The 'Yes' campaign did not submit by the deadline of 15th June.
Myth: If we leave NUS we will not have a voice
Unions that are not affiliated to NUS such as Southampton and Glasgow are free to work with any other relevant Unions if something important comes up. Leaving the NUS is not to say “no” to national student issues or national debate – it is simply to say “no” to an ineffective vehicle of representation in this field.
Myth: The NUS gets you discounts
The NUS no longer offers a free discount card and now asks that students pay £10 for on in order to balance NUS’ books. Imperial College Union has sold less than 600 of these cards in total which suggests that the overwhelming majority of Imperial students do not think that this represents a good deal. All companies who offer student discounts are legally obliged to give them on production of a valid student ID so we don’t need the NUS Extra rip off.
Myth: It will cost ICU tens of thousands of pounds to register with the Charity Commission if we leave NUS
The £100,000 figure quoted by Wes Streeting as the cost of another London Union registering with the Charity Commission mostly consisted of consultancy work that was not part of the registration process and that ICU would not be required to repeat. In any case, NUS does not provide you with tailored advice and ICU would still have to pay our own bills as we did with the legal advice we sought last year when ICU reviewed our decision making structures despite being NUS affiliates.
Myth: The NUS is good value for money
ICU pays a disproportionate amount in NUS affiliation on account of the fact that we receive a generous block grant from the College. The NUS is not a government of Students’ Unions but is arrogant enough to act like one by taking money from some Unions to subsidise others even if they have more students. It is ridiculous that we many times more than students at Cambridge despite Imperial having far less students. Affiliation fees should be based on student numbers and not on income – when you purchase any other service it does not matter if you’re a millionaire or on minimum wage. The fact that NUS has to do this is symptomatic of an organisation that is over stretched.
Myth: It is possible to enter in to a debate with the opponents of a new NUS
Hard left groups such as Student Respect represent the worst excesses of NUS and they will continue to shout and scream that changing NUS so that more money is spent on campaigning and less on political meetings is “undemocratic”. Re-opening consultation on this issue assumes that we are dealing with reasonable, rational people who are willing to compromise. This is not the case.
Myth: The NUS will reform before Christmas
No timetable for the next attempt to change NUS has been set.
Myth: NUS’ officer training programme is important to ICU
There are several companies who can provide training tailored to our needs, in most cases costing far less that the £500 per officer that the NUS charges on top of our affiliation fee. Networking opportunities to meet other sabbaticals from other relevant Universities are provided via organisations such as the Aldwych Group where ICU officers can exchange ideas with officers from other leading Universities.
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