Gemma Tumelty

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Gemma Tumelty (born October 20 1980, Somerset) is the current President of the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom (NUS). She was the NUS National Secretary for 2005 to 2006, and a member of its National Executive Committee for two years before that.

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[edit] Early life

She comes from Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. A graduate of Liverpool John Moores University, she was previously Women's Officer and then Vice President Welfare in Liverpool Students' Union. At LJMU, she studied Applied Psychology, receiving a 2:1 degree in 2005. She studied one year of sociology previously. She was elected as National Secretary of the NUS in April 2005 at the NUS Conference in Blackpool.

[edit] NUS President

Gemma Tumelty leading the NUS National Demo October 2006
Gemma Tumelty leading the NUS National Demo October 2006

Tumelty was first elected in March of 2006, being the first NUS president from a post 1992 university. Although she is a member of the Labour Party she was not a candidate of its student wing, Labour Students, and ran for President with the description independent; as she only joined The Labour Party in the weeks before the conference. She is part of the Organised Independents faction. She beat Pav Akhtar, the first Muslim candidate for President of the NUS and another member of the Labour Party who ran as an independent, in the final round. There were five other candidates, including a member of the Education Not for Sale campaign, candidates from Conservative Future and Liberal Democrat Youth and Students, and two more independents.

In 2006, Tumelty led the NUS in signing an accord with the Trades Union Congress (TUC). Motivated by the increasing number of students who are taking-up employment to fund their eduation, the agreement will see the NUS and TUC working together to encourage students to join a trade union.[1]

Tumelty was re-elected on March 28 2007 and will serve a full term until July 2008 when she will be succeeded by Labour Students' Wes Streeting. Her opponents in 2007 were Sofie Buckland, a member of Education Not for Sale and an officer on the NUS National Executive, and Rob Owen, a member of RESPECT and General Secretary of the University of Manchester Students' Union.

On 11th March, 2008, it was reported by the National Student that Tumelty was engaged in 'dirty games', in a deal which will ensure the 'Organised Independents' win seat of Vice-President Higher Education in return for not fielding a candidate against Labour Students' Wes Streeting.

She writes a weekly blog for the Education section of The Guardian. In 2006 she became the first NUS president to address the TUC Conference.

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Political offices
Preceded by
Kat Fletcher		 President of the
National Union of Students
2006-2008		 Succeeded by
Wes Streeting