We invite all current eligible BGS members to vote in the election for the next President Elect.
The President Elect supports the BGS President in their role and will move into the BGS President position themselves after two years. The BGS President is the Society’s most senior role, serving as a member of the BGS Trustee Board and a director of BGS (Trading) Ltd, our wholly owned trading arm.
The BGS President chairs the Trustee Board, which has a detailed oversight of all the Society’s activities on a strategic, operational, and financial basis.
The President Elect deputises for the BGS President where necessary and appropriate.
The BGS is therefore holding a ballot of its members to elect the next President Elect (2024-2026). Votes must be cast by 9.00 a.m. on Monday 22 July.
The candidates are:
The self-nomination of each candidate was supported by the requisite five BGS members.
The three candidates have prepared a personal manifesto explaining how they would approach the role of BGS President Elect, and ultimately that of BGS President, and this can be viewed on our website.
How to vote online
All current eligible BGS members have received a link via email (sent on 28 June) and will need to click on the button in this email to vote.
If you have not received your individual email or need assistance to vote, including help logging into your account and/or confirming your membership standing, please contact the Membership Officer at membership@bgs.org.uk or call 020 7608 1369.
Voting opens on 28 June at 9.00 am and closes on 22 July at 9:00 a.m.
FAQs
Am I eligible to vote?
All current individual BGS members are eligible to vote in the election.
Group members can not vote in this election.
If you need to check your membership status, please contact Mark Stewart, BGS Office and Business Manager, at m.stewart@bgs.org.uk or 020 7608 1369. If you need to renew your membership or would like to become a member, click here.
How do I vote?
You will receive an email with a unique link to cast your vote. Each member is entitled to vote once and the link will expire once it has been used. You should not share or forward on this link to anyone.
To vote, please choose your favoured candidate as your number one preference. You can then rank as many or as few other candidates as you wish.
We are using a single transferable vote system.
To ensure anonymity, you will not be required to log in to vote. To check or change the email address linked to your BGS membership, please log into the BGS website, go to ‘My Account’ in the top right hand corner and then click on ‘Manage my account.’
What is a single transferable vote?
To win the election, a candidate needs a minimum set number of votes, known as the quota. For this election, the quota is set at 51%. If no candidate achieves 51% using voters’ first preferences, second preference votes from the lowest-scoring candidate are added to the two remaining candidates. The candidate who then has 51% or more of the votes is declared the winner.
What if I haven’t received an email or the link doesn’t work?
If you have not received the email or need assistance to vote or to confirm your membership standing, please contact Mark Stewart, BGS Office and Business Manager, at m.stewart@bgs.org.uk or 020 7608 13692.
How can I watch the candidates' videos?
Each of our candidates has recorded a video manifesto lasting around 5 minutes or less. You can view them by clicking on the candidate profiles here.
If the video is buffering, not starting, or has issues with sound, please try reloading the webpage. If you continue to experience difficulties you can contact the website editor, Amy Brewerton, at editor@bgs.org.uk.
When will the results be announced?
We will announce the results in late July, once all votes have been collated and the candidates have been notified of the outcome.
