This time last year, I was totally focused. Not on superfluous things like my assignments or exams, but on political campaigning.
Working on Ben Scanlan’s presidential run as Campaign Director consumed much of my time last Spring: coalition building and chopping pints is a lot more effort than you’d think. For this year’s election special, I thought I’d offer readers an insight into how we won the election. So, for all of you wannabe Union Grifters out there, take note — this is your electoral Bible.
Mobilisation is core to any political campaign. Echoing the populists, our policy platform was predicated on the belief that we could win if we gave the disenfranchised “silent majority” a reason to turn up on Election Day. Having started scheming in January 2025, Ben and I had laid a roadmap for victory based on such an idea. I can already hear all of you comparing me to Morgan McSweeney.
But, like the pair of good politicos we are, our carefully designed campaign did indeed manage to awaken the sleeping electoral beasts of UCL, launching Ben into 25 Gordon Street on Election Day (or so I thought, at least). Unlike many of our competitors, we only achieved such a feat as we created actual policies actual students liked.
Typically, most students don’t vote in SU elections unless they know the candidate personally. We understood why this was the case. As alluded to, most candidates offer nothingburger policies that make no tangible difference to students’ lives. The most famous example of this is the recurring promise of sleeping pods no one wants. They neither excite or help anybody and elucidate the complete lack of political creativity amongst most student politicians.
Unlike most, Ben and I aimed to, and ultimately succeeded in, galvanising the electorate with a broad set of promises that interested your average student. Even the Union admitted this, with Jeff Wilshire from the Democracy team noting the impact of Ben’s policy platform on driving up election turnout in a Wonkhe podcast episode.
Our slogan “MAKE UCL CHEAP AGAIN” (once again echoing the populists) resonated with voters. It struck at the heart of what people care about — the economy. Despite how rich both our University and Students’ Union are in comparison to others around the country, students simply don’t feel their pockets getting heavier. We wanted to change this by reorienting the SU’s priorities to reflect the reality of most students’ lives. Our priorities were for the many, not the few. Naturally, as alcoholic Corbynites, our first port of call was the pubs. Cheaper pints was our big promise — it was the policy that got people to the ballot box. But policies aren’t enough in and of themselves. Election victories require an engaging campaign. A trend that has been copied by many since, Ben and I went around student bars recording him chopping pints for the Instagram page (@voteben2025). We did this not only to attract attention to Ben as a candidate, but to also highlight the absurd cost of drinks at student bars. With non-SU pubs like The Court and The Jeremy Bentham undercutting the Institute by 50p-£1 on lager, we believed that the Union needed to do something to retain customers and revitalise the student drinking scene, both of which are core to achieving the SU’s stated aim of creating a more coherent student community.
Ben’s on-camera ability fostered a perception that he was a “normal” guy, someone you’d actually want to go for a drink with (which he is, I promise). Our other videos around campus highlighted real issues, like the inaccessibility of SU welfare grants and the awful state of student accommodation. This showed Ben to be a serious candidate who actually cared about the important stuff — something proven by his great track record as the Union’s Accommodation Officer.
Our posters were also simple and eye-catching. They acted as a crucial tool, enabling our campaign to stand out like a beautiful yellow flower in a sea of drab shite. This combination showed voters that we had an agenda for real change, and transformed Ben into a proper BNOC over the course of just a few weeks.
Garnering bloc support and endorsements was also crucial. The electoral system at UCL is composed of pretty much homogenous voting groups, or blocs (such as the arts bloc, sports bloc, or the international students bloc). Candidates need to court a fair few of these groups if they want any hope of securing victory.
Being the editor of The Cheese Grater at the time, I was quite well-connected. I should make it known that I did not work on the election issue or any other journalism related to the election at the time. Nevertheless, by using my contacts I was able to shore up support from a few BNOCs with sway, whilst Alastair Campbell-ing the media from Ben Scanlan HQ (The Huntley).
From this manoeuvring, we achieved engagement from a bloody massive range of groups, all of whom coalesced around our bread-and-butter policy platform despite their differing material and ideological interests.
Endorsements from both the Labour and Tory Party societies got us the politicos, whilst the support of the rugby and hockey teams ensured we won over the sportsmen and women of UCL. Our other policy priorities, such as supporting divestment initiatives, secured us quite a few of the activists, whilst our criticism of the Union’s lack of support for the drama societies got us the all-important arts block. Building this broad coalition was the key to Ben’s victory.
By Election Day, whilst cautious, we knew we had shored up enough support to at least compete for top spot. In the Refectory beneath the Main Library, Ben’s triumphant victory was confirmed, with the majority of people in the room having voted for him.
So, there you go. That’s how to win the SU Presidency. Have a proper message, know the electorate, talk to important people, and communicate well. If you do all that, you’ll be grand.
How to get your candidate to stay in the job, however, is a totally different story — one for another time I think.