Last Friday the results were announced for our Student Union’s new Full-Time Officers. They will fulfil these roles for the 2025-2026 academic year. I had the pleasure of interviewing our new Wellbeing Officer, Leah Buttery, who picked up an impressive 68% of the total vote-share in her category.
Leah’s Role
You may be wondering what our wellbeing officer actually oversees. I’d be glad to break it down for you.
They lead campaigns and activities relating to students’ wellbeing, and are responsible for responding to both internal wellbeing concerns from students, and wider, national issues. They also chair the Wellbeing and Inclusion Sub-committee of the Union which develops student wellbeing policies, shares information about progress on relevant projects, and facilities Liberation campaigning.
I spoke to Leah about her winning campaign, support she’d had along the way, and what her plans were to kick her manifesto into action.
What was the most enjoyable part of your campaign?
For Leah, the best part of the election week was getting to know everyone involved, like fellow candidates and student voters. She “met so many new people”, especially “in the Square”.
She stated warmly that “everyone [being] so lovely” has made campaigning “a really good experience”.
What did you find the most challenging?
The most challenging thing for Leah was that she “kind of felt like you needed to be everywhere all at once”. It’s an easy picture to envision, given the time constraints and sense of urgency surrounding FTO elections, but managing the stress of it all surely paid off for Leah.
Your manifesto emphasises establishing clearer communication between students and their union. Why is this so important to you?
Leah believes in the importance of colleges and societies feeling “included in the university and represented by the university”, because they are where people “find their communities”, a sentiment I’m certain anybody who partakes in sport or a society at Lancaster can relate to. She holds that “really open communications between the union, colleges and societies will be really positive for student engagement”, which will be beneficial both for individual wellbeing and the union’s reputation at Lancaster.
Do you have an idea of what your first steps towards achieving that are going to be?
She “wants to have as many open forums as possible”, set up “with student groups, like student wellbeing officers, JCRs, and society execs, giving them a direct line of contact with the union”, and informed me setting those forums up “will be the first thing I want to do”. She wishes to “put as much effort in as possible to open these sort of venues”- Leah’s dedication towards their upcoming role is clear, and we look forward to seeing it in action.
Do you have any advice for people looking to run for an FTO role next year?
Leah’s main point is to “make as many friends as possible” and “put yourself out there”, which are certainly crucial to a role in which she will be dealing with students’ individual worries. She added that “it’s scary, but it’s fun”, which amplifies how key confidence is when campaigning for such a big role.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank for supporting your campaign?
Leah first thanked their close friends on their campaign team, saying she “could not have done this without them, they were so incredible”; her victory must’ve been almost as gratifying for them as for her. She also thanked Eliza Woods for being “an incredible competitor” that “pushed me to my best”.
“It was so lovely running against someone who I also know is a good person.”
This helped her be less worried during her campaign, “knowing no matter what happened the union would be in good hands.”
How will you celebrate tonight?
Lastly, in classic uni student fashion, Leah planned to celebrate by “going out with friends [and] having a few drinks”. They also pointed to the college rivals competitions between Furness (their college) and Cartmel on that day, saying “everyone’s going out to celebrate”, so it was even better since she had multiple victories to bask in the glory of!
Once again, congratulations to Leah and to all of the other successful candidates- I’m very excited to see what your time in office will bring ❤️
To find out more about Leah’s goals and objectives as Wellbeing Officer, you can read her full manifesto here: Candidate_Manifestos_LUSU_Elections_2025.pdf
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