If elected CUSU President, one of the main campaigns that I will devote a great amount of time and effort to will be the Living Wage campaign. For those who are unaware, the Living Wage campaign is a national movement to ensure that everyone is paid a minimum wage calculated to be the lowest necessary wage in order to live. It is calculated geographically and is adjusted in line with inflation: currently the Living Wage in London is £8.55 and in the rest of the UK it is £7.45.

The reasons for supporting the Living Wage campaign are manifold but for me the central reason is that it is calculated specifically to be the bare minimum necessary to live on. I believe very strongly that anybody who goes to work deserves to at least earn enough to be able to pay for food and accommodation but the reality is that many workers at our colleges are not.

As of a Freedom of Information request submitted in 2012, and reported in Varsity, Homerton among many other colleges were found to be employing large numbers of staff on wages less than the Living Wage (Homerton paid 65 staff on less than the Living Wage). When you research who the staff paid under the Living Wage are, it is often the bedders and those who are employed in the kitchens. In other words it is the staff which are in very close contact with and who help the students.

I think that we are really lucky as students to live in accommodation in which we are so well taken care of. But I hate the idea that those who are employed to take care of us, receive such poor reward for doing so. For me, the thought that somebody who could be cleaning my room, or serving me food, might not be being paid enough to support themselves, or might be having to work multiple jobs to do so, is always one of the most stark reminders as to the importance of the Living Wage.

During my time as the Homerton sabbatical JCR President this year, I’m really proud to have won the Living Wage. It came as a result of constant lobbying and lots of hard work but I think it shows that the Living Wage is an achievable project and something that we can unite behind as a students’ union. I’m also delighted that the example of Homerton also seems to have put a bit of momentum back into the campaign at Cambridge. For all of the good work it does, I do not think CUSU has devoted enough time to the project this year, and I am delighted to see all of the Presidential candidates and indeed a candidate for GU President include it on their manifestos.

I hope whoever becomes your next CUSU President devotes as much time to this project as I know I would – and I would be happy to offer any support and advice to them as to how I managed it.

Read the other candidates opinions on an issue that is important to them in Parts 1 and 2 of our Presidential debate series, where we talk to Flick and George