# Overview The Greater Manchester Student Partnership (GMSP) is a cross-SU partnership between the five Students' Unions in Greater Manchester: University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan, Salford, Bolton, and the Royal Northern College of Music. Its overarching goal is making Greater Manchester the best place for students to live, learn, work and build a community. Modelled on elements of the [[Nottingham Student Partnership]] and the London Student Assembly. The partnership is led by a dedicated partnership manager (Joel), hosted at [[MMUnion]] and funded through the [[Robert Stanley Armitage Trust (RSAT)]]. The partnership mirrors the Greater Manchester Civic Agreement, a framework between the GMCA and the five universities affiliated with the member SUs. Greater Manchester has a student population of over 200,000 people. Website: [gm-sp.com](https://gm-sp.com) ## Members and structure - [[Student Officers]] from across GM: Manchester, Man Met, Salford, Bolton, RNCM - Eight sabbatical officers sit on the GMSP Assembly across the five SUs - Partnership manager (Joel) hosted at [[MMUnion]] - Meets with Mayor Andy Burnham 2–3 times a year - Funded by the [[Robert Stanley Armitage Trust (RSAT)]] ## Priority areas Drawn from the [[GMSP Theory of Impact]]: - **Housing** — influencing the Good Landlord Charter, holding housing authorities accountable, improving university-owned accommodation - **Transport** — trusted voice as the Mayor expands the Bee Network; making transport cheaper, more reliable and safer - **Health** — working with SUs on design and commissioning of health services; easy access to public health services; insight on mental and physical health conditions - **Civic Engagement** — auto-enrolment on the electoral register; positioning students as positive civic partners - **Safety** — meeting with stakeholders to understand student-specific crime; shaping policing plans and strategies ## Campaigns and advocacy ### Housing Published the manifesto *Toward a Housing Utopia in Greater Manchester*, setting out six key ideas. The flagship proposal is a GM student garden-village model (similar to the University of Reading scheme), where GM universities, local authorities and the GMCA would form a public-private company to build a new model of student accommodation. Key asks also include accelerating the Good Landlord Charter and embedding students directly within the Greater Manchester Housing Strategy. ### Transport In 2022, GMSP petitioned Andy Burnham for a £1.50 cap on bus fares for students. In October 2025, nine officers from across the five SUs signed an open letter to Burnham on tram fares — arguing that while the Bee Network offers a 30% student discount on buses, tram users pay full price, leaving some commuting students paying hundreds of pounds to get to campus. The letter proposed either a 30% student tram discount via the Bee Network app, or a bolt-on to existing student bus passes to cover trams. An in-person meeting with the Mayor followed. ### Civic Engagement One of the GMSP's stated goals on elections is to get more students auto-enrolled on the electoral register, using GM's devolved context as an opportunity to demonstrate students as active civic partners in the city-region. ## Context ### Greater Manchester's devolved powers - GM has more devolved powers than anywhere else in England - No direct powers over HE (devolution has happened in the nations, not here) - Powers over FE and Skills, linking to innovation and growth (Greater Manchester Baccalaureate) - Resources still largely directed by Whitehall; powers sit with the Mayor - Graduate retention and elections are useful levers ### English city region context - GM underperforms relative to London/SE on progression to HE: 30–40% in the NW vs 50–60% in SE - Less R&D spend; lower skills in the adult population and lower school attainment - Manchester accounts for ~30% of the GM regional economy; other boroughs sit at around 5–10% - Surrounded by areas of significant deprivation (e.g. Wigan, Oldham) ## Politics - VC and Andy Burnham have developed a constructive working relationship - Civic University Agreements underpin collaboration - Atom Valley development up near Rochdale - GM student mental health centre - Student accommodation — area requiring sharper focus ## Future direction - More focus on long-term planning - Increased FE engagement, including student leadership in the partnership ## Documents - [[GMSP Theory of Impact]] - [[GMSP Business Case April 2026]] - [[GMSP Programme Strategy Feb 2026]] - [[GMSP Quarterly Update May 2026]] - [[GMSP Quarterly Update August 2026]]