Bristol SU Elections: what you need to know

With the nominations ending on the 20th of February, Bristol University’s SU elections are coming up quickly. This year, voting will take place between the 9th and 12th of March.

In the upcoming elections all seven Full-Time Officer (FTO) roles are up for nominations. FTO roles are a salaried position that will be in post from June 2026 to June 2027.

There are also a variety of other roles available, with different commitment levels, including: Course Rep, Chair of Student Council, Demoncratic Standards Committee, Student Trustee, Faculty Rep, and Student Community Organiser.

Candidates will be revealed this Friday, at 10am, and will begin their campaign on Monday 9th March – the first day that voting will be open.

Image via Bristol SU

To understand a bit more about the process of the elections, current FTOs Mia Stevens, Ella Lovibond, Linlu Ye and Katie Poyner shared some of their experiences running in the previous elections.

Mia said: “It was an incredibly intense week where I found myself needing to play the part of an extrovert in order to speak to so many students — I’m naturally quite introverted! But thankfully, that performance paid off, and now I find that I’m speaking to new people every day as part of my role and it is one of my favourite things about being an Officer.”

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Ella added: “Running in the elections is a very unique experience! You don’t often talk to hundreds of strangers everyday asking them to vote for you, so I found it very weird at first. Rest assured, the more you do it, the less scary it becomes. Looking back, it actually gives you great experience that you will need when working as an FTO, giving you the confidence to speak to the students that you represent. Its all about confidence, showcasing your personality and your passion to drive change!”

Linlu shared: “During my first time running for election, I was focusing on my objectives and the changes I wanted to make. For example, in my manifesto, I put that I’d like the uni to provide free period products on campus and after a year in this role it happened. The election can be very intense but focusing on my goals gave me the momentum to talk to strangers and encouraged them to take part in voting.” 

Katie explained: “Running as an FTO is definitely scary as a person who hardly ever raised their hands in seminars. It is the craziest but most rewarding experience ever. You do learn to be humbled and brush yourself off to keep going and keep chatting to any students who will listen to who you are, what role you are running for and why you’d think you would be great in the role. I had such fun developing my manifesto over the things I wanted to achieve in the role and I loved making catchy slogans to make my campaign memorable.”

Alongside the SU elections, there is also the National Union of Students (NUS) referendum that asks “Should Bristol SU be affiliated to the NUS UK?”. Voting for the NUS referedum opens at 9am on Monday 9th March and will close at 9pm on Thursday 12th March. There is a debate running on Friday 6th March at the Balloon Bar, to help inform students of their vote.

So, keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming candidates as voting in the elections makes sure that you have your say in who is representing the student body in the university and SU!

Featured image via Bristol SU