The Reading student body has voted to remain affiliated with the National Union of Students, it was announced on 18 November. Of the 22,000 Reading students (figure from RUSU’s 2010 annual report), 771 voted in the referendum which ran from the 14-18 of this month. Since the referendum required an overall turnout of at least 4% (in this case, a turnout of 750) to become binding, and a 75% ‘yes’ vote of that 4% was required to continue affiliation, the result was valid only by a small margin. The results were 726 pro-affiliation and 38 votes against, with an additional 7 spoilt ballots. RUSU will remain affiliated with the NUS for a further two years, after which there will be another referendum on the (presumably) same terms.
Despite the perilously small turnout, Ed March, ‘Vice President Union Development for NUS’ commented on the results that he was “delighted that 94% of students agree with [him]” in that affiliation was the right decision. Marsh had appeared on a debate panel in a RUSU debate on November 9, hosted in Café Mondial at 6.30pm.
Affiliation with the NUS is set to cost RUSU £40,000 each year, though affiliation-advocates maintain that it is a sound investment, as Reading students reportedly make more than that back through usage of NUS discounts.
RUSU Vice President of Democracy and Campaigns, Ben Haines, said that “After what has been a really engaging and useful couple of weeks, we at RUSU are enormously pleased that such a large majority of the student body that voted, has felt that we should remain a part of the National Union of Students.
“By being a part of the NUS we benefit far more than just on a financial level. The decision we have made here at Reading, will assist in creating positive change for our students on a local as well as national level”.
The NUS claims to be affiliated with 95% of the UK’s higher/further education institutes, under whose aegis 600 student unions function. Some unions, such as SUSU (that of Southampton University), have historically voted to be non-affiliated, a state of affairs which has persisted since 2002.