2026 LUSU Elections: David Grice (Wellbeing)

Why are you running for Wellbeing Officer?

I was on the Furness JCR for about a year-and-a-half, initially as International Officer and then I moved up to the VP Wellbeing and Campaigns Officer. During that time, I was able to get involved with a lot of campaigns, such as one on the University's policy on sexual misconduct. I got involved with the International Forum, helping out with organising events.

In my time on the JCR, I also tried to introduce things within Furness College. Leah Buttery, as my JCR predecessor, did a really good job trying to bring in free period products for students. I continued this, using the JCR's own budget to provide free period products to students both within Furness and outside of it.

Since those campaigns, I've wanted to do this sort of work on a bigger scale.

On student safety in town

A big thing I noticed during Freshers' Week is that some bars in town are almost unsafe for students. I want to work to ensure that bars have proper regulations in place to protect students from spiking and from hate crimes.

Random security checks are something already in place at Sugarhouse and it works well there. I'd like to see it introduced at places like Greens and Molly O'Malleys where lots of students go during nights out so students who go in know that there are measures in place to protect them. Just because there are anti-spiking measures in place, it doesn't mean spiking will never happen, but preventative measures keep students safer.

In your manifesto, you pledge to lobby accommodation providers to reduce prices for students. How will you do this?

Since my first year, the cost of rent for the cheapest accommodation on campus has increased by 14%, and only a handful of students will get these cheapest rooms.

Rory O'Ceallaigh, the current LUSU President, mentioned in Union Assembly that UPP, the campus accommodation providers, have said that they're at a point where, I think Rory's quote was, 'the bubble will burst'.

UPP's aware, and the new Vice Chancellor, who was at Union Assembly, also admitted that there's such a fundamental issue with rent, that students cannot afford the prices.

I'm hoping that, if we showcase all the different problems students are experiencing, we can successfully lobby the University.

Students are struggling to afford to eat. The reason why the period product provision in Furness worked so well is because students just can't afford it. Between 16 and 36% of students go through period poverty. We need to implement change now otherwise it will get to that point where the bubble bursts and students won't be able to afford to go to university anymore.

What do you want to do to improve reporting and signposting for welfare support for societies and JCRs?

I've spoken to quite a few society execs and JCRs who've told me about their different experiences with reporting welfare concerns to the University. The big thing that's come up quite a few times is the reporting system UniSafe.

A lot of execs feel like UniSafe isn't fit for purpose. They say that, when they've reported things, it either hasn't been dealt with, they heard back about it, and for anonymous complaints they don't hear back at all.

This is worrying, especially when students go to exec members about welfare concerns or something that's happened on a social. If they report it to the University and the University doesn't do anything, the exec look like the problem. I want to implement clear guidelines for who to contact within the SU and the University and make it so execs know that their reports have actually been triaged.

Can you say more about your pledge to train student activists?

Speaking to society execs, especially for activist societies, I was concerned when they said that they'd not been trained on how to campaign. It's something I've noticed this year: there haven't really been any big protests on campus.

I think a big reason for that is that students don't know where to go if they want to get involved with a campaign. They don't know what campaigns are running and, even if they did, they don't know how to campaign safely.

A lot of international students worry if protesting could lead to their visa being revoked. Since the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, students are worried that their degrees could be rescinded. It's so important for students to have meetings with the SU so that we can train them on safety and on the law.

What's your plan for providing free period products to students?

Leah Buttery, the current Wellbeing Officer, has done a really good job in getting period products in bathrooms across campus. I want to make sure that the University continues to restock these period products.

Another aspect I'd want to focus on is ensuring that there are bins in all the bathrooms. The University seems to forget, especially with gender neutral bathrooms, that these are needed for students that menstruate. It's so important to have these bins to dispose of period products. I've spoken to students who've said they've had to carry around used period products until they can find a bin for them.

There are fewer election candidates compared to previous years, and this is the first time in three years that an FTO role has only one candidate. Why do you think this is the case?

I wonder if part of it is that people think that the Students' Union is doing a good job and, since the current officers were all eligible to re-run, people assumed they all would that there'd be no point in trying to replace them.

I'm worried that Wellbeing Officer being uncontested means the role is falling under the radar. Even last year, there were only two candidates who ran. They both got asked then why they thought there were no men+ candidates for Wellbeing Officer, and I think there's the question now of why there's no women+ candidate. It's so important to have a wide range of voices running for this role. I really hope that I can encourage more people to run for Wellbeing Officer next year.

Our interviews with candidates have been edited and abridged for brevity and clarity.

If you'd like to learn more about the candidates, you can view their manifestos on the LUSU website, watch LA1TV's interviews with them, or attend Candidate Questions, held at 18:00 on Monday in LEC Lecture Theatre 1 and livestreamed on LA1TV's YouTube channel.

Voting will be open from 10:00 on Tuesday until 18:00 on Thursday.

Here is the full list of candidates for Activities Officer:

• David Grice
• Re-open Nominations