Thank you for saving me £17 or so a month. While I've been angry for years about the University and College Union's listlessness in campaigning for greater security for fixed-term contract researchers and its preference for demanding ridiculous pay rises across the board, I had no idea this made complete sense in light of its esteemed leader's enormous salary and annual pay rise (The Week in Higher Education, 1 July). I rarely interrupt my lunch for anything, but I had to cancel my membership of the fat cat republic immediately. One fewer loyal comrade at the grim coalface of academia, Sally. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?, etc.
Rachel Hurdley, Sociological Review Fellow, Keele University.