Edited by Olivia Griffin
Alex Portman Ross discusses his 2026 Students’ Union Presidential bid with Head of Politics Ruaidhrí Gillen Lynch.
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This interview is published verbatim. Views expressed are those of the candidate and do not necessarily reflect the views of Gair Rhydd or Cardiff Students’ Union.
So you of course are a student at Cardiff University, what are you studying and what previous experience do you have that makes you the most suitable option for the role?
So I’m studying International Relations, I’m really really enjoying it. I only knew IR was a degree because there’s a display at my sixth form college that said you could do International Relations and I was like, “You can study that?” Obviously applied to everywhere for it, ended up in Cardiff, was really happy to end up in Cardiff, not just because our rent compared to some places is pretty decent.
It’s a really enjoyable degree, I’d recommend it if anyone’s looking to transfer. In terms of experience, I currently run the Model United Nations Society, where again, it’s basically a lot of IR stuff, shocker.
I’m also a student rep, I’ve just come straight from the student staff panel where I was debating with lecturers about stuff they really don’t want to change but we really think they should change. I’m sure there’ll be a lot of people who really don’t like two-hour online exams. I saw my housemates cry.
Yeah, I’ve got a lot of political activism in my past, a lot of campaigning, that kind of thing, debating skills obviously from MUN and then I did a lot of mock trials and stuff which I think will really help me. In the past I’ve held a lot of similar roles, I was on my college executive school council, all the kind of nerdy stuff that tried to make change and sometimes did it.
Where did you grow up, what kind of school did you go to and can you give us a bit of info about your childhood and teen years?
I’m from a state school on the Somerset and Devon border. Under 50 percent of students at my school would pass Maths and English. Ours was actually a record high for Maths with 42 percent passing, so that kind of gives the background.
I’m dyslexic as well so it was definitely a challenge in terms of support and stuff with that. I failed GCSEs, I didn’t pass all my GCSEs. I think from my experience of dealing with, we were basically a school of farmers, people who might have a lot going on at home and then some other random kids, and it was a very weird dynamic but it definitely shaped my view on how people are treated.
The two head of department detentions I ever got were basically arguing because they were being nasty to my friends. It’s kind of a theme through my life of getting over-involved where I probably don’t need to but I guess hopefully it’s going to work out for this.
When you think about your life outside of university and outside of this campaign what does that kind of look like for you? What does your free time look like?
I’m really busy at the moment so my diary is literally page to page with things. I run a lot, it’s such a good way to de-stress. If anyone sees someone screaming “Paper Rings” by Taylor Swift as they run around Cathays, it’s probably me. My bad, I know the singing’s not great.
I also play a bit of football, especially at home. I love football although I’m absolutely terrible at it. I’m pretty engaged with the sports kind of thing and then in terms of my social life I’ve got some amazing friends and some not so great ones but I try to be there for everyone.
Keeping on that same theme, do you have a favourite social event in Cardiff whether it’s a pub club society or anything else?
I used to be such a Misfits guy. The Misfits bucket, shout out. However the digital queue is probably the biggest shocker ever.
I’ve become such a silent disco convert when YOLO has a full building. That silent disco is amazing until they get the foam cannon out.
Okay, getting on to some more specifics around the campaign. You’re a second year student opting to take a sabbatical year if you’re successful. Is this an experience that might be a weakness for you against your candidates?
I think it’s actually my biggest strength. I think the other candidates, especially in this election, two of them will by the time they finish this role have graduated for two years. As far as I’m concerned, you’re not a student at that point.
For me, somebody representing students should be a student and also the consequences of my actions will affect me and my friends. I’m going to go home from every day and if I haven’t made a statement on timetables being late or I haven’t made a statement on stuff that Time to Act is working on, there’s not going to be a big post, there’s going to be my housemate hitting me probably, because the reality is that that scrutiny is always going to be around me and anything I fail to implement, the next year when I come back I’m going to have to sit at the front of a lecture as I usually do.
Yes, I’m a big nerd and have 500 people looking at my ginger head and hating me if I don’t do a good enough job. I think genuinely it’s probably my biggest strength, having as much on the line as other people and being connected to those other people.
I think my whole personal belief is that I will not be running for a second term. I think this is a one-time job where we try to steer the ship and make things better, then I get back to uni and get on with my life essentially.
Your manifesto is certainly the most in-depth Gair Rhydd has seen this year. Can you explain a bit about what you’ve done to work with this, what your core message is and why you took the approach that you have?
So we also have probably the biggest campaign team. We have a first year representative, a second year representative, a third year representative, a women’s and minority representative, then we have a campaign manager, a social media manager and then we have two translators. Essentially the main role of all of these people has been to bring your expertise, bring your friends’ expertise.
We have some friends who are med students and we’ve been talking to them about what’s actually going on at Heath and how they actually feel, because I’ve been there a few times and I’ve been to a couple of events there but actually I’m never going to be able to know as much as them.
I think my biggest strength is being able to ask other people and engage with other people because the idea that I would know exactly what a postgrad wants is just ridiculous. That’s why we’ve ended up with such a long manifesto, because we’ve allowed everyone to have their feedback. We hope that reflects what I would do if I did get this role and actually act like we’re doing it from the off.
Yeah, so the SafeZone app, for anyone who doesn’t know the context, is something that is used by Exeter University on their campus to keep students safe. You basically make a green zone on the floor. It’s just like a green painted circle and then you’re able to, as you’re walking home, if you feel unsafe at any point, be that any type of threat essentially or any type of illness, we know we have a lot of ill students and stuff like that, you’re able to then alert from the zone to get support.
The big part is obviously working with people. We know that all these figures have come out about how unsafe Cathays is. That’s bad for the council, that’s bad for the police, that’s bad for the university and that’s bad for the union. There are four income sources essentially to this scheme which will help the scheme actually work and I’m very very very happy to step on toes and get angry.
I think any council, union, university or police force that’s against students being safe walking home is ridiculous and it should really be addressed.
Essentially with safety, obviously everyone will have had horrible experiences or will know people who have had horrible experiences and our biggest thing is just making sure we can do a little thing to stop that.
So these cameras to keep the zone safe would be placed on union and university buildings initially, which we could literally do. We could get right now, you could go out and put three cameras and a bit of green paint on the floor and track a zone from Circuit to Taly, linking Senghennydd and linking to Column Hall and Aberconway. We could literally do it and there’s no reason for them not to do it.
The other thing in terms of that is obviously we have to focus on education and all the other things that will help us reduce these kinds of activities but I think that’s something we could literally do, hopefully for freshers.
Your approach is quite surveillance led and what evidence do you have that those sorts of schemes will bring tangible results for students?
I think in terms of surveillance led, the surveillance is the initial contact. One of the hardest things anyone will have found, if you’ve tried to call an ambulance at university or if you’ve tried to call the police, is actually getting someone there.
I know I work downstairs in the Co-op and we just get robbed and threatened with needles and you’ll get a police officer in in two hours. Well in two hours I could have three needle holes in me, ideally not obviously.
Essentially having that first bit of contact where the union already has 24-hour security camera monitoring, so we’re not bringing in any extra cost in terms of that, you basically have someone in the union who you’re making contact with.
The uni already has security patrols for campus who are going around anyway, so you can get them out to you. So it is definitely led by surveillance but I think the surveillance is part of making a scheme that actually works.
You speak about that increased support from the Union and you specifically talk about housing. Are you saying that you believe the housing campaign that the current SU President Maria Pollard, your competitor, has brought in this year isn’t good enough?
I think the housing campaign has brought a lot of eyes to the attention of housing and I know a lot of people have benefited from the fairs. But people are still going on Facebook to find housemates. That’s still the first method everyone turns to unfortunately.
Our approach to housing would be more direct. I think a lot of issues that people are having with housing, obviously finding housemates and stuff can be a real struggle, but one of the main issues that I’m sure everyone’s witnessed is dealing with really nasty landlords.
I have friends, let’s say, who gaslight the hell out of you and manipulate you and threaten legal action and do all these things to try and keep you down.
I feel like everyone listening has probably had an experience where a second year or third year has been telling a fresher, don’t go with this company, don’t go with that company. One of the schemes we’d be interested in bringing in is a ranking system so that you can rank agencies.
It would be anonymously ranked but you’d have to provide proof that you’ve actually used that agency and then you can rank, you know, I dealt with this company and I ranked them three out of ten because they wouldn’t fix this, they never did this, they never cared about us, because everyone should have access to that information.
Going to a fair and finding housemates is great but then if you end up living somewhere where every day is stressful and every day you’re getting mould poisoning, that’s unacceptable.
You then go on to speak about freedom of speech on campus, saying you will stand up for it and use the union’s power to advocate for it. How?
I think a big issue we’ve had was the injunction. I personally read through the injunction and the way it was essentially done was saying that they were having more cost because of security.
The university using these measures against students is something where the union needs to step in. We can’t have lukewarm statements. We need to have a real fight and I think there’s also a link with student media. Our student media needs to be protected.
One of the things we’re looking towards now is obviously you guys have a council regulating you and the by-laws aren’t always updated and that’s something I’d really look to engage with.
Freedom of speech on campus is the first thing a union should be advocating for because we need to point out issues.
As you go on to say, you describe the restrictions of student media as terrifying. What work, including the by-law stuff, do you plan to take to ensure that that’s no longer possible? Are you open to those discussions being led by Gair Rhydd and other student media bodies?
I think I’ve shown with my manifesto that my main priority is always to go to the people who understand the issue best and obviously that is going to be our student media bodies.
I think having a conversation about someone when they’re not in the room is, firstly excuse the French, bitchy, and secondly it’s just pointless. You’re not going to develop anything.
I think having student media involved in making a system that is fit for purpose for student media is what we should be doing. I think the rumours of the union kind of being nasty to the student media groups is abhorrent.
This is a students’ union and the biggest weapon of the students’ union to fight injustice should be the student media.
And with that, are you open to ideas of complete editorial independence?
I think I understand sometimes the override comes from a legal perspective but we need to have a conversation about whether it’s coming from a legal perspective or whether it’s coming from the union being scared to step on the university’s toes.
I think the union’s perspective that they can’t step on the university’s toes, when the university’s communication with them is so lax around so many things, is like, you’re already in the doghouse, why are you worried about it raining?
You speak about mental health and some of the failing supports, saying that we should take things like the All Right Mate campaign as something to be very proud of. What does this mean for you? What’s going to happen?
Firstly, just to explain the All Right Mate campaign, because so many engaged students won’t know about it, which is firstly abhorrent. The All Right Mate campaign basically just encourages you to check in on your friends.
I’m sure we’ve all had personal experiences where your housemate or one of your course friends just saying “are you all right?” makes such a difference. You have a little cry to them and you go to the library after your lecture and suddenly you feel so much better about everything. Usually there’s also a coffee involved, I feel like, and those kinds of schemes have really good basis but nobody knows about them.
I think that’s the saddest part.
Your manifesto repeatedly stresses that you won’t make empty or unrealistic promises. How will students be able to measure your success throughout your term if you’re successful?
I think it’s really important that students know, firstly, what we’re standing for, so we’ll keep that publicised.
I think the weekly updates that some of the sabbatical officers have been doing are good. I think students need to know exactly what their sabbs are working on.
I’ve also seen a lot of talk about a tracker and stuff like that. I think that’s a good way of measuring it. However, I think the best way of measuring it will be, hopefully, next year when you can see green paint on the streets and CCTV cameras that indicate that you are safe to walk home.
Several of your proposals rely on collaborations with bodies like the university, council, police and other external partners. What do you plan to do if this cooperation doesn’t go to plan? What’s the plan B?
I think the plan B is to fight and I think that’s something a union should do. A union in general, not just a students’ union. Students’ unions have such a good history of fighting and sometimes fighting dirty.
Essentially, especially on the Safe Zone thing, if the police are against the Safe Zone thing, that’s a thing that the media should know. That’s a thing that the taxpayers should know. That’s a thing that everyone who is affected by these authorities should know about.
I think this is a political role and students use it in a political way, but part of having political capital is using the political capital. There’s no point building political capital to just let it sit there.
You describe accessibilities across the university experience. Given you say you will not re-run for a second term if you’re successful, how can students trust that improvements will occur in a single term?
I think accessibility is definitely a long process. We could definitely look at an AGM motion, which is something we’d be looking to for the Safe Zone work to continue.
I have a lot on the line. I’m a dyslexic student. I had a massive fight with the university today and at the student staff panel about accessibility. One of the things we were talking about was putting links to accessibility resources on your Learning Central tab so you can actually access it and know that you have that opportunity and support.
In my first exam at the university, I didn’t apply for the right conditions quickly enough and it directly impacted me. If this is happening to students, that’s absolutely heartbreaking.
I also have family members who have accessibility needs, so it’s such a priority for me that I’m not just saying this performatively. We are going to try and make real change.
I just wanted to pick up a little bit about the physical disability side of things, because I have family members who are physically disabled. I noticed in your manifesto you said that it’s unacceptable that certain buildings are not accessible at all. What would you do to make a change?
For example, in this building, if a lift is out, someone might need to wait. Even worse than that, we all saw the stories last year of people being rescued by the fire brigade from the external lift.
I think in terms of accessibility, they’ve spent, I know there’s been reports in the paper recently about how much they’ve been spending on hubs and stuff like that. The university is telling people they don’t have the money to do things on accessibility and then they’re spending it on other things. That’s a choice about what you prioritise.
There are simple changes that are low cost that can make such a difference. One of them is signage to lifts. Trying to find a lift in a university building is half the problem. Hoping the lift works is the second part of the problem. Being able to use it is the third part of the problem.
These things can be addressed and I think the university would probably be quite eager to address them when they’re pointed out.
One of the big things that came up during our consultation was students saying that a lot of buildings will have a disabled toilet on the ground floor and nowhere else. Lifts have been around for a very long time. Disabled students should be able to access all floors of a building, assuming the lifts are working.
It’s just heartbreaking that you want to pop out in the ten-minute break you have in a two-hour lecture to go to the toilet but you can’t do that because you have to go down five floors and go to a lift that’s ridiculously far away.
Something I’ve been looking into recently is the accessibility of Cathays Station. I’m not sure if you’re aware but if you have limited mobility, that station is completely inaccessible. The plans, the money, the funding, it’s all there. It just needs someone to push it through. Would you be happy to be that voice?
A hundred percent. I think, firstly, contact me about it and let’s talk about the manifesto and let’s get stuff in there.
Secondly, Cathays station didn’t used to have ticket barriers. They’ve changed the station to put ticket barriers in but they haven’t changed it to make it accessible. Those kinds of priorities are just sad.
This is the most convenient station, especially for people in the room who are JOMEC students, getting between campuses and things like that. It just shouldn’t be a barrier. It really shouldn’t be a barrier.
You described the decision to remove the VP Heath Park role as concerning and a failure of the Heath Park Campus website which you say is filled with basic errors, saying that representatives of Heath ought to be paid and that Heath students’ voices may not have been sufficiently heard. How do you feel the current sabbatical officers’ approach was insufficient and how do you suggest addressing it?
Essentially, on that, I think the approach in general was flawed. This was an AGM that was held in Cathays at 6pm on a Wednesday. Anyone who lives with or is friends with students who are on placement knows that that is just not feasible for them to get to.
There was no online access for them to vote. Furthermore, the three motions of the AGM were widely publicised but because this was an internal structural change, it wasn’t widely publicised in the same way.
The majority of Heath students didn’t know this was changing, so they didn’t know it was going to change. They probably couldn’t get there and if they did get there, in many cases they were outvoted by students from the Cathays campus who know nothing about the Heath.
What makes you the best candidate? Why are you the best candidate for students?
I think having so much on the line really makes a difference. There’s no way I’m going to be able to walk through the street and not have someone say, “Oh, what have you done on this?”
I think the visibility of an SU president is so important to making them good at the role. I think about a third of students will probably vote in this election and that’s something we’re really going to try and change. We want as many people represented as possible and as many people consulted on our manifesto as possible to make as much change as possible that actually suits and works.
That links back to my ability to listen to people’s approaches and to help develop and facilitate ideas. Having accountability, with people literally staring me in the face and calling me an idiot, hopefully not, makes a real difference.
Having had so many of these experiences and having friends who’ve had those experiences, like working while studying, is really conducive to how I view the student experience. I think that hopefully makes me a candidate that people will consider.
Even if you don’t want to put me as your first choice, I’d really appreciate being on your ballot at all.
I think everyone should vote, whether it’s for me or another candidate. Read the manifestos, see what you think, contact the candidates and put some effort in. It’s really horrible too but you do get a £5 voucher at the end, so it all pays off.