Newcastle to disaffiliate with the NUS

67% voted to leave the NUS


After a week of campaigning, the votes are in and Newcastle students have voted to disaffiliate with the NUS.

The votes were *67 %* for the Leave campaign, a landslide victory.

The decision to have a referendum on NUSU’s affiliation with the NUS came about due to a chain of events in which the National Union of Students has been discredited: such as rejection of a ‘one member, one vote’ system; campaigns to ban YikYak; misrepresentation of students; and the appointment of the Union’s controversial new president, Malia Bouattia, who called Birmingham University a “zionist outpost”.

Members of the successful Leave campaign brought up these issues, as well as the fact that our Union pays £51,000 per year for affiliation; that they have failed to stop tuition fees rising; and that they want to criminalise legal highs and raise drinks prices.

The Union will now start talks with the NUS with a view to disaffiliating completely in the coming months.