NUS represents university and college students across the UK, with the aim of achieving national change for students.
The referendum process
A referendum is an all-Student Member vote to decide how Hallam SU should act on an issue. It has been called by a resolution of our Board of Trustees.
A referendum is only valid if 1% of Student Members have voted in it.
A referendum is decided by a simple majority (i.e. If there are more 'Yes' votes than 'No' votes, the referendum passes).
The question we're asking
Should Hallam Students' Union remain a member of the National Union of Students (NUS) or leave the National Union of Students?
Your options:
- Remain a member of NUS
- Leave NUS
- Abstain
How does 'Abstaining' work?
If you vote to abstain, this means your vote will count towards the 1% voter threshold but won't be counted when counting whether the referendum passes or not. In other words, we ignore the abstentions beyond counting for quorum and just count 'remain' and 'leave' votes for who wins via a simple majority.
Key dates
Monday 24 February
Notice of referendum
Monday 10 March, 9am
Voting opens
Thursday 13 March, 4pm
Voting closes
Friday 14 March
Provisional results announced
Student arguments for and against the referendum question
Remain a member of NUS
Why should we remain a member of NUS UK?
No arguments have been submitted in favour of this position.
Leave NUS
Why should we leave NUS UK?
Hallam Students' Union has been paying NUS UK £30,000 a year for as long as anyone can remember. You might be wondering what Hallam students actually get for this money... the answer is not a lot. NUS claims national days of lobbying, regular check ins with SUs, and help with regional campaigns. In my two years as a Hallam Students' Union Officer, I have seen one national day of lobbying around housing (HSU effectively lobbied our MP to support this, but we know we didn't need NUS help as we have a great pre-existing relationship with our MP who cares for her student population), I have had one check in with NUS (this was when they found out we were looking to hold a referendum), and no support on regional campaigns.
While the collective national student voice is extremely important, this can still be achieved without NUS as we can further develop our relationships with Northern SUs and build a strong collective student voice without NUS, who let's face it, haven't helped much up to this point.
If you're not yet convinced why we should leave, here is a list of services HSU could provide for roughly £30,000:
- 10 student staff for the year, each on 5 hours a week being paid the real living wage
- 850 students could get free period products for a year
- 600 students could access the Activities Inclusion Fund
- 4,000 emergency food packs
- 6,000 anti-spiking packs
- 10,000 sexual health packs
- 15,000 drug test kits
- £250 to each society in additional funding (based on the current 115 societies we have)
- 20,000 coffees from the SU coffee machine
- A full-time coordinator with some left over, or
- A full-time paid Adviser
There are two parts which make up our NUS Membership:
- NUS UK which organises its democratic and political campaigning. This costs HSU £30,000 a year.
- NUS Charity which provides admin support for HSU, such as support in our yearly Officer Elections, Officer Training, Staff Support, and crisis guidance. This costs HSU £9,000 a year.
This referendum is to decide if HSU should remain a part of NUS UK. HSU will remain a part of NUS Charity.
General reasons for remaining or disaffiliating from NUS UK
Why remain in NUS UK
HSU is part of a larger student voice for bigger national issues (such as during general elections).
HSU can be a part of national days of campaigning and lobbying led by NUS. This includes campaigning days on Hardship Funding, Renters Reform, and representation in parliamentary groups.
HSU gets to have a vote on the elected leadership of NUS, influencing the direction and priorities of the organisation. We are able to engage with democratic activity ran by NUS over the year.
HSU gets support from NUS Elected Officers for campaigns which impact Hallam students regionally, providing us with a larger voice when needed.
NUS provide further info online on the benefits of remaining.
Why leave NUS UK
The £30,000 HSU spends each year on NUS UK can instead be spent on resources impacting Hallam students directly.
Hallam students do not necessarily feel a large benefit from NUS Campaigns, as they are on national, not local issues.
HSU Officers can still campaign and work with local MPs, other Students' Unions, and other elected officers to create change within South Yorkshire.
Leaving NUS UK has no impact on students being able to access student discounts, such as the TOTUM card.
What happens if we remain affiliated or disaffiliate with NUS UK?
If we remain affiliated...
HSU would continue to access the democratic and political aspects of NUS. We would continue to pay £30,000 towards membership each year.
If we disaffiliate...
HSU would submit our disaffiliation to NUS by June 2025. HSU would continue to access NUS UK services until December 2025. From this point, HSU would no longer participate in the NUS democratic and political processes.