A university students’ union has decided to quit the National Union of Students. 

Brighton Students’ Union, which represents students at the University of Brighton, made the decision to leave the NUS, which represents around 600 student unions across the country.

It said the decision “has not been taken lightly” and the union’s trustees “do not believe that the NUS presents value for money”.

It also said that after two previous referendums on membership failed to reach enough numbers to be carried out “the lack of student interest in the matter suggests a lack of relevance” of the NUS for students.

A spokeswoman for Brighton Students’ Union said: “BSU will continue to work closely with regional students’ unions to amplify the student voice at a local, regional and national level.

The annual membership fee, which amounted to £22,440 for this financial year, will now be spent on students at the university, the union confirmed.

Rules around disaffiliation mean the union has to give the NUS 12 months' notice before leaving, meaning it will officially part ways with the organisation on December 31 next year.

The decision will mean students at the university will no longer be able to benefit from student discounts through the NUS's Totum card from 2024.

It comes just a month after the NUS president Shaima Dallali was dismissed following an investigation into anti-semitism.

The organisation said it had taken the decision to terminate Ms Dallai after an independent panel found “significant breaches of NUS police had taken place”.

Ms Dallai is understood to be seeking legal advice and preparing to fight her dismissal.

The government severed ties with the NUS earlier this year after accusing it of suffering “anti-semitic rot at the heart”.

Brighton Students’ Union is the latest in a series of students’ unions to leave the NUS in recent years, with organisations at the University of Portsmouth, the University of Lincoln and the University of Plymouth all quitting in recent years.

The NUS was approached for comment.