A referendum is a vote on a single political issue.  

Referendums are key part of LBSU’s democracy.  

• Every student can vote  

• The result is decided by a simple majority (i.e. whichever option gets the most votes wins)  

• At least 4% of student members must participate for the result to be valid 

In this case, Leeds Beckett students have the chance to decide whether LBSU should remain affiliated to NUS UK, by voting either Yes or No in the referendum. 

NUS (the National Union of Students) is a national body that exists to represent university and college students across the UK.  

NUS is made up of two separate bodies: NUS UK and NUS Charity. 

NUS UK is the political, campaigning arm of NUS, which has elected student leaders and engages in political activism. It aims to work collectively with Students’ Unions, educators and politicians, to achieve national change on behalf of students, by campaigning on issues such as fairer student loans, immigration policy affecting international students and the cost of living.  

NUS Charity is a separate body which supports students’ unions with training, development, access to support services, and other benefits. The outcome of the referendum will not affect our affiliation with NUS Charity. The referendum is about NUS UK only.  

If one organisation is affiliated with another, it means that they are formally linked. In this case, being affiliated to NUS UK means that LBSU is a member of NUS UK, along with over 400 other UK students’ unions.  

This means that LBSU students are part of a collective who can take part in national campaigns, vote for national student leaders and take part in discussion and policy-making on a national level.  

The idea is that by teaming up, students’ unions can make more impact than we could on our own.  

Click here to read the LBSU’s 2024/25 Benefits Statement provided by NUS UK. Please note that this is NOT a campaign statement for the YES campaign

This year, affiliation to NUS UK cost LBSU £28,623. This is 1.9% of LBSU’s overall budget.  

The affiliation fee is variable, so next year’s fee may be slightly higher or lower, but we are not expecting any significant change.  

If a majority of students vote ‘Yes’ LBSU will remain affiliated to NUS UK.  

This means we would:  

• Continue voting in NUS UK elections  

• Continue contributing to national policy and campaigning  

• Continue representing Leeds Beckett students within NUS UK’s national political activity 

• Continue to be part of NUS UK’s collective of over 400 UK students’ unions 

• Continue paying our affiliation fee  

If a majority of students vote ‘No’ LBSU will disaffiliate from NUS UK. 

Disaffiliation is not immediate. LBSU would need to give notice to NUS UK before July for withdrawal to take effect on 31 December 2026.  

After this: 

• We would no longer be affiliated to NUS UK 

• We would no longer vote in NUS UK elections 

• We would no longer contribute to national policy making and campaigning 

• We would no longer represent Leeds Beckett students in NUS UK’s national political activity  

There are three ways to get involved:  

• Learning more about the issue, and voting Yes or No  

• Becoming a Campaign Lead  

• Joining a campaign team as a registered campaigner 

There will be one Campaign Lead for each side (Yes or No) who is responsible for making sure students are informed when casting their vote.  

The deadline to register as a Campaign Lead is 12pm on Monday 9 March. Click here to learn more or to nominate yourself.  

The deadline to register as a campaigner is 12pm on Friday 20 March. Any student wishing to campaign must be registered with LBSU and wear a lanyard at all times. Click here for more information and to register. 

Read the Campaign Lead statements, talk to campaigners out on campus, conduct your own research, or better still, do all three! 

Yes – there are specific rules that campaigners must follow to ensure the referendum is fair. An independent Returning Officer has been appointed to oversee the process, review and make rulings in relation to any complaints, and sign off the result. Referendum-regs-2026Click here to read the rules.  

The Returning Officer is Alan Roberts. 

You can make a complaint using this form. Complaints cannot be made anonymously, and decisions of the Returning Officer are final.