Students at the University of Cambridge have voted to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS) following growing criticism over its stance on the Israel–Gaza conflict and its alleged failure to support student activism.
In a motion passed on Thursday night with 1,772 votes in favour, 1,284 against, and 719 abstentions, the disaffiliation move was proposed by the Cambridge Students’ Union (SU) trustee board.
According to a document outlining the case for disaffiliation, the NUS was accused of ignoring both grassroots calls and a previously passed internal motion to campaign for Palestine.
The document stated that the NUS “picks and chooses which student causes fit their internal agenda” and has neglected students facing disciplinary measures for engaging in protests.
The SU also criticised the NUS for providing what it called “poor value for money,” estimating the annual cost of membership at £20,000. The vote follows a wave of dissatisfaction from students across the UK demanding stronger action and solidarity from the national student body.
National pressure mounts
The Cambridge vote is not an isolated incident. Students from 55 universities had already signed an open letter to the NUS demanding it “take a stand on Gaza or face mass disaffiliation.”
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The NUS reportedly responded by threatening to ban signatory student union officers from its events unless they withdrew their support. This reaction deepened frustrations and accelerated calls for change within student leadership.
A spokesperson for the Cambridge Yes Campaign told The Canary, “We have had seven student encampments and five High Court injunctions levelled against our students, with no support from the NUS.” The same spokesperson criticised the union’s lack of response to growing Islamophobia and its limited national campaigning impact.
With mounting national pressure and a lack of visible backing from the NUS, Cambridge SU’s decision represents a turning point in the broader student movement.
Arms divestment campaign
The disaffiliation vote comes as Cambridge students push for broader institutional reforms. A separate motion was also passed calling on the university to sever ties with companies involved in weapons manufacturing and military occupation.
This action follows recent developments at the university level. More than a year of student-led pro-Palestinian protests preceded Cambridge University’s announcement to divest from firms producing “controversial weapons.” The University Council has already adopted a policy to divest from any company making weapons illegal under UK law, such as chemical or biological weapons and cluster munitions.
The council will also vote in November on whether to extend the divestment policy to all arms manufacturers. The decision is based on a landmark report approved unanimously earlier this week, which evaluated the university’s £4.2bn endowment fund.
King’s College, one of Cambridge’s largest colleges, has already taken the step to divest from the arms industry and from companies complicit in “the occupation of Ukraine and Palestinian territories.”
The twin votes, disaffiliation from the NUS and the push for arms divestment, are part of a wider wave of activism sweeping Cambridge and other UK campuses.
Pro-Palestinian encampments, rallies, and campaigns have dominated the student agenda over the past year, and many students have faced disciplinary action and legal threats for their participation.
These developments suggest that student unions are no longer content with symbolic gestures and are instead demanding concrete action from both university administrations and national student bodies. The vote at Cambridge may serve as a catalyst for further disaffiliations and increased scrutiny of institutional partnerships across the UK.
