These rules apply to the election of the General Secretary of United Voices of the World (UVW) in 2026.
The elections will be conducted by postal ballot, in accordance with the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 as updated.
The Executive Committee has appointed Popularis Ltd, Nutsey Lane, Totton, Southampton SO40 3RL as the Independent Scrutineer for the purposes of the elections for General Secretary.
Members are entitled to vote in secret, and without interference or intimidation.
No person shall take any part in the conduct of the election, other than to vote, or unless they have been instructed by Popularis.
Position
The General Secretary will be elected by all members of UVW eligible to vote.
Timetable
The elections will be conducted according to the following timetable:
Monday 5 January 2026
Nominations open
Friday 30 January 2026
Final date for payment of owed membership fees and change of address for ballot papers
Friday 30 January 2026
Nominations close at 1200 hrs
Friday 6 February 2026
Candidates announced – list to be published online
Friday 13 March 2026
Voting opens – ballot papers sent out to members
Friday 17 April 2026
Voting ends – ballot papers must be received by this date
Monday 27 April 2026
Results announced
Friday 1 May 2026
Newly elected general secretary in post (or as close to that date as possible)
Postal ballot
Current statutes do not permit ballot papers to be emailed to members, or for completed ballot papers to be emailed to the Independent Scrutineer. Ballot papers must be sent by post and returned by post.
Ballot papers will be sent to each member’s home address. Only Popularis will issue a ballot paper to each member.
In accordance with the current statutes, members must provide an accurate and up to date address to the UVW. Members are asked to ensure their address is accurate and up to date for the purposes of the elections no later than 30 January 2026.
Where members wish to receive ballot papers at an alternative address, they must notify the union in writing by 30 January 2026.
Members are required to indicate if they wish to receive their ballot paper and statements in English OR Spanish. If no language preference is indicated by the member, the presumed language will be English.
The opening day of the election when ballot papers, election statements and a reply-paid envelope will be distributed in the post to all members will be Friday 13 March 2026.
If a member has not received their ballot paper by Monday 23 March 2026, they may apply to Popularis Ltd by emailing help@popularis.org to be sent a replacement. The last day to request a replacement ballot paper will be Friday 3 April 2026.
Ballot papers must be returned by post to Popularis by first post on Friday 17 April 2026.
Eligibility to vote
Only members on the list of those eligible to vote may vote at the election.
The list of members eligible to vote will be compiled by the UVW. Those that are UVW members on 30 January 2026 and meet the criteria below will be eligible to vote in these elections.
UVW’s constitution states that to be considered a full member of the union, a member must be no more than 2 months in arrears with their membership fees.
To be eligible to vote in these elections, members must have no more than 2 months of membership fees owing by 30 January 2026. Any owed fees paid after this date will not be considered.
Any member joining UVW after 30 January 2026 may be eligible for membership but will not be eligible to vote in these elections.
Term of office
Once elected, the General Secretary will begin the role on Friday 1 May 2026, or as close to that date as possible. Their term of office will be between 2 and 3 years.
Nominations
Nominations for the General Secretary will open on Monday 5 January 2026 and close at 1200hrs on Friday 30 January 2026.
The list of candidates will be displayed on the UVW website no later than Friday 6 February 2026.
In accordance with current statutes, if the number of valid nominations received for any election is equal to the number to be elected, the seat will be considered uncontested, no election will be required and the candidate will be declared elected unopposed.
If the number of valid nominations received for any election exceeds the number to be elected, an election will be required.
Contact details (tel, email, home address and postcode)
Language
Gender
Occupation, workplace and sector
Length of UVW membership / Join date
Names and sectors of at least 10 members that support their nomination for General Secretary
All the members listed as supporters for a particular candidate’s nomination must have:
a minimum of 6 months of continuous membership; and
no more than 2 months of membership fees owing on 30 January 2026.
Nominations must be received no later than 1200hrs on Friday 30 January 2026.
All nominations will be checked by the elections sub-group to ensure they meet the criteria set out below.
Eligibility
To be eligible to stand as a candidate for General Secretary, members must:
have been a member of UVW for a minimum of 3 years continuously;
have no more than 2 months of membership fees owing on Friday 30 January 2026;
have held an elected or appointed position within UVW;
be able to demonstrate significant trade union or campaign experience
For a member to stand as a candidate for General Secretary their nomination must have the support of at least 10 UVW members.
All nominees must confirm that they agree to the following declaration:
By submitting this nomination, I confirm that:
I fully support UVW’s mission, vision and values as laid out in the union’s constitution;
I understand what is expected of the UVW General Secretary; and
if elected, I commit to carrying out the role of UVW General Secretary and to upholding the UVW’s constitution.
Candidate statements
All nominees are asked to submit a candidate statement. This can be submitted in writing or as an audio or video message. Candidate statements can be submitted in English or in Spanish, and must be submitted no later than 1200hrs on Friday 30 January 2026, when nominations close.
The candidate statements will be circulated (in English and Spanish) with the ballot papers as required by current statutes. Candidate statements will also be displayed on the UVW website, and may be circulated by the Executive Committee to members on other media as deemed appropriate.
Candidate statements should include:
A summary of who they are
Why they want the role
What they would hope to achieve, if elected
Details of skills or experience relevant to the role
Candidates are responsible for the content of their own statements. In accordance with current statutes, no one other than the candidate him/herself shall incur any civil or criminal liability in respect of the publication of a candidate’s election statement.
Candidates are reminded that their statement should NOT include offensive or discriminatory language, defamatory comments or false accusations against any UVW members, staff, other candidates or any other persons.
Candidate statements are subject to a word limit of 400 words for each nominee.
Where statements are transcribed from audio/video, or translated from Spanish, the written version in English must not exceed the above word limits. If the statement submitted is more than above word limits, only the first 400 words will be published. All transcription and/or translations will be done by UVW Head Office, and the written English version will be considered to comply with current legislation.
Candidates that submit their statement in Spanish or in audio/video format will be given the opportunity to approve the translated or transcribed versions of their statement before it is published. The written English version will be considered to comply with current legislation.
If they wish, candidates may submit a photo of themselves (head and shoulders) to accompany their nomination. Any candidate photos submitted will be included in the candidate booklet and on the website.
Campaigning
Candidates are allowed to campaign and canvass support from members.
UVW will support candidates’ campaigning with the following:
One video message (to be provided by the candidate, maximum 1 minute long) will be shared with members via UVW WhatsApp and email channels
All candidate statements and photos (where supplied) will be published on UVW’s website for the duration of the election period and circulated members by email and WhatsApp
Candidates may not use any UVW resources to campaign for votes during the ballot period. UVW resources include any membership information on any media, official UVW social media channels (WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, etc), UVW equipment and UVW staff.
Hustings
If there are multiple candidates nominated for the position of General Secretary, the union will hold at least one hustings event, where each candidate presents themselves to the members and members can ask questions.
Candidates are expected to attend any relevant hustings event(s).
Voting method
The candidate(s) with the highest number of votes shall be elected as General Secretary.
There will be one ballot paper showing each candidate’s name for the election of General Secretary. A member may cast a vote by placing an X in the box next to the candidate’s name(s).
Members may cast their votes for no more than ONE candidate. If more than one vote is cast, or the ballot paper has been defaced – for example the ballot number has been removed – all votes on the ballot paper will be spoilt.
Results
Popularis will issue a Scrutineer’s Report in accordance with current statutes, giving the number of votes cast for each candidate in the election, the number of spoilt votes, the total number of ballot papers received, and the total number of ballot papers distributed.
The Scrutineer’s Report will be issued no later than Friday 24 April 2026.
If a candidate, or any person acting on behalf of a candidate or the union, is thought to have breached these election rules, a complaint should be directed to the Independent Scrutineer, Popularis Ltd, at the earliest opportunity and prior to the date the election closes. Popularis will investigate any such complaint and report to UVW’s Executive Committee.
Anyone found to have breached these election rules may be subject to disciplinary action by the Executive Committee and any candidate found in breach of the rules will be excluded from the election by the Independent Scrutineer, and/or have any votes cast disregarded.
