New NUS president came from behind to win overwhelming support from students looking for a confident and experienced leader
With his round face topped with light brown hair gelled into spikes, the new National Union of Students' president looks more like geeky Simon from C4's The Inbetweeners than the most powerful man in the student movement.
Friends and acquaintances joke fondly that Liam Burns is rarely seen out of his trademark blue checked shirts – and yet another one made an appearance as he gave his candidate's speech at the NUS's national conference on Wednesday morning.
Not that his wardrobe made a difference. His extensive experience, popular policies and strong rhetoric, were exactly what the conference was looking for, and he won more than 60% of the votes in the final round.
Well-liked in his previous role as president of NUS Scotland, Burns has gathered a huge following in recent days, coming up from behind to overtake the early favourite, NUS vice president for further education Shane Chowen.
"[Liam] is genuinely one of the nicest guys in the student movement," Darren Young of NUS Scotland's LGBT Committee tweeted after the result was announced.
Some students question whether someone who has never had to pay tuition fees and has dealt solely with the Scottish parliament is equipped to tackle the problems facing other British students.
But in Scotland Burns is seen as a supportive leader with clout as a politician – and students across Britain posted positive comments on his presidential campaign site.
"I've never come across anyone in this world that has as kind a heart and a fire in his belly for action as much as Liam," said Luke Hendry, a Scottish Agricultural College student who was inspired by Burns to run for vice president of his students' association.
Telford College president Surya Prakash Bhatta agreed: "When my college tried to fire me and disband the students' association, Liam was a huge support… [He] has always been there for me both as a friend and a leader."
Other students described Burns as personable and a strong public speaker – in contrast to his rival Chowen who was described in one student newspaper as "sullen under scrunity".
Thomas Davidson was impressed with Burns' performance at the conference. He tweeted: "If your leadership is as good as your oration, we're in safe hands."