KCLSU is proposing to remove KCL’s controlling vote in the Union, amongst a number of changes to its constitution.
A Company Members’ Meeting will take place to discuss and vote on the proposed changes to KCLSU’s Articles of Association at 12pm, Thursday 13 February. The voting will last 48 hours, with all members eligible to vote on the matter.
King’s College London currently has a 26% controlling vote in the Union, which will be removed under the proposed Articles after KCLSU reached an agreement with the University to relinquish their share.
Student-elected representatives will continue to make up ten of the fourteen members of KCLSU’s Board of Trustees. The appointment of the other four members of the Board – known as the ‘Lay Trustees’ – is approved by whole Board.
Sheeba Naaz, KCLSU VP Postgraduate, is the Elected Trustee leading the process of updating the Articles.
The Articles of Association, which are required to be updated every five years under the Education Act 1994, also feature greater codification of the suspension of trustees.
The relationship between the Elected Officers’ status as both employees and Trustees of the Union has been clarified – the proposed Articles state:
“If an Officer Trustee is suspended from their employment or as a Student Member, they automatically cease to be a Trustee with effect from the effective date of their suspension but are automatically reappointed when the suspension(s) are lifted, for the remainder of the original term of office.”
The change follows the suspension of three student officers in 2023, apparently in relation to their criticism of the Union’s stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
A Roar investigation last year revealed there was “no publicly acknowledged way to suspend Student Officers as Trustees or Board Members.” The officers later returned to work in May 2024.
One of the officers, Hassan Ali, was later blocked from taking up position as KCLSU President, despite winning the March 2024 election.
Ali was disqualified four months after the election, after being retroactively declared ineligible for election due to a breach of the Trustee Code of Conduct by the Returning Officer.
KCLSU declined to specify the nature of the breach, but highlighted that the Returning Officer functions as a third-party actor to the Union.
Amongst other changes, the articles also no longer require that KCLSU hold an annual members’ meeting.
Roar understands that the change is a result of previous years’ meetings not reaching quoracy – the minimum number of attendees required for the meeting to go ahead.
Sections setting out students’ ability to call referenda and Members’ Meetings have also been removed from the Articles. The mechanisms will remain, but the details of these processes will now be set out solely in the Union’s Byelaws.
Roar contacted KCLSU for comment, but had not received a response by the date of publication.
