Thank you. THANK YOU.

Yesterday, you showed up and made your voices heard. Because of you, Motion 1 passed with an overwhelming majority, sending a clear message that our campus community demands accountability, respect, and safety for all its members.

This victory belongs to every single person who signed the petition, shared our posts, spoke with their friends, and attended the AGM. A total of 531 students participated in the meeting, it directly shows how deeply our student body cares about the values we all share.

The final result on Motion 1 was a landslide:

• FOR: 315 (88%) 
• AGAINST: 36 (10%) 
• ABSTAIN: 5 (1%)

This is an undeniable mandate from the students of Lancaster University. This result proves that our campus truly believes that a society whose leadership has demonstrated a pattern of discriminatory and hostile conduct should not be affiliated with our Students' Union in its current state.

During what LUSU rightly called a "complex and lengthy meeting, full of emotive and contested debate," it was incredible to hear how many of you were affected by these issues. Hearing students speak up, some for the first time, about their experiences and concerns was a powerful reminder of why this campaign was so necessary. It showed that this was never about just one group; it was about the safety and dignity of our entire community.

What happens next?

While the vote was a massive victory for our campus community, the journey isn't over. It's important to understand what the next steps are and what was discussed during the AGM debate.

As per LUSU regulations, the validated result from the AGM will now be taken to the Students' Union Trustee Board for ratification before it becomes official policy. This is the standard procedure for all motions passed at the AGM.

For those who attended, the debate provided important context on how this motion might be implemented.

During the meeting, a representative of the Societies Committee mentioned that the Students' Union does not have the legal ability to pre-emptively ban a society from forming. However, they did note that the evidence of misconduct presented during the debate would be considered in any affiliation process.

Our current interpretation of this is that the society may be able to affiliate in the future, but likely only if a significant change in leadership and conduct occurs. This in itself would be a huge victory, as it would mean holding the individuals responsible for the harmful conduct accountable.

The core principle of our motion was powerfully echoed by a student speaker during the debate. They rightly pointed out that LUSU shouldn't take an easy route by simply denying the application on a technicality to save time or money.

Instead, they argued that LUSU must consider the motion for what it is: a call to refuse affiliation UNTIL the society and its leadership demonstrate clear, sustained change for the good of our campus.

This is exactly what we voted for. Not a simple "no," but a conditional "no" that demands accountability. The motion provides LUSU with the framework to assess any future application against the standards of conduct that 315 of you voted to uphold.

We will be watching closely to ensure the spirit and letter of this motion are respected.

A personal big thank you.

This petition started in the spur of the moment over 3 weeks ago and it was just me! I thank everyone who came behind me in support. To people who helped me with LUSU meetings & even Josh who massively helped out presenting the motion and providing meaningful debate at the AGM, even at the risk of online harassment and threats.

I just thank you all.

We hope this victory means our campus community can move forward in a spirit of mutual respect, without the need for another campaign like this one.

Some notes...

Now that the vote is over, we wanted to share a few final thoughts on conduct and the path forward.

First, and most importantly, this campaign has always been about holding society leadership accountable for their public conduct, not about targeting individuals personally. We urge all our supporters to refrain from any form of harassment or abuse towards Jack Eccles or any other member of the proposed society. Our victory is in the democratic process and the standards we have collectively upheld; let's not undermine that by engaging in the very behaviour we opposed.

Regarding the AGM itself, we want to echo LUSU's heartfelt thanks to Max for chairing the meeting; he did a brilliant job handling what was a complex and lengthy debate with skill and maturity. We also share the concerns LUSU noted in their official results summary: the debate was "emotive and contested" , and we were also displeased with some of the conduct, such as the derogatory and offensive language used and the "unacceptable" behaviour in the online chat.

However, we were incredibly proud to see so many students find the courage to be vocal, sharing their praise for speakers or their opposition to what was being said. That is what student democracy should be. 

Finally, we want to address the issue of personal attacks. The Chair was required to ask speakers to avoid personal attacks during the debate, we were disappointed to see that after the AGM, Jack Eccles continued this behaviour, going as far as publicly shaming two individuals present at the AGM on his Instagram story after the AGM for what we have determined were false reasons. 

Our campaign is, and has always been, about documented public conduct, and we stand by the evidence we presented. Thankfully, we've learned that both individuals have contacted Jack and the posts have been removed.

That is all... THANK YOU LANCASTER.