York University’s student union has voted to remain affiliated with the National Union of Students.
The SU became the sixth to vote against disaffiliation since Malia Bouattia became NUS president in April, after Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick, Exeter and Worcester.
Students campaigning to stay in the NUS won by a margin of 53 to 47 per cent, with a turnout of 2,741. The referendum result cannot be challenged for the next three years.
Nearly 16 per cent of York students submitted ballots after the deadline for voting was extended by a day. The turnout was more than double the 7.6 per cent who voted in the last referendum on NUS membership at York, in 2014.
Benjamin Leatham, president of the SU, said the result did not mark “the end of our discussion about NUS reform.
“This has been a constant theme through the referendum period and it is one on which we must remain focused on in the months ahead.
“I am firmly of the belief that working together will bring more benefits for more students but we need to build on the conversation that we have started to ensure that the NUS is truly representing all students.”
Lincoln, Newcastle and Hull’s student unions have voted to disaffiliate since Ms Bouattia’s election, with Nottingham due to release its result later today.
The new president has called Birmingham University - which has one of the largest Jewish societies in the country - a “Zionist outpost,” and has also referred to the “Zionist-led media”.
It was revealed last month by student newspaper The Tab that Ms Bouattia was found guilty of misconduct by the NUS last year over alleged antisemitism.
