Students at the University of Manchester have voted to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students in a landmark referendum decision.
The results are as follows: 1327 votes for (80.82%), 249 votes against, (15.16%) and 66 votes abstaining (4%). Turnout was 1642, which is 3.6% of the student body.
Several other Students’ Unions in the country have also held referendums recently, notably the Liverpool Guild Students’ Union, who voted to disaffiliate, and the York University Students’ Union, where the results have yet to be declared.
The NUS is a body that has represented university and college students across the UK since 1922, aiming to give them a voice and achieve national change.
Being a member gives Students’ Unions input into the direction of the body, the ability to send representatives to their regional conferences, and a vote in their Executive Officer elections.
Currently, some of the main NUS campaigns have focused on reforming student loans, fixing student housing, and making bus travel free for young people.
The Students’ Union is obligated to hold a referendum every three academic years, with the last vote, in 2023, electing for the SU to remain a member.
The vote will now see Manchester SU begin the process of disaffiliating from the NUS; with its formal leaving date set for December 31 2026.
Campaigning for and against disaffiliation began on Wednesday, March 18 and concluded when the vote ended on Thursday, March 26, when the results were announced.
Campaigns against disaffiliation largely warned that leaving would lead to increased isolation, highlighting the organisation’s role in raising key student issues with the government.
Campaigners for disaffiliation, on the other hand, argued that the body does not adequately fulfil its representative function, stressing that the considerable sum paid to the NUS annually – £30,700 – could be more productively allocated.
Another major element of the campaign centred on the organisation’s lack of public engagement with the Palestinian cause.
The decision marks a notable turning point in how Manchester students see their place within national representation. What this means in practice will become clearer as the disaffiliation process unfolds.
Thursday, 26 March also saw the NUS announce their new elected officer team, who will take their posts from July 2026 for a term of two years.
The current City and Community Officer at UoM’s Students’ Union, Elliot Briffa, was in the running to become the new President of the body, but has not been elected to the position.
Briffa was campaigning against depoliticisation, and in favour of the introduction of direct student membership and the removal of the structures that has ‘left NUS unequipped for the modern world’.
The University of Manchester Students’ Union has been contacted for comment.
