James Sherwin-Smith

Member Nominated Candidate standing for election to the Board of Directors of @AskNationwide building society.

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Two articles in @thetimes today.

The first Member Nominated Candidate to reach a @AskNationwide ballot in more than 20 years.

The Financial Editor of The Times @Benjaminwmartin says Nationwide has "tilted the playing field" against me.

#Voting papers begin landing with Members next week - DO NOT USE THE QUICK VOTE.

This campaign is no longer just about one candidate.

It's about whether #MemberOwned organisations genuinely listen to the people who own them.

If you believe Members deserve a real choice:

✅ Subscribe for campaign updates
✅ Share the campaign with other Nationwide Members
✅ Vote when your ballot arrives

Join us:
https://t.co/e6ncVL1p8o

#Nationwide #MemberVoice #Mutuals #CorporateGovernance

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

🚨 NEW: @AskNationwide election dispute escalates just days before voting begins

Today I issued a press release highlighting four key concerns:
1. Nationwide Building Society refused my request to append a message to my Election Address to warn Members not to use #QuickVote if they wish to support my election.
2. The Board has decided to recommend Members vote AGAINST my candidacy while continuing to use Quick Vote.
3. Nationwide removed my website address and QR code from my Election Address without my permission.
4. The Financial Conduct Authority is still considering questions about this just days before voting materials begin arriving from Monday, 8th June.

This isn't about individuals. It's about #fairness, #governance, #transparency and whether #Members of a #mutual organisation have a genuine opportunity to elect one of their own to the Board.

Read the full press release:
🔗 https://t.co/RcIdscmtS0

#Nationwide #AGM #BuildingSocieties #CorporateGovernance #MemberVoice #James4Nationwide #HaveYourSay #VOTE

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Battling the #BuildingSocieties — and Why We Must Win

📅 Tuesday 9th June
🕕 6:00pm (Zoom)
🎟 Free to attend (registration required)

I’ll be joining Andy Agathangelou, founder of the @TransparencyTF , next Tuesday for a deep-dive discussion into #governance, #democracy and #accountability inside the UK #mutual sector.

https://t.co/77AX26tqGH?

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Three questions, 1 (non) answer.

Last month, Navendu Mishra MP submitted three important written Parliamentary Questions to @hmtreasury about the future #governance of #BuildingSocieties:
1️⃣ The use of Virtual-only AGMs
2️⃣ Member Nominated Directors on boards
3️⃣ Binding votes on ExecutivePay.

Yesterday, all three received exactly the same response from the Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

"The Government has no current plans to introduce prescriptive requirements in these areas, but will continue to keep the framework under review as part of its broader work to support mutuals.”

I will be writing to Rachel Blake MP to request a meeting to discuss these issues further. We are both due to attend @CooperativesUK Congress 2026 in Birmingham later this month, which seems an appropriate opportunity for a constructive discussion about the future of mutual governance in the UK.

https://t.co/d9NZzIfyB0

#Mutuals #MemberOwned #MemberOwnership #Democracy #FinancialServices #AGM #ExecutivePay #CooperativeCongress2026 #VirtualOnlyAGM #AGM

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Update: @TheFCA has now formally acknowledged my request for urgent intervention regarding the fairness of @askNationwide's 2026 Board election process.

“We are aware of the urgency of your request and we will respond fully as soon as we are able.”

My thanks to @theFCA for acknowledging this so quicky, after I filed a concern on Saturday morning after #Nationwide finally denied my requests by email at 18:11 Friday evening.

This is now fundamentally about whether Members in a #mutual organisation are entitled to a fair election process and an unaltered #Election Address under the #BuildingSocieties Act.

See if you can #SpotTheDifference in the attached:
(A) is as per my website (21 April 2026) on the basis that the Board would suspend the Quick Vote, vs.
(B) is what I requested, given the Board has not only kept the #QuickVote, but also used it to gather votes from Members AGAINST me.

Further updates will follow here:
https://t.co/iYiT5Q3P8Z

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

I’m grateful to Jasper Jolly at The Guardian for today's piece surrounding this year’s Board election process.
https://t.co/R2uoRUlfuE

Nationwide has refused my request to amend my Election Address to inform Members about the implications of using the Board-backed #QuickVote system (which I believe is the first time it has been used in the UK to vote AGAINST a candidate).

At the same time, edits have been made to my Election Address by Nationwide without my approval. I have not seen a proof copy after they have edited it.

This appears contrary to the Building Societies Act (1986), Section 61, so I have written to Dominic Cashman and the Mutual Societies team @TheFCA asking them to review how @AskNationwide is planning to present my candidacy to the Membership.

More here:
https://t.co/iYiT5Q3P8Z

[James Sherwin-Smith @JSS4NW]

Hi @marben100 - what's your take on this please, given your thoughts last year on @AskNationwide #AGM?

https://t.co/khowXWmuJC

[ShareSoc @ShareSocUK]

Nationwide's AGM is coming. The Noise is Growing.

Since @marben100 shared his personal take on Nationwide’s 2025 AGM, there’s been an active stream of responses, some supportive, some challenging, all worth reading.

Here are a few standout reactions🔍:
1. “If the long-term performance incentive didn’t pay, hey’d rewrite it till it did. It’s written so they can hardly fail.” - Jim W
2. “This must be sent to every Nationwide member so they understand they’re paying for these salary increases.” - Vaidas V
3. “I’m not even sure what the point of a mutual is anymore. The banks compete and pay dividends.” - Jeff J
4. “Nationwide’s £150 payment was welcome but £50 came from a one-off gain. What happens next year?” - Philip J
5. “Digital-only AGMs are incredibly bad for governance and democracy. We all need to pull together.” - Danny W
6. “Was going to skip voting this year, this post helped me make sense of it.” - Benjamin W

Nationwide’s online-only AGM takes place on 25 July. Mark’s full analysis is here →🔗 https://t.co/wSQQX7aVTn

Are Nationwide’s leaders really serving members or serving themselves under the cover of a mutual brand?

#NationwideAGM #MutualsMatter #MemberVoice #Governance #AGM2025 #ShareSoc

[James Sherwin-Smith @JSS4NW]

@jamesnigraham @AskNationwide This hasn't aged well...

Published in The Guardian today
https://t.co/khowXWmuJC

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

"I'm not surprised, I'm just disappointed." @askNationwide has now formally confirmed that it will NOT recommend my candidacy for election to its Board — and will actively deploy its “#QuickVote” mechanism AGAINST the only independent Member Nominated Candidate in this year’s election - and since the Quick Vote was introduced in 2006.

This matters because 87% of votes last year were cast using the Quick Vote, which appears prominently at the top of the voting form and effectively encourages #Members to endorse the Board’s preferred slate wholesale.

The result is a significant structural disadvantage for any genuinely independent candidate seeking to represent Members. It risks establishing a dangerous precedent for #democratic #governance in any #MemberOwned or #mutual organisation.

From 8 June, ballot papers begin landing with 9.1 million eligible Nationwide Members.

The campaign now moves from awareness to *action*.

If you believe Nationwide #Members should have meaningful democratic choice and independent representation, please:

* DO NOT use Quick Vote
* ⁠Vote deliberately and individually based on the candidate information provided
* ⁠Help spread awareness before voting closes on 15th July

The issue has already attracted coverage in @thetimes and @CityAM, both highlighting concerns about the fairness of the election process.

Full update and supporter briefing here:
https://t.co/CEdZAnLaip

#Nationwide #Mutuals #CorporateGovernance #BuildingSocieties #MemberVoice #FinancialServices #quickvote #AGM #Ballot

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Today’s coverage in The Times highlights a simple but important issue at the heart of this year’s @askNationwide Building Society board election: #transparency and fair #memberengagement.

I’m proud to have become the first Member Nominated Candidate to reach the ballot at #Nationwide in over 20 years. But key decisions about the conduct of the #election — including whether the board will recommend my candidacy and how the vote itself will operate — have been unresolved for some time.

For a #mutual organisation owned by its #members, #openness and proper scrutiny matter.

This election is bigger than one candidate. It raises important questions about #governance, #accountability and the role members should play in the future of #mutuals.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the campaign so far.

More info here:
https://t.co/gJlQymwHV8

#Nationwide #Mutuals #CorporateGovernance #BuildingSocieties #MemberVoice #FinancialServices

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

A good mutual should welcome scrutiny. @CityAM’s @samnormanwrites has written a thoughtful column on my campaign to bring greater #transparency, #accountability and #member #democracy to @AskNationwide Building Society’s boardroom.

The piece covers some of the key issues at stake ahead of this year’s #AGM:
- the governance questions surrounding the Virgin Money acquisition,
- the lack of a physical AGM for members,
- the use of the “Quick Vote” mechanism,
- and the broader question of how democratic a mutual organisation should really be.

As I said on City AM’s #BusinessAsUsual #podcast this week, I have issue when mutuals present their remuneration report without a binding vote i.e. “pay us like bankers but don’t hold us accountable like bankers”.

If members are the owners, then meaningful scrutiny and engagement matter.

Listen to the podcast here:
https://t.co/Lx9L0IajPh

With AGM voting approaching, I remain focused on ensuring Nationwide’s 16 million members are properly heard in the governance of the society they own.

#Nationwide #Mutuals #CorporateGovernance #BuildingSocieties #Banking #Democracy #AGM #VirginMoney #Governance #MemberOwned

Read the article here:
https://t.co/biM9IgAuYx

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

My thanks to @samnormanwrites and the @CityAM team for the coverage on their #BusinessAsUsual podcast today.

We talk about the need for greater #transparency into the @VirginMoney integration, the #FairerShare payments announced last week, and the terms on which I am seeking #election to board of @AskNationwide Building Society which are still yet to be decided / communicated ahead of the 2026 #VirtualOnlyAGM.

You can listen to via YouTube below (starts 3m32s) or podcast platforms:

Spotify: https://t.co/pi54sQy9ku
Apple: https://t.co/knFX8ZWTI8
Youtube: https://t.co/pWWIDpLiSM

#Nationwide #membership #mutual #MemberOwned #democracy #voting

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

As anticipated, @AskNationwide has released this morning an announcement about the #FairerShare and their 2026 preliminary results. (The Notice of #AGM is yet to be published, and I await the Board's decisions on my candidacy and the ballot design.)

* Member financial #benefit is down £1B year on year as Nationwide's pricing advantage versus the wider market narrows
* #Integration costs have risen materially, and Virgin Money customer migrations are yet to begin from an IT / systems perspective.
* Group profits are up, the CET1 ratio is maintained, and customer service standards remain high (the #ExecutivePay report isn't yet public)
* VM performance is not broken out, and Clydesdale Bank plc statutory accounts are yet to be filed with Companies House.

My post on the 2026 prelim results:
https://t.co/SVGCp46HbC

And primarily information (and SEO) reasons, my new post on the Fairer Share:
https://t.co/J58Ic9Qv8q

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

I enjoyed talking to Jeremy McKeown on his #podcast “In The Company Of Mavericks” (@in_mavericks) out today.

We covered
- what it takes to get on the ballot of a #BuildingSociety as a member nominated candidate for director
- what motivated me to give up a huge amount of my time to get this far
- why #mutual societies matter
- what might happen next

You can listen to the pod on Spotify, Apple etc. or online via this link:
https://t.co/ZiJrYa4tKJ

If you’re interested in the stories behind the headlines in #FinancialServices and personal #investing topics, do check out Jeremy’s Substack “#Hypernormal Times”:
https://t.co/PyCmRPJ4fs

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

A decade after @theresa_may promised to reform corporate Britain and strengthen stakeholder #representation, the question remains:

➡️ Who really holds large institutions accountable?

Today, @kalyeena Makortoff writing in @guardian examines the upcoming @AskNationwide Board election and the wider debate around #governance, member #democracy and #accountability within mutual organisations.

https://t.co/ixg4NT35MY

The piece covers:
• the barriers faced by potential Member Nominated Candidates
• the total absence of Member Nominated Directors across all 42 UK #BuildingSocieties
• concerns around "#QuickVote" mechanisms
• whether #mutual ownership still translates into meaningful Member influence

Thank you to everyone who has supported my efforts thus far.

Thank you also to Andrew Johnston, @uniofwarwick and Monica Franco-Santos, @cranfieldmngmt for their input to the article.

@gareththomasMP (chair of APPG Mutuals) and Sarah Harrison (CEO of @BSABuildingSocs) - I have written to you both previously and would be delighted to discuss my candidacy and governance concerns with you directly, as well as understand your perspectives better.

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

My thanks to @PatrickTooher for including my question re @AskNationwide’s #FairerShare policy in today’s @DailyMail on Sunday:

https://t.co/PxH2NtfkpG

“James Sherwin-Smith, who hopes to become Nationwide's first director representing members in over two decades, questioned why only a minority of them received payouts.

'Is there a better use or more equitable distribution of members' capital?' He asked.

It’s interesting to note that:
1) following the acquisition of @VirginMoney, #Nationwide paid a one-off Big Thank You of £50 to ~12million (ie 3/4 of Members). But for the last 3 years, it has decided to share profits with 1/4 of Members instead.
2) in 2007, Members were asked to vote on whether to donate >1% of profits to #charity each year. No vote was offered re the Fairer Share.
3) less than 700k Members voted at the last #AGM.

My most recent post on this topic:
https://t.co/bFgWYWERPT

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Next Thursday, @askNationwide will announce its annual results. Most of the column inches and clickbait headlines will likely go on the #FairerShare: in previous years £100 was paid to a minority of Members, based on T&Cs announced retrospectively. Barring a "non-FTSE whoopsie" (h/t @CityAM) I'd wager there will be less reporting asking why or whether these payments should be made, or how profits could be used differently, or even shared more fairly.

#Nationwide #BuildingSociety's actual performance, the directors' remuneration report and other #governance topics that members will be invited to #vote on next month, will likely be a footnote in most of those articles celebrating "money for nothing" (it's a redistribution of #member #equity after all), rather than offering any real scrutiny.

This will also be the last year Clydesdale Bank plc t/a @VirginMoney will file substantial statutory accounts given the legal transfer affected last month.

For anyone interested in the Fairer Share, I've pre-emptively published this:

https://t.co/4Hka82idfS

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

With my place on the 2026 ballot for election to the #Nationwide #Board secured, the Board is yet to decide *how* my name will appear on the voting form. One decision in particular could have a significant bearing on my election success - whether the '#QuickVote' is used, or not.

It was one of the #governance issues in the building society sector highlighted by @NavPMishra MP in his letter to the Chancellor, Rt Hon @RachelReevesMP , sent two weeks ago and published yesterday.

I have asked @AskNationwide to suspend the 'Quick vote' in the interests of fairness: no competitive election has been held since it was introduced by the Society 20 years ago.

Looking across to other organisations where it has been used in competitive elections, it has proven controversial (cf @nationaltrust) - one former supreme court judge, Lord Sumption , referred to its use as a "North Korean approach" to democracy.

As I write in this blog, published on my website today, I am not a lawyer - but it is clear that appeal courts in England and Australia have warned directors about proxy solicitation that seeks to influence the outcomes of elections, particularly when it comes to an "election in favour of themselves or their colleagues" (The @HonMichaelKirby).

https://t.co/mOqX9EdriB

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

I am grateful to @NavPMishra MP for writing to both the Rt Hon @RachelReevesMP (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) and Kevin Parry OBE (the @AskNationwide Building Society chairman), regarding emerging "#governance issues with the #buildingsociety sector", with @gareththomasMP copied, as chair of the APPG for mutuals: https://t.co/oEnEEtb8AX)

These are important issues, being raised at an important time. The inconsistencies with the comparisons drawn need to be explained, if not addressed directly, in my view.

[James Sherwin-Smith @26Left]

Most @askNationwide Members don’t use their vote each year ahead of the annual general meeting. Attending the #AGM and #voting are the major ways that Members can influence the organisation.

#Nationwide is a member-owned institution, and Members determine who sits on its #Board. The Board assesses priorities, scrutinises performance, challenges management and represents members’ interests.

That’s why this campaign matters. I want Members to have more #choice on the ballot, and so drive greater #accountability. This will drive more #engagement in the Society’s affairs - to help and increase Member #representation.

https://t.co/vBINdOJqyL