UKIP have been banned from speaking to students at Derby University ahead of May’s European Elections after the Students Union failed to lift a rule prohibiting the party.
The Express reports that the Union have not lifted the veto, despite the Elections to the European Parliament, in which UKIP currently lead the polls, being just a couple of months away.
This means that the party will be denied a voice at any hustings or events for the elections, even though a recent poll predicts that it will win the biggest share of the vote in May.
The ComRes poll for the Independent on Sunday puts the UK Independence Party on 30 percent for the European Elections, two points ahead of Labour.
In 2012, the Student Union also banned the UKIP candidate for Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner, David Gale, from attending a hustings due to his party membership.
The Derby Telegraph reported at the time that they sent him a policy document that states: “The University of Derby Students’ Union standing orders state clearly in that any member of the union may complain to the union president about an individual(s) who they believe to be a member of a group with racist, fascist or extremist views.
“We received several student complaints around UKIP policies on immigration that included repealing the 1998 Human Rights Act and withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
“The decision was taken by the Students’ Union executive to place UKIP on our no platform list in line with our values and legal documentation.”
David Gale blasted the decision as “a shocking attack on free speech“.
Derby University is ranked 84th in the country by the 2014 Sunday Times University Guide.
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