Mar
All Student Vote: A People’s Vote
On 23 June 2016, Britain held a referendum to ask whether it should leave the European Union, with Leave winning by 51.9% to 48.1%. Since then, more than 1.4 million young people are now eligible to vote.
When the referendum was held, the Union backed remain, citing a negative impact on higher education and graduate opportunities as key reasons for this decision. Our full blog on this decision can be found here: EU Referendum: BritaIN or BrEXIT?
The deadline for the UK to leave the EU is fast approaching. What this will look like no one yet knows, but there is a large campaign calling for there to be another public vote called a People’s Vote, so that the British public can have a say with a clearer idea of what Britain will look like outside of the EU.
Over the Freshers’ period, Evie Reilly, VP Democracy and Creative Industries held a consultation at Union Fayre and the WSA Big Day asking students whether they thought there should be a people’s vote and if it was something that the Union should support. The results of this were:
Yes there should be a people’s vote: 203
No there shouldn’t be a vote: 54
Clearly, even from this small sample, this is something that students have strong opinions on.
We exist to unlock the potential and enrich the life of every student. We are here to represent you. We are holding an All Student Vote so that, as a Union, we can represent student views on the national campaign for a people’s vote.
Many students have asked us to back the People’s Vote campaign, however before we can do so we require a democratic mandate from our members.
Today we are asking students to vote on whether or not SUSU should publicly back this campaign. All of our students are able to vote on this issue, whether you are a domestic student, international student, EU student or otherwise – Brexit affects all of us. We require 10% of our students to vote in order to be quorate, which is 2098 members, and the outcome of the vote will be based on a simple majority.
The vote will run until 13:00 on Friday 22 March. If students feel strongly about this issue we strongly recommend voting and sharing with friends to guide our response.
If anyone would like advice, links and contacts to help prepare for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) please click here.
We’re asking: Should SUSU support the national campaign for a People’s Vote on Brexit?
If a majority of our members vote yes, SUSU will:
- Publicly lend our voice to national campaigns such as For Our Future’s Sake and People’s Vote UK on behalf of our members
- Actively look to facilitate events promoting a People’s Vote
- Lobby local politicians and MPs to support a second referendum
- Raise awareness and promote opportunities for students to get involved in events and political demonstrations such as the “Put it to the People: People’s Vote” march happening this Saturday 23rd March
- Continue to facilitate our members to debate and discuss all points of view, including giving a platform to campaigns both for and against a second referendum on Brexit
If a majority of our members vote no, SUSU will:
- Take no official stance on this issue, however we would continue to allow individual officers to express their own opinions
- Continue to facilitate our members to debate and discuss all points of view, including giving a platform to campaigns both for and against a second referendum on Brexit
Voting opens today at 17:00 and will close at 13:00 on Friday 22 March.
