Tag: Kim Perry

Sheffield Greens back striking lecturers

11th June 2026

Sheffield City Green Party have announced a motion to support striking academic staff at Sheffield Hallam University

UCU Strike June 2026

Sheffield Green Party notes that “Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) has cut 1000 jobs in a little over two years, and the local University and College Union (UCU) branch reports devastating impacts on teaching provision, student support and staff workload.”

Kim Perry, chair of Sheffield Green Party, said, “We encourage people of the city to support the UCU. Academics of the Universities are vital to both our city and the country’s educational and working future. Staff, students and the public shouldn’t suffer because of the terrible decisions of management.” 

Andy Nichols, spokesperson for the UCU branch, said “Sheffield Hallam UCU branch rejects the policy of managed decline that has been adopted by the University Executive Board, resulting in over 1000 job losses, worsening working conditions for remaining staff, deteriorating learning conditions for students, and adverse impacts on the local economy and communities. We thank the Green Party for their solidarity. in passing this motion.”

The strike, which started on 27th May, is set to continue throughout June. 

Here is the motion in full

Picket line at SHU
Cllrs Alexi Dimond, Tessa Lupton, Lynsey Angell, Richard Tinsley and Ruth Abbey supporting UCU at Sheffield Hallam University

SGP: Motion of Support for Sheffield Hallam UCU

We note that:

  1. Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) has cut 1000 jobs in a little over 2 years, and the local University and College Union (UCU) branch reports devastating impacts on teaching provision, student support and staff workload.
  2. SHU is currently seeking to make a further £27m of cuts, including many more job losses, and taking teaching staff out of the Teachers Pension Scheme by employing them through a wholly owned subsidiary and enrolling them in the Local Government Pensions Scheme instead.
  3. SHU has been falling rapidly in the university league tables (from 63rd in 2025 to 84th in 2026, in the Complete University Guide).
  4. SHU reportedly creates 2.4 extra jobs in the City of Sheffield for every one job at the University, and is vital to the economy; culture, education and the wellbeing of our city.

 

We believe that:

  1. UCU has demonstrated that SHU has a history of poor governance; expenditure outstripping income for over a decade, including tens of millions of pounds of loans taken out for unaffordable buildings, and speculative spending on a satellite campus in Brent Cross, London. If SHU wish to ‘balance the books’, they should look first to their own poor investments.
  2. The multiple crises at SHU have been exacerbated by government failures to protect ‘post-92’ (former polytechnic universities) from rising Teachers Pension Scheme costs, in the way that primary and secondary schools have been. This creates a financial penalty for that part of the university sector most likely to educate students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

 

  1. https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/universities/sheffield-hallam-university
  2. https://ucuhallam.org/sheffield-hallam-ucu-state-of-the-university-report-2025/
  3. https://wonkhe.com/wonk-corner/three-years-on-tps-pensions-are-still-very-expensive-for-higher-education/
  4. https://ifs.org.uk/news/english-universities-ranked-their-contributions-social-mobility-and-least-selective-post-1992

Stephen Lawrence Memorial Day

22nd April 2026

Stephen Lawrence Day takes place on April 22nd every year, on the anniversary of Stephen’s death. A national moment of reflection and a call to action. Each year, Stephen’s life is honoured by inspiring individuals, schools, and communities to drive change. Stephen Lawrence Day is more than remembrance; it’s a day to celebrate progress, challenge injustice, and empower young people to imagine their futures. The Stephen Lawrence Day website provides schools, workplaces, and individuals with resources and inspiration to participate meaningfully.

In the video, Green Party candidates Dylan Lewis-Creser (Crookes and Crosspool ward), Andy Davies (Walkley Ward), Kim Perry (Chair of Sheffield Green Party), Lynsey Angell (Nether Edge and Sharrow ward) and Ruth Abbey (Manor Castle Ward) talk about their commitment to oppose all forms of racism and discrimination and build community in their wards.

Lynsey says, “My pronouns are she, her. Here today to mark Steven Lawrence Day. He should be my age now. He never even made it to my daughter’s age. I am here to state that I will be an ally against systemic racism that his mother faced in getting justice for his killers, and to also stand up to racism on a personal level. You can count on me as an ally. “

Andy says, ” I absolutely abhor racism in all of its forms. Whether that is anti-semitism, islamophobia, or hatred of others based on skin type or ethnicity. I will call it out.”

Ruth says, “When I’m a Counsellor, I shall be working with all our communities in Manor Castle. I’ll be questioning and challenging those assumptions we all make about other people, people of other faiths, people of other nationalities, and I’ll be building a community together with all the local residents that we can all be proud of and feel comfortable in.”

Dylan says, ” I pledge that if I’m elected as City Councillor in Sheffield, I will stand up against racism, protect Sheffield’s status as a City of Sanctuary, and make sure that all council services are fully reflective of cultural differences and end discrimination in the city as far as I can.

Kim says “It’s an incredibly important day where we must remember and stand up to racism and discrimination in all its forms and continue to fight against racism.”

Banner showing Sheffield surrounded by green hills with lots of people carrying a banner saying Sheffield Welcomes Refugees.