Oxford University Students Union disaffiliates from NUS in close result

Oxford University’s Students Union (OUSU), not to be confused with the Oxford Union, a debating society, narrowly voted to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS) in a referendum that concluded on Wednesday.

The vote follows a motion by OUSU’s Council last year to hold a referendum. This was spurred by a change to OUSU’s funding from the University of Oxford. In previous years, OUSU’s funding from the University had money specifically ring-fenced to NUS affiliation, making affiliation “effectively free” to OUSU. As the ring-fencing has now been removed, OUSU’s officers argued that the money that would previously be used for affiliation could be spent in better ways, and so their members should be given a choice as to whether they wish to remain affiliated. OUSU’s officers predicted that the saved by disaffiliation came to near £28,000.

The motion on whether to hold the referendum, which passed almost unanimously last academic year, made it explicitly clear that OUSU’s Council believes that solidarity amongst students is important, and there is a need for a country-wide organization to represent students unions, although it was also felt that the “quality” and “relevance” of the services the NUS provides to OUSU was variable.

A number of arguments were made for and against affiliation, with the “Yes” campaign arguing that leaving the NUS would isolate Oxford from other student unions, specifically highlighting that “NUS lobbying has prevented some of the worst cuts to university access funding”. Additionally, by disaffiliation from the NUS, they stated that students would be unable to “save money” by virtue of losing access to the NUS Extra card.

Meanwhile, the “No” campaign argued that the NUS is “inaccessible” and “distant” to students at Oxford, and the fees which must be paid to the NUS in order for OUSU to affiliate were poorly spent to an organization which is “paralysed by its own internal politics”. “No” campaign members persuaded voters to “believe in Oxford”, and argued that membership of the NUS was not necessary as “[Oxford students] have a strong voice of our own”.

At time of writing, OUSU has not made any official declaration of the results, however The Tab Oxford reported from an Oxford pub that the “No” campaign won with a majority of 128 on a turnout of 15%. Voting was held online from Monday 19 May until 6PM on Wednesday 21st, with results announced at 7:30 PM.

Following disaffiliation, OUSU joins a small group of students unions disaffiliated from the NUS, with the other unions being Southampton’s, Aston’s, and Imperial College Union. Students unions for Russell Group institutions also belong to a second umbrella group, the Aldwych Group, meaning that disaffiliation from the NUS does not make OUSU fully isolated. The Aldwych Group has been fairly inactive this year, with little online presence, raising concerns about its effectiveness. The only non-NUS students union not a member of the Aldwych group is currently Aston’s.