The University of York will remain affiliated with the National Union of Students (NUS) following the triennial referendum.

In total, 1259 students voted in the referendum. Kallum Taylor, YUSU President, said on Facebook that this year's voter turnout of 7.65 per cent was possibly the Union's sixth highest, and reminded people that the referendum coincided with exams, with the implication that this might have prevented some students from fully engaging with the referendum.

Of the students who voted, 65 per cent opted to stay affiliated with NUS, whilst 33 per cent said they wanted to disaffiliate and 31 people abstained from voting.

The results were announced today in Your Space after voting closed at 12pm.

During the referendum, the No campaigners criticised the NUS for being undemocratic and unaccountable, whilst the Yes campaigners argued it made financial sense to remain affiliated and that it was important for students to have the support of the NUS.

Kallum Taylor, leader of the Yes campaign, told Nouse: "I'm really happy with the outcome. I'll be honest I was pretty nervous as the No campaign put up a solid contest. I'm glad that the students have had their say though on the matter, and I'm sure Sam Maguire will stick true to his word in pushing for reforms such as One Member One Vote. We have to take on board a lot of what the No campaign were saying because a fair amount of it was merited and we did actually agree with [it]. Ultimately though, this is absolutely the best outcome for YUSU. It was a convincing win in the end."