Lexit: There will be a referendum on Leicester’s NUS membership

The Lexit petition has acheived the required number of signatures


The controversial Lexit campaign has swiftly achieved the number of signatures needed for a referendum to occur, with around 250 confirmed signatures.

The petition for a vote to disaffiliate from the NUS was handed into the Union on Friday. This consequently means that a referendum is now going to take place, launching Leicester into the spotlight as the next potential university to leave the NUS.

The date for the referendum has not yet been set. It could potentially be as soon as next month. However, it will realistically take place in October as 5% of students are required to vote in order for the referendum to be binding.

We contacted NUSceptics Leicester – the group who are spearheading the Lexit campaign – for an official comment. Here is what they had to say about the result of the petition:

“We are happy that the referendum on Leicester’s membership of the NUS will be taking place, but we do realise there is still a long way to go. The date for the referendum hasn’t even been set yet, let alone any formal campaigning taking place. It is too early to speculate on the result of the referendum, but based on the successful campaigns at Lincoln and Newcastle, we are confident that the students of Leicester will vote to leave.”

There is no doubt that the referendum will be a hotly contested event, especially considering how much time there could potentially be before such an event. It will be interesting to see whether or not Lexit will happen considering the referendum will happen sometime after the initial controversy of the election of controversial national NUS president, Malia Bouattia.

We will also see whether the NUS will intervene with the remain campaign, or if our SU president, Rachel Holland will get involved with campaigning on either side. What ever happens, it will no doubt be an exciting race with a defining outcome no matter the result.