Elections to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council and to the RCVS Veterinary Nurses (VN) Council will be taking place this spring.
There are 10 candidates standing for the three available elected places on RCVS Council.
The voting period for RCVS Council opens in the week commencing Monday 13 March and closes at 5pm on Friday 21 April 2023.
The candidates are:
- Professor David Barrett, FRCVS
- Linda Belton, MRCVS
- Dr Martin Chamberlain, MRCVS
- Daniel Doherty, MRCVS
- James Gartside, MRCVS
- Steven Howard, MRCVS
- Tim Hutchinson, MRCVS
- Dr Alice McLeish, MRCVS
- Professor Chris Proudman, FRCVS
- Dr Peter Robinson, MRCVS
The full biographies and election statements for each candidate are available to read online.
The three candidates who receive the most votes will take up their four-year terms on RCVS Council at the College’s Annual General Meeting on Friday 7 July 2023.
The VN Council election will be taking place over the same timeframe.
The five candidates who are standing in this year’s election are:
- Sarah Jane Batt-Williams, RVN
- Heather Jane Mathieson Kirkness, RVN
- Katherine Ann Mortimer, RVN
- Matthew Edwin Rendle, RVN
- Simon Peter Williams, RVN
The two candidates with the most votes will join VN Council for their three-year terms at the College’s AGM in July.
As with the most recent two elections, voting this year will take place completely online with Civica Election Services (CES) sending emails with links to a unique voting website to each veterinary surgeon and veterinary nurse eligible to vote in their respective elections.
Veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses for whom the RCVS does not hold an email address, as well as vets and VNs who do not have their own email address but who share an address with one or more members of the professions, will not receive an email but will be sent a letter telling them how to vote online.
Ahead of the start of both elections in mid-March, the RCVS is asking both veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses to submit written questions to candidates to better understand them and their views.
Each candidate will produce a written reply to two questions of their choice, which will be included on their candidate profile webpage ahead of the start of the election.
The RCVS will only accept one question per person and questions must be decent – offensive, defamatory and inaccurate questions will not be passed on to candidates.
Veterinary surgeons can submit a question to the RCVS Council candidates by emailing in.
Veterinary nurses can submit a question to the VN Council candidates by emailing this address.
Members of the professions have until Friday 24 February 2023 to submit their question.
