Nationwide ‘weaponising’ voting system, says board challenger (The Times)
James Sherwin-Smith, who is attempting to secure a board seat but is locked in a dispute with the building society, has complained to the FCA
By Guy Taylor
Thursday June 04 2026, 4.40pm, The Times
A Nationwide customer pushing for a seat on the building society’s board has urged Britain’s financial regulator to intervene after accusing the mutual of attempting to “weaponise” the voting system against him.
James Sherwin-Smith said he had raised concerns with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) about the election process after Nationwide refused to allow him to change his election address and include a warning about the use of a “quick vote” system.
Sherwin-Smith, 45, from West Sussex, is calling for the watchdog to convene a hearing before the process of handing out voting materials to 9.1 million members begins on Monday, but warned that time “is simply running out”.
Britain’s biggest building society has been locked in a dispute with Sherwin-Smith over his campaign to join the board. A former consultant, he is the first member-nominated candidate to appear on the ballot for more than two decades and has been a vocal activist for a shake-up of the mutual’s governance.
Nationwide recommended last week that members vote against his election as a director at its annual meeting on July 15, after concluding that he lacked the required skills or experience.
Central to the dispute is the customer-owned group’s use of a “quick vote” system, which is presented as an easy option for members alongside the board’s recommendations.
The system, which was introduced in 2006, lets members vote in line with all of the board’s recommendations by ticking a single box. Sherwin-Smith has called for its suspension, claiming it sets up an “unfair fight”.
In the latest escalation of tensions, he accused Nationwide on Thursday of attempting to prevent him from warning voters not to use the quick vote system.
He claimed the building society had declined a request to revise his election address with an additional 18 words at the end, concluding with: “DO NOT USE THE QUICK VOTE.”
He also said the address had been edited without his permission to remove a QR code and link to his website, thereby “preventing members from accessing additional information about his campaign through election materials”.
Sherwin-Smith said: “I am yet to see a proof copy of my adulterated address — or the voting form design — and so cannot verify that these are the only changes made by the society.” He had “immediately raised this as a dispute with the FCA”, he added.
I have acted in good faith throughout, while the society appears to have deliberately run down the clock to minimise the time available for me to campaign on known terms.
I think it is unreasonable that I still do not know how my member-nominated candidacy will be presented versus board-appointed candidates who may have known for some time the exact terms on which this election will be fought. It is still possible I will not know this important detail until my own voting form arrives as early as Monday next week.
James Sherwin-Smith
“I have acted in good faith throughout, while the society appears to have deliberately run down the clock to minimise the time available for me to campaign on known terms.
“I think it is unreasonable that I still do not know how my member-nominated candidacy will be presented versus board-appointed candidates who may have known for some time the exact terms on which this election will be fought. It is still possible I will not know this important detail until my own voting form arrives as early as Monday next week.”
He said he was continuing to “engage constructively with the FCA regarding these matters”.
Founded as the Southern Co-operative Permanent Building Society in 1884, Nationwide is Britain’s second-largest mortgage lender and has about 19 million members. Not all are eligible to vote, however, given age restrictions and a requirement to have £100 in a savings or a current account with the mutual, or owe the same amount on a mortgage.
The last candidate to be nominated for election by members, rather than the board, was Alan Debenham in 2005. Sherwin-Smith attempted to secure a place on last year’s ballot, but his efforts fell short after Nationwide said that some of his nominations from members were invalid.
The FCA said: “Mutual societies are owned and run by their members and they set their own rules. While it is for individual societies to resolve disputes within their membership, we have been happy to engage with Mr Sherwin-Smith on this issue.”
Nationwide said: “Mr Sherwin-Smith’s request to amend his election address was submitted after the deadline. The society’s nomination rules and statutory deadlines are set by the Building Societies Act, not by the board, and we believe they should be applied consistently to all candidates.
“The only change made to his election address, in agreement with Mr Sherwin-Smith, was a factual correction to his career history.”
Comments from The Times online as of 09:00 this morning
2 thoughts on “Nationwide ‘weaponising’ voting system, says board challenger (The Times)”
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“Nationwide said that some of his nominations from members were invalid.” My memory says the Chairman identified some were repeat nominations and signatures which did not match Nationwides records. If signatures did not match that to me says suspected fraud. As a nominee Nationwide took no action to contact me and inform me that my account may have been compromised and as far as I know Nationwide made no contact with any other account holders to inform them if their signature was considered fraudulant. leaving more than 600 members in the dark.
One does wonder what a self appointed Board of Directors has to hide by having the owners showing interest in the running of the business.
Thank you Robert. The black box nature of the nominations process is a concern of mine. It was reported by Patrick Hosking, on the same day I submitted my nominations, under the title “Let him stand”
https://james4nationwide.co.uk/the-times-let-him-stand/