Why it happened?
Following a resolution of the Board of Trustees, UPSU have received notice to hold a referendum on the matter of the Students Unions’ continued affiliation to the National Union of Students (NUS)
A referendum is used to decide on upon issues that all members of the Union must have a say on. It is open for every student to vote on and all students can attend the Open Meeting to explore and debate the issue in question and register their
interest in running a Yes or No campaign.
Results
On the 15th November, UPSU received notice from the UPSU Board of Trustees, for a call to hold a Referendum pertaining to the Union’s affiliation to the National Union of Students (NUS).
This preceded a ballot which asked students to vote Yes or No to the following question; ‘Should the University of Plymouth Students’ Union (UPSU) continue to be affiliated with the National Union of Students?’
The ballot, which was open between 26th – 30th November needed to reach a minimum of 649 votes to be binding.
At the close of voting the results were:
Total votes cast 1006
- For (YES): 477
- Against (NO): 519
- Abstentions: 10
With 4.7% of eligible students of the University of Plymouth voting, the outcome of this Referendum is that UPSU will not remain affiliated to NUS and will trigger the process to leave the National Union of Students, in accordance with NUS procedure.
UPSU would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took part in the Referendum
Other Info
More details will be published on upsu.com on how leaving the NUS will impact the student body. The SU will be leaving NUS on 31st December 2019
The Timeline
- Tuesday 20th November, 5pm: Open meeting, held in the Students’ Union. Presentation from the meeting
- Friday 23rd November: 12pm (midday): Final deadline for campaigns information
- Monday 26th November, 9am: Voting Opens
- Friday 30th November, 5pm: Voting Closes
- Monday 3rd December: Results published
Questions
If you have any questions regarding the referendum please contact the UPSU Student Voice Team - studentvoice@su.plymouth.ac.uk.