James Sherwin-Smith

1st Member Nominated Candidate for Election to @askNationwide Board since 2005. Standing up for Members’ rights & more transparency. DO NOT USE THE QUICK VOTE.

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

The #Nationwide #AGM Election campaign is over.

A #NewChapter begins today.

While I wasn't elected to the @AskNationwide #Board, this campaign achieved far more than one Board seat.

Together we've brought #MemberDemocracy at the world's largest building society into the national conversation.

Today I launch a long term programme built around Four Pillars for Stronger Member Democracy:

🏛️ Better Representation at Nationwide

⚖️ Modernising Governance at Nationwide

🤝 Strengthening Member Democracy Across the Building Society Sector

🌍 Building a Coalition for Democratic Governance

Read more:
🔗 https://t.co/ovEDlnzhqm
#MemberDemocracy #Nationwide #Mutuals #BuildingSocieties

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

@bobbingworld Please make this available for sale!

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Is a #MVNO deemed critical national infrastructure?

Hopefully @DCMS will investigate and enquire as to what went wrong. #OperationalResilience matters.

How hard is it to send customers a SMS to say “We’re down. We’re on it.”

https://t.co/hYK7eulORN

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Today is the 2026 @AskNationwide AGM, including the annual (re-)election of the #Nationwide #Board, and an end to my 2026 election campaign.

But this campaign has become about far more than one Board seat.

Together, we've put #Member #democracy, #governance and #accountability at the world's largest building society (and the UK's second biggest lender) into the national conversation.

Whatever today's #AGM result, the questions raised about how #MemberNominated Candidates are treated, how Members are encouraged and guided to #vote, and whether Nationwide (and building society) governance remains fit for purpose won't disappear.

This morning is the end of one chapter. This afternoon, after the AGM, a new one begins.

Introducing my Four Pillars for Stronger #MemberDemocracy:

1️⃣ Increase Member Representation at Nationwide
2️⃣ Modernise Governance at Nationwide
3️⃣ Strengthen Member Democracy across the #BuildingSociety sector
4️⃣ Build #C4DG, a Coalition for Democratic Governance

Today's agenda, guide to the AGM, links to my statements etc. https://t.co/fiKvJMfAw4

#BuildingSocieties

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

📰 In today’s/tomorrow’s @thetimes:

Reporting of open letter co-signed by parliamentarians, corporate #governance experts and influential business figures calls for the Labour government to review the 40-year-old Building Societies Act, arguing it should be updated to strengthen Member #democracy, #accountability and #representation.

The article comes ahead of @AskNationwide #BuildingSociety’s #AGM this week.

Article:
https://t.co/qQct9f3fH1

Letter:
https://t.co/y8VartNNcs

#Nationwide @BSABuildingSocs

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

@lizreason @MarkKleinmanSky @AskNationwide Thank you Liz - please tell your friends

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

#BreakingNews from @MarkKleinmanSky re @AskNationwide - link below.

And more here on how #Nationwide has sought to influence the outcome of this #election and my fight for better #governance standards, increased member #representation and more #transparecy at the world's largest #BuildingSociety https://t.co/U88wDblkzb

https://t.co/Ut5d5tCV6O

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Yesterday, the House of Lords held what I believe was one of the most significant parliamentary debates on #BuildingSociety #Governance for many years.

Baroness @SharonBowlesUK tabled an amendment to the Financial Services & Markets Bill calling for minimum governance standards for building societies, covering fair #elections and #voting procedures, binding votes on #ExecutivePay, Member representation on Boards and preventing #VirtualOnlyAGMs.

During the debate she questioned whether "you can have what is essentially a substantial financial institution having a Board that can #fiddle who gets onto the Board and who does not", describing the situation as "not acceptable".

She also challenged the use of blind bundled voting aka "#QuickVote" mechanisms, asking whether building societies should instead encourage Members to "#SlowVote" by taking the time to consider each resolution independently.

While the Government did not immediately support the amendment, there appears to be cross party support for an edited version to be debated and voted on at the Report stage.

Regardless, the debate raised an important question: is the 40 year old Building Societies Act (1986) still fit for purpose when it comes to Member #democracy and current day management and Board behaviours vs owner expectations?

Press release here
https://t.co/yyRR7PSO3A

Watch the closing remarks here:
https://t.co/V2XcbNJVhg

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Inspired by the cartoons of Alan Baker (check out his feed), this weekend we have launched the #slowVOTE campaign – a simple campaign designed to encourage Members to pause, consider their options, but ultimately #VOTE.

Last year:
🚫 92% of eligible #Nationwide Members didn't vote,
⚡️ 7% used the infamous #QuickVote,
✅ 1% exercised their own judgement i.e. #slowVOTE'd.

Too often, voting forms are completed in seconds. Members receive an email, click through, make a decision with little opportunity to consider the candidates or what is at stake.

#slowVOTE encourages something different.

Read. Think. Decide. Vote.

We're simply asking Members to slow down, learn a little more about this #Board #Election, and make an informed choice. Because this year there actually is one, for the first time in 21 years: me - a Member Nominated Candidate.

To kickstart the campaign we've launched a competition. £100 x2 to be won for the best creative and most popular #slowVOTE content.

🔗 Learn more at https://t.co/gD1SA6ah6H

Cc
@kalyeena Makortoff (The @guardian)
@TomSaunders (The @Telegraph)
@Benjaminwmartin (@thetimes)
@PatrickTooher (@DailyMail)
@samnormanwrites (@CityAM)
@MarkKleinmanSky (@SkyNews)

Prof. Andrew Johnston (@Warwick_Law)
Prof. @EilisFerran (Cambridge)
Dr. @MonicaFranco_S (Cranfield)

Mark Northway @ShareSocUK
@ca_howarth, CEO, #ShareAction
@DavidWDuffy, Founder, https://t.co/SsEihs0CmD
@AndrewSpeke, Interim Director, @HighPayCentre

@BSABuildingSocs Association

@gareththomasMP (chair of the APPG #Mutuals)
Peter Hunt, Founder, https://t.co/OnwInqUb6t (secretariat of same)

@johnmcdonnellMP (chair of the APPG Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services)
Andy Agathangelou, Founder, @TransparencyTF (secretariat of the same)

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Yesterday in Parliament, Government time was requested to debate the Building Societies Act 1986. I'd argue that - like me - it is showing its age and needs some work.
https://t.co/2euaPvSpJu

Navendu Mishra MP (Stockport, @UKLabour) praised the example of @VernonStockport - “truly, a #mutual, owned by #members, not shareholders.”

He then turned to concerns regarding meaningful democratic governance, @askNationwide in particular: the choice of a #virtualOnlyAGM, the lack of Member Nominated Directors, and the infamous “#QuickVote” mechanism (see https://t.co/sfw7Tsn9hP).

This builds on letters he wrote on 1st May to the Chancellor (@RachelReevesMP), the Chairman of Nationwide Building Society (Kevin Parry OBE) - who are both expected to step down imminently - and written questions that were answered by the Economic Secretary to @hmtreasury (@RNBlake MP - a member of both the Labour *and @CoopParty*) submitted by both himself and @libdemdaisy (Deputy Leader of the Liberal-Democrats, Treasury spokesperson)
https://t.co/DRkAfwwHyL

Cc
@kalyeena Makortoff (The @guardian)
@TomSaunders (The @Telegraph )
@Benjaminwmartin (@thetimes )
@PatrickTooher (@DailyMail)
@samnormanwrites (@CityAM)
@MarkKleinmanSky (@SkyNews)
Prof. Andrew Johnston (@Warwick_Law)
Prof. @EilisFerran (Cambridge)
Dr. @MonicaFranco_S (Cranfield)
@ca_howarth, CEO, #ShareAction
@DavidWDuffy, Founder, https://t.co/SsEihs0CmD
@AndrewSpeke, Interim Director, @HighPayCentre

@DitchburnDarren, CEO, Vernon Building Society

@Debbiecrosbie1, CEO, Nationwide Building Society
Sarah Harrison, CEO, @BSABuildingSocs Association

@gareththomasMP (chair of the APPG #Mutuals)
Peter Hunt, Founder, https://t.co/OnwInqUb6t (secretariat of same)

@johnmcdonnellMP (chair of the APPG Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services)
Andy Agathangelou, Founder, @TransparencyTF (secretariat of the same)

https://t.co/2euaPvSpJu

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

"It's me, hi. I'm the problem, it's me." (Taylor Swift) 🎤

A sunny day in #Horsham, #WestSussex, interviewing strangers about @AskNationwide, the “#FairerShare” etc, posted on #Youtube below. 📺

You won't find me on @facebook or @Instagram anymore, because @Meta blocked my personal accounts back in February - just as I was seeking #nominations for Election to the Board of Nationwide #BuildingSociety. 🧐

I was banned, seemingly for life, for posting that #Nationwide was fined £44M by @theFCA for poor financial controls. 20 years of photos, posts, messages, etc. - gone. ☠️

I included in the post that pwned my account this link to the public #FCA Decision Notice - it’s an astonishing read 🏦:
https://t.co/FiR2Q6q8Af

But, apparently, it was me, according to Meta, that broke Community Guidelines on "#Fraud and Deception." 🤦‍♂️

But now, thanks to a skilled and dedicated team of supporters, you can find me on lots of other hashtag#SocialMedia platforms. 📲
🎶 #TikTok (yes, really) https://t.co/CPr8rvvdvo
🐦 #X / #Twitter (follow here!)
💼 #LinkedIn https://t.co/Ofp2BaFKgT
🤖 #Reddit https://t.co/DIGIwPqNwf
🦋 #Bluesky https://t.co/cqj4iq4CS2
💬 #WhatsApp https://t.co/yAcO0hVqt8
📥 #Email - Subscribe here for your FREE ENTRY TO WIN £100 in my weekly draw for the 🎈James' 𝙵̶𝚊̶𝚒̶𝚛̶𝚎̶𝚛̶ Random Share 🎈: https://t.co/4H6YRCNuLj
📺 #Youtube https://t.co/b4faPv5CHM

https://t.co/jzYkZFEeeG

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

The @guardian published an exclusive on Monday that @AskNationwide Building Society is consulting on around 600 redundancies as part of the integration of @VirginMoney.

My thoughts are with every employee - most of whom are fellow Members - whose future is now uncertain.

When the Board decided to acquire Virgin Money for £2.9 billion, Members were not given a vote on one of the most significant decisions in #Nationwide history.

Now we are beginning to see the human consequences of that decision.

Redundancies arising from duplicated roles are an inevitable feature of most mergers. That is not, in itself, surprising.

What concerns me is who ultimately leaves.

Nationwide's existing workforce has been shaped by decades of working within a #mutual organisation.

Many colleagues have built careers around a culture of #Member ownership, long term thinking and service rather than shareholder returns.

#VirginMoney comes from a listed banking background with a different history, different incentives and a different corporate culture.

If the integration results in proportionately more Nationwide colleagues leaving than Virgin Money colleagues, the #BuildingSociety may gradually lose something that cannot simply be measured on a balance sheet.

It could lose part of its mutual #identity, its #ethos, its raison d'être.

#Culture is not created by slogans or advertising campaigns. It is created by #People.

The people who remain after an acquisition will define what Nationwide becomes over the next decade.

This is precisely why Member #democracy matters.

If Members are denied meaningful opportunities to scrutinise and influence transformational decisions, the Board becomes less accountable for the long term consequences of those decisions — not just financially, but culturally too.

The real question isn't simply whether the Virgin Money acquisition creates (or destroys) value.

It's whether, ten years from now, Nationwide will still feel like the building society its Members own.

That is a question every Member should be asking.

📰 The Guardian article by @kalyeena & @marksweney

https://t.co/xPIDyXVp5M

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Today, @theFCA informed me that, after 4 weeks, it will *not* open an investigation into @AskNationwide Building Society for a breach of s61 of the Building Societies Act (1986).

I've been asking the #FCA to investigate changes made by #Nationwide to my #Election Address without my permission before it was distributed to #Members in the lead up to the #AGM (15th July 2026).

I have therefore asked:

"does the FCA’s decision not to refer the complaint for investigation represent a conclusion that Nationwide complied with Section 61, or simply a decision that the matter does not meet the FCA’s threshold for investigation?" (e.g. the statutory basis, the seriousness of potential misconduct, and whether action is likely to drive impactful deterrence, etc.)

This comes shortly after the FCA wrote to an MP stating that:

“Democratic member control is an important element of the society model. A society is required to operate strictly within its own rules and in accordance with the Act.... We can and often do act where there has been a breach of mutuals legislation. The concerns raised here would fall into that remit.”

As Members continue to submit their #voting instructions ahead of Nationwide's #AGM, I believe these questions remain important — not just for this election, but for the future of Member democracy across the #UK #mutual and #BuildingSociety sectors.

I've published a press release today setting out the latest developments and the supporting evidence.

🔗 https://t.co/Sp6dSMZDvi

As always, I encourage people to read the documents themselves and draw their own conclusions.

I remain concerned that we are on the precipice of setting a series of dangerous precedents - in this case, whether building societies can now edit candidate election addresses without consequences.

This is another example where I find the 1986 Act is no longer fit for purpose. It was, perhaps, written for a different time: when the spirit, as much as the rule, of law was revered; conventions were followed; and the expectation of procedural #fairness and natural #justice were held in higher regard.

Or to put it another way: "give someone an inch and they'll take a mile."

#Nationwide #BuildingSocieties #CorporateGovernance #Democracy #Mutuals #Transparency #Accountability #Trust #Confidence

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Journalists get it (judging by the press this gets).

Ordinary Members get it (judging by the emails I receive).

MPs from different parties get it (given the questions they are asking).

Why don’t the #Nationwide #Board, the #FCA, or the #Government?

12/12

https://t.co/nnUeAoxy77

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Alan Debenham called me last week after opening his #Nationwide #AGM pack. He said reading the #voting form made him “the angriest I’ve been in my life.” Alan is nearly 84.

🧵1/12

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

I think this raises valid wider questions about the spirit of the #law, the effectiveness of #regulation (the Financial Conduct Authority is the Mutual Societies #regulator), and what #mutual ownership means if Members cannot realistically influence governance.

https://t.co/Dc90PK0AB8

11/12