Students at UCL have voted for Students' Union UCL to REMAIN a member of NUS UK.
This week we held a referendum on our membership of the National Union of Students. 2,565 students voted, passing the minimum threshold to make the outcome binding.
The results are:
| Option | Voters | % |
|---|---|---|
| FOR Remaining | 1427 | 59.4% |
| AGAINST Remaining | 976 | 40.6% |
| ABSTAIN | 162 |
View the statistics page to see the full breakdown of clubs, societies, faculties and departments.
Why a referendum was called
We are currently affiliated to the National Union of Students (NUS). The Education Act states that where a Union is affiliated to any external organisation, there should be a procedure for the membership to review and approve affiliation status. The last review of the Union's affiliation to NUS was held in October 2017, so we were long overdue a review of our affiliation.
On February 6 2023, Union Executive voted to hold a referendum to decide whether: ‘Should the Union continue to be affiliated to National Union of Students UK (NUS UK)?’
What is NUS UK?
In the past NUS was a single organisation, but since 2019 it has become two separate organisations. NUS UK and NUS Charity.
NUS UK is a registered company that exists to represent the views and interests of students based at UK Universities, through national campaigns and political lobbying. This democratic arm of the NUS is often called the 'political' and 'democratic' arm of the NUS, which has Full-Time Officers, with its work being guided by the National and Liberation Conferences.
NUS Charity is a membership body who supports Unions to develop, through training and resources and has a trading consortium which allows us to offer discounted prices in our outlets.
NUS Charity have confirmed that it would be possible for a Union to disaffiliate from NUS UK and still be a member of NUS Charity.