We’ve collated the Leeds Students’ Union Election list to help you cast your vote

The LeadLUU 2026 Elections started yesterday, and off to a blazing start! The Leeds Tab reached out to the Leeds Student Union candidates to ask why they were the most suited for the job. Find their answers below to discover the best candidate for your needs.

What is LEADLUU?

via Wikimedia Commons

LeadLUU is the annual election for student leadership, where students at the University of Leeds can vote or run for Student Officer positions for one year.

If successful, the Officers represent over 40,000 students, allowing students to vocalise concerns, queries, worries and suggestions about the way their Student Union is led.

The 2026 Elections offer exciting opportunities, with 16 roles in total, including:

Six elected trustees:

• Welfare & Liberation Student Executive
• Student Opportunities & Development Student Executive
• Academic Experience Student Executive
• Union Affairs & Community Student Executive
• International Experience Student Executive
• Voluntary PGR Trustee

Five full-time paid student executives:

• LGBTQ+ Engagement Leader
• Gender Engagement Leader
• Race & Ethnicity Engagement Leader
• Disabled & Neurodivergent Engagement Leader
• Class and Social Inequalities Engagement Leader

Five part-time Faculty Engagement Leaders:

• Medicine & Health Engagement Leader
• Engineering & Physical Sciences Engagement Leader
• Arts, Humanities & Culture Engagement Leader
• Buisness Engagement Leader
• Social Sciences & Environment Engagement Leader

Welfare Officer:

Seb Glasper – Safer with Seb: “I’m running for Welfare and Liberation Officer because safety shouldn’t be something students have to negotiate. Through my work with SASHA Society supporting students facing harassment and sexual violence, I’ve seen how often people fall through the cracks. I want to build stronger systems so every student feels safe, on or off campus while at uni.”

Amyra Surana – Amyra with an U is a union for U: “I want to squash the overly individualistic mindset that is often harboured by the university. I will try and get people to be able to trust each other again and understand the value of community. I want to do that through promoting progressive political values and preaching acceptance above everything else.”

Mahek Mattikop – makeithappen: “So the current wellbeing and mental health support platforms are fragmented and don’t guarantee support. I will lobby the university to replace them with 1- stop, easy-access platform in Minerva, which will guarantee better support for all students who need it. Financial distress is one of the biggest problems in students’ lives. The welfare and liberation funds currently are not really directed to Wellbeing support needs. I will expand welfare and liberation funds for clubs and socs., to help all students deal with financial hardships. My overall goal is to look at wellbeing accessibility support as a policy, not an exception.”

Opportunities and Development Officer:

Nolly Quin- Don’t be a wally, vote for Nolly!: “I want to represent these under underrepresented societies and communities, particularly as creativity and political expression in education are increasingly under attack, with cuts to art and humanities subjects at so many universities. Supporting societies which promote creativity, expression, inclusivity and equality feels incredibly important in the face of underrepresentation and a lack of full inclusion, which I want to tackle by lobbying against society funding inequalities, increasing visibility of our student media societies, creating a city- wide student safety initiative, improving society inclusivity and encourage more collaboration between societies to fundraise, connect and contribute to our Leeds community!”

Tineka – ThinkTink: “I have LOVED my time here at Leeds and the opportunities it’s given me to grow, find my passion and meet incredible people. I want every student to have the chance to look back and say that their time here was some of the best years of their life, I want them to feel like it was all worth it. As Opportunity and Development Exec, I want to help more students discover what they love, find the communities that make Leeds so special and just have a good time! Uni should be about thriving not just surviving!”

Hannah Parish – Vote Hannah: “I want to be opportunities and development officer because i’m passionate about improving LUU so everyone can enjoy society life as much as I have, and I want to make societies accessible to everyone regardless of financial status or workload.”

Union Affairs and Community Officer:

AJ Semark – What can blue do for you?: “Hi, Im AJ! Im running with the Equality and Justice slate for LeadLUU, we believe in trans rights, a free Palestine, anti-racism, welcoming refugees, and class solidarity. Im running for Union Affairs to make our union more of a home; by becoming 24 hours and providing as an emergency housing option, defending and protecting student protests on campus, and improving the emergency aid and financial aid which is available to students.’

Amala Bonnie: “I am running for this role because I want to improve students’ lives through participatory  and collaborative student governance rooted in justice and community. The university can often feel formal and structured, so LUU should be the human side of the student  experience. I want to ensure that every student, irrespective of their background, has access  to the same care, support, and representation.”

Lucy Hart- Don’t Lose Hart!: “I am re-running to be your Union Affairs & Community Officer. From 24/25 I was in the role where I worked with the University to reduce rent inflation and gained £2,500 from the Mayor for nighttime safety initiatives. My new manifesto is about students at the HART of… an affordable student life – lobbying the council for cheaper bus travel and tackling rising rents, students first hiring policy at the university, a safer community – nights out safer, campus accessibility and bringing back the winter tent, student voice – creating a student committee to the city council, lobbying the government for increased maintenance grants.”

Bring Sourav: “I’m running for Union Affairs and Community because I believe a university is more than just lectures and deadlines, it’s about people, belonging, and feeling seen. Too many students struggle in silence, feel disconnected, or think their voice doesn’t matter. I want to change that. I want to build a Union that is not distant, but present, one that supports, includes, and represents every single student, no matter their background. If even one student feels less alone because of the work we do, then that’s the kind of impact I’m here to create.”

Poppy Glaze – Sweeten Your Student Experience: “As students our voices must be heard! Due to recently discovering my passion for leadership, I would love for all students to feel they are supported, included, and ultimately listened to with me at the helm of LUU democracy!”

Academic Experience Officer:

Most Read

The reason Myron split from his ‘one-way monogamy’ girlfriend Angie after Louis Theroux’s doc

Love Island’s Ciaran reveals what really happened in final week with Samie before split

Amber explains the very serious reason her lips looked different at the Love Is Blind reunion

Nico Li – apartheid must go, vote for Nico: “I’m running with three others on a platform of being pro-palestine, anti-racism, and pro-trans rights. students get a rotten deal paying an extortionate amount of tuition fee while the university goes after staff’s job security, worsening education quality and students lives. At the same time it links itself to a system of imperialism and colonialism while denying refugee and migrant students their place in our academic community. I hope to challenge that system not only by getting myself elected but also building a militant student democracy from the bottom-up.”

Maria Cavalaro: “Hi, I’m Maria and I’m running for Academic Experience because I believe that every student deserves to have the education they dream of and that prepares them for the future. My campaign is all about boosting employability through shadowing, networking, and mentoring; standardised education; and fair access to facilities on campus!”

Annika Nair – Don’t Panic-ka, Vote Annika!: “I’m running because too many students graduate without real industry exposure, clear feedback on their work, or consistent support from supervisors. I want careers embedded into every degree through employer and alumni involvement, clearer marking guidance so students know how to improve, and timetables that actually work for students. So when it comes to your academic experience, don’t panic-ka, vote Annika!”

International Experience Officer:

Katrina ‘Yalian’ Liu: “When I ran for election last year, I had just lost my part-time job because I couldn’t pay my tuition during a family financial crisis and university system. That moment made me realise I want to change this. So I started projects on student finance this year, and I want to continue push this project  till the real change happen.”

Dubem Okeke – Don’t just be ok… Vote Okeke!: “I’m running for International Experience Student Executive to make international student life at Leeds more practical and fair, especially around housing barriers like guarantors and settling into UK systems. I also want to tackle accent bias by introducing a Respect & Communication Code, mandatory in training for staff and student leaders, to reduce microaggressions and help students feel taken seriously.”

LGBTQ+ Engagement Leader:

Ash Mallen: “I understand what it means for people to feel scared to ask for what they need because it feels like a burden. this role is my proof you are never taking up space, ever. I believe in myself and I know I can work with all, to find lovely safe solutions!”

Tee Smith – Vote this Barbie: “I would love to be the LGBTQ+ Engagement Leader as I’m passionate about making real change to the community! I want to continue advocating for LGBTQIA+ voices, I’ve been doing it for two academic years and I’m not ready to give up! I’m working on petitioning for name change accessibility, increase gender expression funding and to create an anonymous LGBTQ+ support service.”

Race and Ethnicity Engagement Leader:

Tia Bish: “The reason why I want to be an R&E engagement leader is because I know what it’s like to be the only one in the room, wondering where you fit in. Too many minority students face isolation, cultural pressure and structural barriers that makes us question our place. I want to rebuild the road so minority students don’t feel trapped in a system that was never designed with us in mind.”

Kayla Janeeta Rahardjo (Janet) Never Feel Like a Stranger in Leeds: “I am arguably the most qualified for the role. I have lived in different countries throughout my life as a stark minority (southeast Asian woman). Being a social butterfly, I now have friends from over 40 countries in the University of Leeds alone, which has given me insight into the struggles other marginalised groups face. I want to deconstruct the habit minorities have of suppressing their cultural pride just to make others comfortable (eg. “colonial mentality”, code-switching). Diversity must be celebrated, not tolerated!”

Disabled and Neurodivergent Liberation Engagement Officer:

Lula Hoffmann- Access Comes First: “Access is always an afterthought. Disabled and neurodivergent students are systematically excluded and consistently underrepresented, especially those of us with higher access needs –  I myself am AuDHD and a wheelchair user with complex chronic illnesses, and so I experience firsthand how little consideration is given by the university and union to students with access needs. I have used my lifetime of lived experience, activism and community work to listen to & fight for disabled and neurodivergent students here as the LSC DisabilityRep for the last two years (an unpaid position), including leading campaigns, petitions, panels, advocacy, trying to get a sensory room allocated, and running peer disability drop-in sessions, and have proven time and time that I can and will do the work. I want to keep doing this and I would love the chance to do so with actual support, time and resources: Access must come first, because it benefits everyone! Vote Lula #1 <3/”

Eve Grombridge – Dis-ability to make a change: “As someone who is disabled themselves, issues relating to the accessibility and support offered to both disabled and neurodivergent students are close to my heart. Representation and accessibility are at the core of my campaign and I believe that everybody deserves to have a university experience in which they feel heard, informed, and included.”

Medicine and Health Engagement Leader:

Amirtha Varusini Sunthera Pandiyan: “Together we can build a faculty where everyone feels supported, represented, and empowered.”

Engineering and Physical Sciences Engagement Leader:

Shreya Shambhavi: “As a Year two Computer Science course rep, I’ve worked with students, faculty, and university leadership. I’m running to bridge the gap between students and opportunities—ensuring everyone feels heard, informed about internships and apprenticeships, and empowered to make the most of their university experience.”

Social Science and Environment Engagement Leader:

Reem Baloch: “At the beginning of this year I went through the rapids looking for internships and jobs, and realised how little the world opened and catered to SS&E degrees. We have so much ambition and potential, we’re ready to do the work but there’s never any. The university with its resources provides opportunities that THEY believe we need but no one takes the time to curate what WE want. So I stood because I wanted to know what it is, in this vein, that my peers want, and how I potentially in a position of subtle power could get that for them.”

Note: This is not the complete list of candidates, just those who replied to us.

Has this list changed your mind? Or even set you on your own campaign next year?

Votes close 4pm on Wednesday, 18th March, with results being announced on 23rd March 2026. You can vote here.

Happy voting, and good luck to all candidates!

For more of the latest news, guides, gossip and memes, follow The Leeds Tab on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.