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Elect James Sherwin-Smith to represent Nationwide building society members

ELECT JAMES

My Election Address and the Quick Vote

By James Sherwin-SmithPosted on

[Updated 29 March 2026]

I have the opportunity to include an Election Address of no more than 500 words in support of my candidacy under Rule 22 of Nationwide’s memorandum and rules (see: Process to nominate and elect a Director of Nationwide). The Society Secretary has therefore asked me to deliver this to him at the Society’s headquarters, accompanied by the nominations I have collated, and a deposit for £500. The deadline to submit all of this is the Society’s financial year end (currently the 31 March, see LSE notice, FCA Mutual Register).

As the deadline approaches, there are a few uncertainties at this point:

  1. Have I been successfully nominated? (The nominations I have received and have submitted are subject to validation by the Society to ensure that I have received correct nominations from at least “250 qualified two year members.” Over 250 people have now sent me their details wishing to nominate me, and I must deliver all of these for the Society to validate.)
  2. Will I be a Board recommended candidate or not? (This influences member voting, particularly when the Quick vote mechanism is used.)
  3. Will Nationwide use the controversial Quick vote mechanism at this year’s AGM? (The Society has used this since 2006, but none of these elections since were contested.)
  4. Will Natonwide increase the number of board seats available i.e. to what degree is this a contested election? (Note that there were two instances in living memory when a member-nominated candidate beat / unseated a board-appointed candidate.)

The election address is distributed with the ballot paper (see how the Quick vote is positioned, and last year’s “Who are you voting for?“), sent by post and available electronically, depending on members’ communication preferences. Providing a statement as a candidate is optional, but I think necessary, so that members can assess the candidates, what their motivations and perspectives are, etc. Given the uncertainties above, however, it is hard to write the optimal, catch-all statement..

My election result likely rests heavily on the board’s recommendation, and the use of the “Quick vote” mechanism, a controversial tool used by some organisations, not just Nationwide. The other dimension to this is how many board seats are being competed for out of the available candidates.

Board RecommendedNot Board Recommended
Quick voteVery Positive for meVery Negative for me
No Quick votePositive for meNegative for me

The Building Society Members Association (BSMA) is opposed to the use of the Quick vote. It effectively encourages members to appoint the chair as their proxy, who votes on their behalf, following the board’s recommendations. Most members appear to use this mechanism: last year’s votes carried at a 94%+ approval rate. I compiled a past history of board candidates and election results as background to the recent board changes.

There was significant concern raised regarding the use of the Quick vote by the National Trust in the past, e.g.:

However, as this is potentially the first competitive election for Nationwide building society, since the Quick vote mechanism was introduced (the last time a member-supported candidate stood for election was Alan Debenham, 21 years ago, in 2005), it is not clear to me how the society will manage this year’s ballot. It’s entirely possible that I – or another member nominated candidate – will be competing against the board-appointed candidates, noting the convention that board directors need to be re-elected every year, and that at least two directors, who were co-opted during the year, need to be elected.

As a result, it’s difficult to know whether I should address this by including specific language regarding the Quick vote. One option is to present Nationwide with different permutations of my election address depending on what the board decides in how I am presented to the membership.

Further, it may be necessary to explain the situation in the possible scenario that:

  1. This is a contested election,
  2. I am not a board recommended candidate, and
  3. The Quick vote is used

For example:

If you want me elected to the board, it is important that you vote only FOR me, and AGAINST all other candidates. Selecting other candidates may prevent me from being elected.

Read my 2026 Election Address. I’d be grateful for any feedback or thoughts you might have – either via the comments below, or by contacting me direct.

My deadline for nominations so that I can print these all and deliver them to the society is midnight, Sunday 29th March. Please click here to nominate me.

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