Universities ditch the NUS as students complain of 'dirty tactics' from the 'Stay' campaigns

Newcastle University voted to leave the NUS with a margin of 67%
The universities of Lincoln and Newcastle have successfully disaffiliated from the NUS (National Union of Students) after holding referendums.  The University of Exeter is currently voting in a referendum while other universities, including York and Plymouth,  are host to 'NUS Sceptic' campaigns.  Warwick will hold a referendum next week.


The 'out' campaign in Newcastle won by a margin of 67%. In Exeter the live-result shows that the university will remain affiliated to the NUS by a small margin.  However the 'Stay' campaign has been shrouded in controversy with students reporting being intimidated by those fighting to remain part of the national union.  These reports have been picked  up by mainstream national media and feature in the Independent and on popular politics blog Guido Fawkes.  The Spectator described a 'backlash against the NUS'.

The NUS weighed in tremendously in Exeter and were criticised by the 'Exiter' campaign for sending out 3,000 texts to students 'begging' them to remain in.  The leave campaign was subject to a strict £60 spending limit, but the NUS as an outside organisation did not have to comply with this. 


The newly-elected NUS president also visited the university for a 'full day of campaigning, according to students newspaper Expose.  


The Independent reports that 'Stay' campaigners had also been "disrupting finalists" in the library and pestering them to vote immediately.  Users on Yik Yak also accused them of entering their flats, saying "The International students had no clue what they were voting for but went along with it anyway".

A new wave of anti-NUS campaigning was launched after their AGM in Brighton last month.  The meeting was controversial with some after delegates elected Malia Bouattia, who has faced accusations of anti-semitism, as president.  They also rejected a motion from the University of York which would give all seven million students a vote (OMOV), instead remaining with a system that only allows a few hundred delegates to vote in the elections. 
Universities ditch the NUS as students complain of 'dirty tactics' from the 'Stay' campaigns Universities ditch the NUS as students complain of 'dirty tactics' from the 'Stay' campaigns Reviewed by Student Voices on 19:52 Rating: 5

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