What should CUSU’s role in politics be? We, the students CUSU represents, face rising intergenerational inequality with fewer jobs and a huge burden of debt. We need an effective, unified voice in politics, and providing that voice is up to CUSU.

For CUSU to bolster its voice it must bring students together with strong leadership and a clear sense of purpose. This unity is achieved when we ʻdepoliticise’, or moderate our political stance, so that we’re representative of most students’ views. In a student union, students – not ideology – should dictate the union’s priorities. CUSU needs to be in touch with what the majority of students care about, and the politics of elected Sabs should never trump the opinions of students. It’s not the President’s mandate alone to set CUSU’s agenda. It needs to listen more.

I’m running to become CUSU President because I want to reform CUSU to provide that strong, united voice we students need – in Cambridge and beyond. As shown by the Right to Light and AS Level campaigns, when we do unite we can succeed.

Every year candidates promise CUSU will communicate better. I offer something more. There’s no point talking unless you’ve got something interesting to say, so I propose we fully reform the CUSU bureaucracy until it’s something everyone knows and interacts with. I’ll move CUSU Council around Colleges, and hold meetings on particular issues like Access and Living Wage, which deserve a proper, inclusive hearing. Mere evolution isn’t enough, however well-intentioned: we need something new.

In relations with the University, we’ll achieve a lot more with a firm, non-party approach. My manifesto says I’ll listen to students before, during and after CUSU acts, especially in matters too important for CUSU to work alone, or where we’d be stronger if we build on popular support. Just this week, I’ve been speaking to mental health campaigners in Cambridge, and YouGov, about representatively polling student views on welfare provision next term. When we present the University with evidence like this, we’ll achieve rapid and lasting progress.

As voting begins for this year’s CUSU Presidential election students in Cambridge need to think about what they really want from their President. Do we want a President to follow the agenda of a political party or our own?

Do we want a President to keep CUSU as it is – slowly evolving? Or do you want a candidate with new ideas and expertise, who’ll bring in studies from students, think-tanks and pollsters like YouGov, to strengthen our lobbying in the University and beyond?

Do you want a President who'll make the most of the responsibility of a sabbatical position, and who won’t use his time in Cambridge for anything other than helping students?

This election is a choice between continuity and change. Can we afford to let CUSU linger another year in well-intentioned silence, or shall we come together to make it work for every student? Your vote really does matter. I hope you use it next week.

Read the other candidates opinions on an issue that is important to them in Parts 1 and 3 of our Presidential debate series, where we talk to Flick and Greg