SUSU admit there ‘was ambiguity’ surrounding some of the evidence that disqualified Henry Hill from SU presidential race

SUSU have published a joint statement with disqualified SU presidential candidate, Henry Hill, regarding the events surrounding his disqualification, which admits "there was ambiguity around some of the remaining evidence, although not the overspend itself".

The statement follows backlash from the student body surrounding the decision, with many thinking it was made too quickly and without fair consultation with Henry. Questions also remain as to whether other presidential candidates broke election laws that could have also resulted in disqualification.

Henry Hill has told The Soton Tab he's happy with the statement and feels it is fair. However, he asked the union to include the fact that they were aware of other candidates overspending but they have not included this.

In the statement, SUSU have promised to make changes for the future elections, especially to the process by which candidates are disqualified.

Henry was disqualified from the Spring Elections 2019 on the morning of the election results after he breached campaign spending rules.

The statement includes Henry's view that "he does not believe that all the other evidence submitted to Union Senate was entirely clear and accurate, especially regarding his campaign video".

The Union has said there will be changes made to the by-laws as "these rules are far from ideal". They also "plan to review the sanctions available during elections, including for candidates caught overspending; in future, sanctions might include hourly social media bans for every £1 overspend, for instance".

The statement also explains the election and other SUSU processes will be reviewed and improved to make them "fairer and "more transparent".

"The review will include procedures relating to Union Senate and making sure that if a candidate faces disqualification, they have the opportunity to present their case to Senate."

Henry told The Soton Tab: "I have some big things coming if you liked my music video. President Hen doesn't end here. I may not be SUSU President, but I'll still be the people's president.

"If students feel they can't go to SUSU with problems because of its cliquey nature, they can still come to me and I'll help them through talking to the Union. But yeah, I want people to know that I'm here if they feel disconnected from SUSU/the real pres."