Loughborough is going to have an NUS referendum on the 26th May

Monday saw the disaffiliation of the first students’ union from the NUS as 1,734 Lincoln students narrowly voted in favour of leaving.

Meanwhile in Loughborough, two weeks after the vote to hold a referendum, the details thrashed out by the Union Affairs Committee have been agreed. The final question: “Should Loughborough Students’ Union remain affiliated to the NUS or should it leave?”

The vote will open 9am on Thursday 26 May and  close at 4pm on Friday 27 May. It will be online just like during Exec Elections.

The date falls the week after the new Postgraduate Exec Elections and by then it is possible that momentum of either the leave or remain campaigns nationally will play a part.

How much will life change for the average Lufbra student anyway?

There will be a campaigning period of three days between 9am on Monday 23 and 9am Thursday 26.

There will be an official ‘leave’ and official ‘remain’ campaign which will each have a £250 budget. An individual student will be appointed lead of each campaign.

Interestingly Union Exec members will be able to voice their opinion when not acting in their post, such as tweeting personal social media accounts. It could see a split in opinions shared across the team.

The Union as a whole will remain neutral in the debate, as will full time staff.

Richard Brooks, Vice President Union Development at the NUS, commented on Loughborough’s referendum:

“It’s extremely important that Loughborough students get to debate the positives of being a member of NUS as well as talk about things that can be improved. NUS is proud to have had a massively positive impact of every students’ life in UK, but we know that’s not always seen or felt. I’m looking forward to debating and learning.”

NUS VP: Union Development chats with Jess Excell at NUS Conference 2016

There will be a televised debate on Monday 23 May hosted by the Union which will set the tone for the campaigns as they progress through the week.

LSU has won the WhatUni Best Students’ Union for three years in a row. Leaving the NUS would send out a serious message to other top Unions.

Should the referendum not reach 4,000 full members the matter shall be referred to the Union’s Board of Trustees.