At the first Union general meeting of the semester, a motion was passed which gives a mandate to students’ union officers to engage with the People’s Vote campaign and lobby elected officials to pledge their support for a vote on the final Brexit deal.
The motion came from Jamie Grant, VP Communities for Stirling Students’ Union, and arose partly from a report published by the Union on the impact of Brexit on international students and on individual student’s feedback.
Grant, while making the case for the motion made the point that the People’s Vote was not a rehash of the 2016 debate over leaving the European Union or a case of voting leave or remain; but rather a vote on the Brexit deal once it is understood what that deal is and what people think of it.
The motion he put forward mandates Union Officers to lead on engagement with the People’s Vote campaign and to lobby elected representatives to support the campaign.
Grant added that an opportunity to vote on the final Brexit deal should not be allowed to pass by.
When given the opportunity to speak against the motion, Stuart McLuckie, president of the Libertarian society, brought into question the neutrality of the motion.
He also reminded the committee of a motion passed in 2013 on supporting nuclear disarmament which led to controversial protests, endorsed by the Union. He argued that supporting the protests led to discrimination of students who opposed the motion.
In response to this criticism, Grant assured the meeting that should a People’s Vote be achieved the Union would remain impartial as they did during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
Following these statements a vote was taken and the motion to support the People’s Vote campaign was passed.
Feature image credit: Stirling Students’ Union / Twitter
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