Elect James Sherwin-Smith to represent Nationwide building society members
The rebel member of Nationwide campaigning to join the mutual’s board has hit out at Britain’s biggest building society over its handling of the vote.
Nationwide confirmed in April that Sherwin-Smith had enough nominations from other customers to have his candidacy put to a vote. But the society has yet […]
Not since the keen-eyed Inspector Goole shattered the comfortable illusions of the Edwardian elite has an uninvited guest threatened to sour a private feast’s mood so sharply.
James Sherwin-Smith, the man attempting to clinch a seat at that exclusive dinner party otherwise known as Nationwide’s board could be just […]
My thanks to Samuel Norman and the team at City AM for the coverage on the Business As Usual podcast today. We talked about You can listen to the episode via YouTube below (starts 3m32s) or these podcast platform: Spotify, Apple, Buzzsprout. This post was also shared on Facebook, LinkedIn and X/Twitter.
A spokesperson for Nationwide made a series of statements in today’s article in The Guardian reporting of Nav Mishra MP’s letter sent to the Nationwide chairman, Kevin Parry. I think these statements are worth placing in context – both in terms of the timeline of the pertinent events, and the corresponding data. I will leave […]
Labour MP writes to chair amid concerns building societies are overusing quick votes and failing to add members to boards Kalyeena Makortoff. Banking correspondentSun 24 May 2026 12.00 BST Link: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/may/24/nationwide-governance-agm-building-societies-boards Nationwide is under pressure to address “emerging governance issues” across the building society sector, amid concerns bosses are bundling voting options and failing to […]
Great news for a subset of Members — but million still miss out on their share of the mutual’s profits As I expected, Nationwide has today announced a fourth consecutive Fairer Share payment, with around 4.4 million members expected to receive £100 in June, alongside a new 5% Member Exclusive Bond and a £175 current […]
21 May 2026, London — Following publication of Nationwide’s 2026 Preliminary Results (LSE Regulatory News Service), James Sherwin-Smith, a Member Nominated Candidate for election to Nationwide’s Board of Directors in 2026, commented: Nationwide’s latest preliminary results confirm that the Society remains financially strong and continues to gain in scale following the Virgin Money acquisition, alongside […]
James Sherwin-Smith & Why Every Member Should Exercise Their Democratic Right to Vote Understand the important role mutuals play in UK retail banking I enjoyed talking to Jeremy McKeown on his podcast “In The Company Of Mavericks”, out today. We covered: If you’re interested in the stories behind the headlines in Financial Services and personal […]
Patrick Tooher, Consultant City EditorUpdated: 11:45, 17 May 2026 Link: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-15823361/Another-100-bag-Nationwide-members.html Nationwide will announce another £100 profit-sharing bonus for each of its more than four million eligible members when it posts annual results on Thursday. It will be the fourth year running that Britain’s biggest building society has made the payment under its Fairer Share […]
A decade after Theresa May spoke of radical reform, the mutual faces a bid that is testing the limits of democracy Kalyeena Makortoff, Banking correspondentSun 17 May 2026 11.00 BST Link: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/may/17/nationwide-customer-boardroom-corporate-governance-mutual [NB The Monday 18th May 2026 print edition carried an abridged version, shown below. The full text follows beneath. Accompanying posts made on […]
A number of “one member, one vote” organisations in the UK have adopted the use of the ‘Quick vote’ (QV) mechanism – see Restore Trust’s 2023 report (The effect of the Quick Vote on democracy at the National Trust). In most cases this has not been specifically agreed by the membership, but instead co-opted by […]
I am grateful to Mr Navendu (Nav) Mishra MP for writing to both the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) and Kevin Parry OBE (the Nationwide Building Society chairman), regarding emerging “governance issues within the building society sector”, with Gareth Thomas MP copied, as chair of the APPG for mutuals. These are […]
Update 21 May 2026 – the Fairer Share payment for 2026 has been announced – see this article! If Nationwide can again afford to make Fairer Share payments, this will be rightly celebrated by the recipients. However the majority of members that don’t receive these may be left questioning fairness: why do only a minority […]
My thanks to a supporter for bringing this to my attention. Nationwide: democratic deficit “Top marks for perseverance,” said Nils Pratley in The Guardian. James Sherwin-Smith – a long-term customer campaigner for more transparent governance at Nationwide – has secured the necessary 250 nominations to get his name on the ballot paper for elections to […]
Updated 8th June 2026 Now that I have been successfully nominated for election to the Nationwide Board, one thing is certain: my name will appear on the 2026 ballot paper. What remains uncertain is how, and where, my name will appear, and what impact that will have on my election chances, and the precedent it […]
James Sherwin-Smith’s candidacy is a test of the building society’s commitment to mutual values By Nils Pratley, Finance EditorMon 27 Apr 2026 19.05 BST Link: https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2026/apr/27/nationwide-should-give-its-boardroom-challenger-a-fair-run James Sherwin-Smith, who is aiming to become the first customer to be voted onto the board of Nationwide in nearly 25 years, deserves top marks for perseverance. A year […]
27 April 2026 15:35 “The Nationwide Building Society could have one of its customers in its boardroom for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century. The society is owned by 9 million savers and borrowers, who elect the directors who oversee the business. One customer, James Sherwin-Smith from West Sussex, has secured […]
Nationwide faces an AGM in July after one of its longtime members secured enough support for a spot on the lender’s annual ballot. By James Rodger, Content Editor09:57, 27 Apr 2026 Link: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/nationwide-makes-historic-announcement-17-33842956 Nationwide could have its first customer on its board for nearly 25 years. Nationwide, which has branches in Birmingham, faces an AGM in […]
A campaigning customer has secured a board ballot spot for Nationwide for the first time in 21 years By Ben Martin, Banking Editor Link: https://www.thetimes.com/business/companies-markets/article/nationwide-faces-board-challenge-from-member-hgw5t6twz About nine million members of Nationwide will have the opportunity to elect one of their own to the board of the mutual for the first time in 21 years after […]
By Patrick Tooher, Consultant City Editor Link: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-15767241/Member-candidate-cleared-stand-Nationwide-board.html Nationwide is to hold its first vote in over two decades to elect a member-nominated candidate to the building society’s board. In a surprise move Britain’s biggest financial mutual, which is owned by its 16million members, has agreed to allow campaigner James Sherwin-Smith’s name to go on […]
James Sherwin-Smith will be up for election after securing more than 250 nominations to run alongside existing directors Kalyeena Makortoff, Banking correspondentMon 27 Apr 2026 07.00 BST Link: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/27/nationwide-first-customer-on-board-nearly-25-years Nationwide building society could have a customer on its board for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century after one of its longtime […]
LONDON, 27 APRIL 2026 07:00 – Nationwide Building Society has confirmed that I have receivedthe required valid nominations and will appear on the ballot for election to the Board at the2026 AGM. This creates the opportunity for Nationwide Members to elect a Member Nominated Directorfor the first time in over 20 years, at an important […]
Nationwide Building Society introduced the “Quick vote” (QV) mechanism in 2006. This was the year after the last Member Nominated Candidate stood for election in 2005. Since that time, there have been no Member Nominated Candidates and no Member Resolutions put forward, so the use of the QV hasn’t been tested in the situation where […]
An excellent article regarding Eliza Orme was published in The Times this week. She is believed to be one of the first women to become a director of a building society, when she co-founded the Nineteenth Century Building Society in 1880. It inspired me to write this brief history of female directors at Nationwide Building […]
From today’s edition (31 March 2026) of The Times, Patrick Hosking, Financial Editor, writes in his business column: Let him stand “James Sherwin-Smith may or may not be a suitable director of the Nationwide Building Society. But what should not be in doubt is his right to put his name forward as a candidate. “Yesterday […]
I hand delivered 340+ Member nominations in support of my candidacy to Nationwide Building Society HQ in sunny Swindon today. I now await feedback from Nationwide as to whether I have 250 valid nominations from eligible Members, and can therefore be listed on the Ballot ahead of the online-only AGM, on 15th July 2026. If […]
Alongside delivering the required nominations, and a £500 deposit, candidates for election to the board have the opportunity to include an election address of up to 500 words. This is as per Rule 31 of Nationwide’s Memorandum and Rules and Section 61 of the Building Societies Act (1986), as amended. Below the line is the […]
The UK’s largest building society has a 4% response at its AGM, raising questions about engagement with its 16.4m members
I thought a summary of recent board changes ahead of this summer’s AGM would be helpful to share as there has been a fair amount of change over the last 18 months. Background Each year, Nationwide members are asked to (re-)elect board directors. Ballot papers and online forms are circulated by the society to members […]
Why the building society’s remuneration vote is advisory, dominated by the Quick Vote, and supported by just 4% of members. At last year’s AGM, the increased package for the CEO of up to £7m was branded by one member as an “obscenity”, as reported at the time in The Guardian. Private Eye noticed at the […]