.@AskNationwide has confirmed that I have received the required valid nominations and will appear on the ballot for #election to the #Board of Directors at the 2026 AGM. This creates the opportunity for Nationwide Members to choose to elect a Member Nominated Director for the first time in over 20 years, at an important point in the Society’s history as it continues the integration of Virgin Money. The Board will now decide whether to recommend my candidacy to Members in the Notice of #AGM, and how the voting process will operate in what could become a competitive election. This includes the use of the #QuickVote mechanism, which enables Members to vote as per the Board’s recommendations by ticking a single box. While this is largely procedural in uncontested elections, its role is more significant where Members are being asked to make an active choice between candidates. Clarity on these points ahead of the ballot distribution will ensure Members can participate with confidence. With a choice for Members secured, my focus remains on ensuring Members have a clear and fair opportunity to make an informed decision about who represents them on the Board. Many mutual organisations have evolved to include at least one #MemberNominatedDirector as part of their #governance, reflecting the importance of Member #representation. Nationwide has over 16 million Members, and I hope those eligible to vote will take the opportunity to engage in the upcoming election. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my supporters for their interest and action in the society’s affairs. For more info, please visit: james4nationwide.co.uk/a-new… or read the press coverage pasted in this thread below. @JSS4NW #James4Nationwide

#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 James4Nationwide.co.uk/twelv… news.sky.com/story/mark-klei…

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 slowVOTE.com 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, thecorporategovernanceinstit… @AndrewSpeke, Interim Director, @HighPayCentre @BSABuildingSocs Association @gareththomasMP (chair of the APPG #Mutuals) Peter Hunt, Founder, Mutuo.coop (secretariat of same) @johnmcdonnellMP (chair of the APPG Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services) Andy Agathangelou, Founder, @TransparencyTF (secretariat of the same)

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. youtube.com/watch?v=TEtArHR8… 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 slowvote.com). 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) james4nationwide.co.uk/more-… 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, thecorporategovernanceinstit… @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, Mutuo.coop (secretariat of same) @johnmcdonnellMP (chair of the APPG Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services) Andy Agathangelou, Founder, @TransparencyTF (secretariat of the same) youtube.com/watch?v=TEtArHR8…

"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 🏦: fca.org.uk/publication/final… 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) tiktok.com/@james4nationwide 🐦 #X / #Twitter (follow here!) 💼 #LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/jarss/ 🤖 #Reddit reddit.com/user/James4Nation… 🦋 #Bluesky bsky.app/profile/jss4nw.bsky… 💬 #WhatsApp chat.whatsapp.com/JPOza6hRra… 📥 #Email - Subscribe here for your FREE ENTRY TO WIN £100 in my weekly draw for the 🎈James' 𝙵̶𝚊̶𝚒̶𝚛̶𝚎̶𝚛̶ Random Share 🎈: fairer-share.com 📺 #Youtube youtube.com/@James4Nationwid… youtube.com/watch?v=7TYscGba…

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 james4nationwide.co.uk/natio…

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. 🔗 james4nationwide.co.uk/fca-d… 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

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 James4Nationwide.co.uk/how-t…

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. fca.org.uk/raise-concerns-ab… 11/12

Yesterday on Reddit I was asked whether this election is “rigged.” I won’t use that word. But I do think the process has become sufficiently one sided that it risks undermining #confidence in Member #democracy and #governance. reddit.com/r/UKPersonalFinan… 10/12

Members never voted to introduce the #QuickVote. Yet #Nationwide can determine its voting procedures within the existing legislative framework, including Rules 25(e) and 25(f). nationwide.co.uk/-/assets/na… 9/12

But there’s the circular problem. If a #BuildingSociety designs its own voting process, and #Members can only approve rule changes through that same process (which leverages the #quickvote - 87% of #Nationwide members used the QV last year), who scrutinises whether the process itself is fair? 8/12

Economic Secretary to the #Treasury Rachel Blake MP replied that different #voting mechanisms are “a matter for individual societies and their members.” The #Government has “no plans to introduce prescriptive requirements.” 7/12

Contrast that with Parliament on Wednesday. Daisy Cooper MP asked the Chancellor about #voting systems used to approve #Board recommendations at an #AGM. theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id… 6/12

And: “Members deserve the opportunity to hear those voices without #interference. “I have never seen an #Election conducted in this way before at Nationwide, and I fear the #precedent it sets.” 5/12

Alan continued: “ #BuildingSocieties are owned by their #Members. “They should not be kept at arm’s length. “Independent voices have always had a place in mutual #governance.” 4/12

Alan asked me to publish a statement from him on my website. Some excerpts: “The #QuickVote is not purely a #Nationwide issue. “It is a plague on #democracy, nationwide.” james4nationwide.co.uk/state… 3/12

Alan was the last Member Nominated Candidate elected to the #Nationwide #BuildingSociety Board in 2005, ending more than 40 years of continuous Member representation. The #QuickVote followed the next year. (Nominations had already been made 5x harder in 2000.) 2/12

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

What does “#independent” mean? @CivicaUK Election Services (CES) - formerly Electoral Reform Services (ERS) - refers to itself as an “independent service provider / scrutineer” and that “#democracy is in our DNA”. It must have mutated considerably. 🧬 CES is refusing to answer some fairly basic questions, instead referring me to @AskNationwide #BuildingSociety - the organisation that pays its bills and is stonewalling me. (Remember it's #Nationwide #Members that pay for this ultimately.) I thought these were fairly straight-forward #questions that deserve a fairly straight-forward answer: 🔎 What ability do I have as a candidate (or one of my team) to review and #audit the electoral process? 🕵️‍♂️ Who is the person #responsible at Civica for overseeing this election? 📋 Who, if anyone, #oversees your processes and procedures given you are retained (i.e. paid) by Nationwide? 📈 Is it possible for me as a candidate and/or authorised representative to receive #progress reports on how the count is developing during the voting window? 📉 Does Nationwide receive #updates on how the count is developing from CES during the voting window? 🧐 Can you explain #why Civica Election Services (CES) cannot answer these questions please? 🤓 Is there a #terms of reference or codified best practice that CES comply with perhaps, that would allow me, and others, to understand the position better? With 9.3 million able to vote, the Nationwide #electorate is bigger than many countries’ General #Elections.  Extending that analogy, the above is a bit like a Returning Officer saying: “I won’t provide information or access to independent candidates because I am paid for by the government, so only the government gets to know these things.” See the outstanding questions here: james4nationwide.co.uk/ces-n… #transparency #trust #confidence #fairness #VOTE #DoNotUseTheQuickVote

Not much to add really. Other than it’s the grit in the oyster that makes the pearl. Thank you Mike Olley of GRIT for this piece. Find him on Substack midlandsgrit.co.uk/p/dame-ri… And please #VOTE, but DO NOT USE THE #QUICKVOTE. More about that, here: James4Nationwide.co.uk/the-q… #democracy #mutual #memberowned #governance #nationwide #buildingsociety @AskNationwide