Between Monday 4 May and Friday 8 May, students are being given the power to decide “Should Students' Union UCL disaffiliate from National Union of Students (NUS UK)?”
Following a vote at the Union Executive, the referendum was called to review the membership, with the majority outcome binding the Union’s actions.
NUS UK represents roughly 600 Students’ Unions and aims to represent the student body in national campaigns and work on student issues such as cost of living.
The Students’ Union currently pays £30,700 annually, with an additional £7,620 fee for membership to the NUS charity. They have also confirmed that if Leave wins, the Union has the option to remain part of the charity.
This is not the first time the Union has held a referendum on the NUS. The last election held in 2023 saw 59.4% of students who voted, siding with remain.
Campaign teams have been established by the Union to coordinate the promotion of the referendum, with 77 students involved in the Leave Campaign and just three in the Remain camp.
According to a source within the Leave campaign, no representative from the Remain team participated in last week’s debate on the referendum, with a Union staffer saying “it is frustrating that there has been a lack of debate between the campaign teams”.
The “UCL Vote Leave" campaign has so far received much greater traction online, with 474 followers on instagram, as opposed to the “UCL Remain NUS UK” account, which has so far amassed 36 followers.
While this may indicate the direction of the result, apathy remains the biggest concern for campaigners, with just under 2,660 votes, 5% of the Union’s membership, needed to meet quorum. If this target is not met, the referendum will not be binding.
The Leave campaign has so far unleashed a poster campaign arguing that the £30,700 membership fee could be better spent funding societies as well as attacking the NUS for failing to protect pro-Palestine student activists.
Meanwhile the Remain campaign has taken on the slogan “Stronger Together”, arguing that the NUS is UCL’s voice in national decisions, citing the NUS’s lobbying efforts on student loans and graduate visas.
For the next week expect to see posters across campus, campaigners haggling students for votes and potentially a bribe or two. You can vote now via the Union website.