By Natalie Carragher and Neil Harrison

Following last week’s emphatic victory at MMU’s Lead Your Union Election night, Humanity Hallows caught up with winning team ‘It’s Time.’

Hosted by outgoing Union President Hannah Templeman and Chief Executive of MMU Students Union Matt Robinson, the election night was a resounding success with a huge student turnout supporting their chosen nominees. Speaking to incoming Union President, Mike Palmer, we asked how it felt to have won on the night and what students can expect from the new look MMUnion team.

Receiving 1,953 of the total 3,340 votes for Union President we began by asking Mike how it felt to have won on the evening.

“It felt great to not only win the election as President of MMUnion for the next academic year but also see such a great turnout in the elections and see that so many students engaged in the process. To be the president of MMUnion is a huge task and one that I’m not going to take lightly. I feel the work of officers before me will allow me to usher in a new era for MMUnion that will enable us to get more students involved and enhance the service we offer to those already engaged in every aspect of the union.”

HH: How did it feel to see your whole team win together?

MP: “It made the night even better to be honest, we had all worked so hard for the past couple of weeks and the hard work paid off. Having three officers re-running makes many people think it will be an easy run thing but it has its down side too. The ‘new guys’ on the team really took to the campaigning task like ducks to water. Having such a strong image and campaign really helped us appeal to students. The whole team is gearing up for what will be an exciting year with us all bringing very different things to the table which made winning together all the more important. I think going forward we will see returning officers flourish in their roles the 2nd year round and see our our new officers excel even more so.”

HH: What are your plans for the coming year?

Winners Sarah-Beth Cooper and Jen Adamson with out-going Community Officer Katie Parker

MP: “When the new officers take office in July we will be 2 months away from moving into a brand new building so ensuring that goes smoothly is paramount. Our team championed and spoke to students about ‘Coming Together, Getting Involved and Doing It Now’ and that is something that is important to us. We want to seek continued investment in Volunteering within the union, campaign for feedback standards across all departments and faculties, support students in establishing their own campaigns and allow students to form a strong voice across all campuses. We want to continue the advances in students being involved in sports, societies or democracy and ensure that all students feel valued and know who their 2014/15 office team is!”

HH: What specific policies can you tell us about and what can students expect from ‘It’s Time’?

MP: “As a team we have pledged to support the continued investment in employability and volunteering by offering opportunities from a variety of areas. We are also keen to expand relationships in regards to student housing in Manchester and build similar projects in Crewe. Our team is extremely diverse yet well rounded, and features a 50/50 split of returning officers to support existing work whilst having fresh eyes and ideas around us to keep us on our toes and related to our membership.

 For more information on MMUnion visit MMUnion.co.uk or follow them on twitter @ManMetUnion