Melanie Benedict has been elected undergraduate president of the Students’ Union (SU) and will take up their position in July.

The current vice-president for liberation and welfare ran on a platform of stopping rent increases, reducing workloads, and protecting trans students. Benedict has also promised to support divestment and climate activism, increase the visibility of the SU, and improve the welfare support offered by tutors.

The candidate was elected in one round with 1706.5 votes. They told Varsity that they felt “very good” about their victory, but that “it has been really fulfilling to see such an array of good candidates this year, people who are really passionate about student advocacy”.

Regarding their priorities as president, Benedict commented: “I never think with student organising that there’s one thing that you work on first. The reality is that lots of these projects are chip-away projects. What I have learned as a sabbatical officer is that you have to work on all of those projects in an interweaving fashion […] as soon as you start the role in July.”

In preparation for the role, Benedict said they would work with the current undergraduate president Matthew Copeman “to learn about the intricacies of the role and how he has done such impactful work”. They also plan to “build relationships with University staff I haven’t met yet who will be integral to the work that I do as president” and engage with the SU’s new CEO, Bethan Dudas.

The former CEO resigned in November 2024 after numerous claims of bullying by the Senior Management Team towards other staff. Dudas will replace the current interim CEO in April after leaving her role as CEO of London Met Students’ Union.

There was no increase in turnout from 2025, which saw a substantial increase from the usual 10% participation to just under 19%.

The SU uses the ‘Single Transferable Vote’ system, which means that students can rank as many candidates as they like in order of preference. For this reason, the winner may only emerge after several rounds of elimination, and the results can contain decimals.

Sabbatical officer roles are full-time, paid positions, for which the candidates are either final-year students or intending to intermit if elected. Sitting on the University Council – the main decision-making body of the University – is undertaken alongside one’s studies and is separate from the SU.

A referendum on whether to update the SU’s constitution, known as the Articles of Association, also passed. 1,460 students voted ‘yes’, 182 opposed, and 1,527 abstained. 2,000 total votes were needed for the results to be valid.

Other results

Vice-president (Education and Widening Participation)

Winner: Sarah Misraoui (third year historian, Peterhouse)

Elected at stage four with 1244.5 votes

Key priorities:

• Access schemes after admissions

• Affordability Task Force

• Compensation for academic representatives

Vice-president (Liberation and Welfare)

Winner: Tallula Harris (third year geographer, Homerton)

Elected at stage one with 1428.5 votes

Key priorities:

• Standardising rents across college

• Supporting student activists

• Improving safety for marginalised groups

Vice-president (Student Communities and Societies)

Winner: Stella Wilkinson (fourth year climate scientist, Murray Edwards)

Elected at stage one with 1399.5 votes

Key priorities:

• Walk-through access to all colleges

• Preventing course closures

• Reporting system for abuse and corruption

University Councillor

Winner: Bethan Watson (second year historian, Lucy Cavendish)

Elected at stage four with 983.5 votes 

Key priorities:

• Reforming sexual violence reporting
• Universal access to college libraries
• Process for petitioning the University Council

The results for postgraduate president have been delayed due to outstanding appeals relating to breaches of election rules.