Imperial College Union today welcomed Tom Copley , member of the London Assembly and campaigner for better housing conditions across London.
As part of our political engagement programme, our Sabbatical Officers have been meeting elected representatives from any location with a significant population of Imperial students. Tom Copley is a London-wide list member of the London Assembly, the body of elected representatives that scrutinises the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and holds his work accountable.
Mr Copley was given a tour of the Union building and its facilities, and then was given a short presentation by Marissa and Nat about the Union's long-term strategy and our community outreach work. The discussion then moved on to housing conditions and regulations affecting private renters in London, a group which includes almost all non-first-year students at Imperial College London.
As a result of this meeting, the Union will investigate the possibility of working with Mr Copley and other elected representatives on:
- Launching a student tenant rights campaign with other London students' unions
- Asking Union Council whether they will support a planned campaign about tenancy regulation, being organised by Mr Copley
- Passing anonymised case studies of tenancy disputes to Mr Copley (with the express permission of the student involved)
The Union would like to thank Tom and his adviser Alex for visiting us today and we look forward to working with them in the future.