect of the UCU, taking over from Vicky Blake after Congress in June. She lectures in a Trade Union Education unit at Manchester College and has extensive experience across a full range of union roles at local, regional, and national level. Janet has first hand experience of life on precarious contracts and juggling excessive workloads, and she is passionately committed to tackling inequalities and supporting members who are exeperiencing stress as a result of bullying and harassment.

Thanks so much for a lovely welcome at a cracking branch – Janet Farrar, UCU President Elect

A big thank-you to @LabourRichard and @janetfarrarUCU. It was great to see you both. A visit to the pickets always boosts morale and we are particularly grateful to Richard for raising our concerns and dispute in the Scottish Parliament.

Switching now from national to local, we hope to be meeting Val Walker tomorrow (Wednesday). Val is the Scottish Labour Candidate for the Fountainbridge Craighlockhart ward in the Edinburgh City Council Elections. Many of our staff and students here at HWU live in this ward, so this is a great opportunity to meet Val and find out a little bit more about her pledges on everything from roads and transport to greenspace and net-zero targets.

No word yet on what culinary delights will be served up but we hope to see you all there.

P.S. Don’t forget to complete your ballot and return in the pre-paid envelope. If you haven’t received yours yet, watch for an email from UCU with a link for ordering replacements from Wednesday.