Shakira Martin (born 1988) is a British student politician and former president of the National Union of Students.
In April 2017, Martin, the union's vice-president for further education, defeated the incumbent
Malia Bouattia
Malia Mazia Bouattia (born 22 October 1987) is the former president of the National Union of Students (NUS) of the United Kingdom, elected at the National Conference in April 2016. She was the first female Black British After Bouttia's leadership of the NUS was marred by allegations of antisemitism, Martin pledged "unity", "pragmatism", and to put the "NUS back into the hands of its membership". She describes herself as a black working-class single mother, and comes from a Jamaican family background. She was the first Black female NUS president and first woman from the African-Caribbean community to serve as NUS President, and the second not to have studied at university.
In March 2018, Martin was re-elected to a second term with 51% of the vote in the first round.
Early life and career
Early life
Martin was one of nine siblings raised in
Lewisham
Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...
, south-east London, by Jamaican parents. She left home at 16 and admits to having been involved in drug dealing for a month when she was in need of money. She then had two children, before gaining a diploma in education and training from Lewisham and Southwark College, becoming President of the College
Students' Union
A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizat ...
.
NUS Vice-President Further Education
At the NUS 2015 National Conference in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Martin was elected as NUS' Vice President for Further Education by 141 votes to 55, following Joe Vinson. In the position, she led a campaign to raise the profile of the impact of government post-16 area reviews on learners, and was a "strong advocate for the learner and apprentice voice".
Martin was then re-elected for another term in April 2016; she was uncontested for the post and won at stage one, with 152 votes compared to 11 votes to re-open nominations. She expanded the previous campaign, and worked on a research project with former
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
The secretary of state for business and trade (business secretary), is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom
His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central go ...
Sir
Vince Cable
Sir John Vincent Cable (born 9 May 1943) is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham (UK Parliament constituency), Twic ...
into how major FE reforms should be tailored for learners. The report was published in Autumn 2017.
Presidency of NUS
Upon taking office in July 2017; she met with the
Union of Jewish Students
The Union of Jewish Students of the United Kingdom and Ireland (UJS) represents Jewish students in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is a member of the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) and the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS) and ...
to "build back trust" and "start taking seriously the concerns Jewish students have raised".
Martin's key initiative was to launch a commission into addressing student poverty, which made 40 recommendations and was positively received by
Universities UK
Universities UK (UUK) is an advocacy organisation for universities in the United Kingdom. It began life in the early 20th century through informal meetings of vice-chancellors of a number of universities and principals of university colleges and ...
and the
University Alliance
University Alliance (UA) is an association of British universities formed in 2006 as the ''Alliance of Non-Aligned Universities'', adopting its current name in 2007.
Its membership is made up of technical, research-oriented and professional ...
. In March 2018, Martin was re-elected to a second term with 51% of the vote in the first round of voting, along with deputy Amatey Doku; the latter received 68% after calling for nationwide student-led mobilization to demand a 'people’s vote' on the final
Brexit
Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).
Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
deal. Martin reaffirmed her commitment to 'fight student poverty, defend student rights ndcreate a truly united NUS', reaching out to welcome 'Tories' and 'Lib Dems' within the union.
Her second term was dominated by tackling NUS's financial situation, as the organisation faced bankruptcy over a £3m deficit. Martin wrote to members that the union would be "taking urgent action to stabilise", with reforms being developed for "consideration and refinement with the help of our members". Martin faced criticism for developing a drastic programme of financial, governance and campaigning reforms for approval by the union's National Conference; amidst this, she described the President role as an "awful job" on social media. After around five hours of debate at the conference, 700 delegates voted in favour of the package. Martin welcomed the vote, calling it a "momentous decision to endorse reform and deliver the vision of members".
Martin was succeeded by Zamzam Ibrahim in July 2019.