Michelle Stanistreet

Michelle Stanistreet (born 1974) is an English trade unionist and journalist, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) from 2011 to 2024. She was the first woman to hold the post at the NUJ – she was previously deputy general secretary. She replaced Jeremy Dear in July 2011.

Early life Born and raised in Liverpool, the daughter of a police officer, she gained a scholarship to Merchant Taylors' School in Crosby, and graduated with a degree in English and History from Liverpool University. Under her leadership, the NUJ Chapel twice reported their own newspaper to the Press Complaints Commission –- in 2001 over coverage of asylum seekers and, in 2004, over coverage of Romani People, unsuccessfully on both occasions.

NUJ positions Stanistreet also served as the national representative for newspapers and agencies on the NUJ's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC). In 2006, she was elected vice-president of the NUJ and in 2007–08 served as the union's president. She was the first woman deputy general secretary, elected in 2008, and became the first woman in the NUJ's history to be elected as general secretary in April 2011. and Laura Davison was elected as her successor.

Politics In February 2013, in line with the NUJ, Stanistreet was among those who gave their support to the People's Assembly in a letter published by The Guardian newspaper.