Rob has lived in the Greater Manchester area for almost 20 years. Having grown up in Bolton, he attended Westhoughton High School and 6th form before coming to Manchester Metropolitan in 2005 to study a degree in Politics. He graduated in 2008 with a 2:1.

During his time at University, Rob became actively involved in the Students’ Union, where he served as a part time officer whilst studying for his degree. It was here that he really became interested in Higher Education, from both a local student representation perspective as well as from a national policy perspective. It was this that made him decide to run to be a full time officer at the end of his 3rd year, when he was elected to one of the Vice President positions at the union. After a successful year where the Union went through the biggest structural changes it had ever seen, Rob decided to stand to be the Union President, he was elected in March 2009 and took up post on July 1st. This meant he took up one of the two student positions on the Board of Governors.

On top of his work on the Union’s executive committee, Rob spent a lot of his time at University involved in various Union societies, chairing his own society for a year.

Outside of his union work, Rob dedicates his time to political work, as well as being an active member of the Unite trade union.