Executive elections FAQ

About the NEU Executive 

The NEU Executive comprises the National Officers, 49 Geographical members, three equality constituency members and three sector seat constituency members. 

England and Wales are divided into sixteen districts with three Executive seat-holders; Northern Ireland/Scotland is represented by one member

The Executive is responsible for the governance, management and control of the Union by Rule. The Executive meets eight times per year.

How are candidates nominated? 

Nominations for all executive seats are made by NEU districts and by workplaces (in specific circumstances as laid down in the rule) for geographical and sector seats. Nominations closed on 7 March 2025.

Which elections are taking place?

• Electoral Districts – 12 (of 17) geographical constituencies 
• Three Equality Seats – Black, Disabled and LGBT+ seat-holders
• Three Sector Seats – Support Staff, Independent and/or Post-16 seat-holders 

Why are there only 12 geographical elections taking place?

The elections for Districts 7, 12, 14, 16 and 17 were uncontested.

Who is eligible to vote in the elections?

• All members other than associate and student members are eligible to vote in the elections for the geographical seat-holders.
• In addition, members registered in the relevant employment categories (support staff, post-16 and independent) on the date the elections open (3 April) will be entitled to vote in the elections for the three-sector seat-holders.
• Members who have indicated on their membership record/equality information that they are Black, disabled and/or LGBT+ by the date the elections open will be eligible to vote in the elections for the equality seat-holders.

When do the elections take place?

The voting packs will be posted on 3 April by economy class, for which the delivery window is 2 to 5 working days. 

Voting packs should arrive at members' home addresses between Monday, 7th April and Thursday, 10th April.

The voting packs

The election mailing is split into three cohorts 

•      District plus sector seats 
•      Sector seats in the non-contested seats (Districts 7, 12, 14, 16 and 17)
•       Equality seats

So, individual members will receive a maximum of two mailings.

1. The candidates’ booklets (containing each candidate’s biographical and election statement, photo, workplace and nominating districts and workplaces) will be sent to all eligible candidates – for example, a Support Staff member in the independent sector in District 1 will receive the district and sector candidates’ booklets. 
2. If they are also eligible to vote for the Disabled Seat-holder, they will receive the equality seat candidates’ booklet and ballot paper in the separate mailing

Reserved seats for women

• For the three-seat electoral districts, two seats are reserved (or guarded) for women
• The two women candidates with the most votes will be elected 
• In districts 1, 4, 8, 10 and 11, only two women were nominated, so there will only be an election for the third seat from the male candidates nominated.
• The details of all candidates are included in the booklet to allow members to make an informed decision when voting.  The ballot paper will only have voting cells against the men candidates who remain in the election for the third seat.

The voting system

The voting system we are using for the elections (where there are more than two candidates) is known as the Single Transferable Vote System.  Votes are cast by placing the candidates in order of preference for the election. 

Where there are only two candidates, voters simply mark the box next to their preferred candidate with a cross ‘x’. 

Can I vote online?

By law, all union elections must be fully postal. The NEU, alongside all TUC affiliates, are in favour of switching to online elections, which would make voting easier and increase turnout as well as costing far less of members’ money.  This may change at some point in the future, but for now, we have to stick to using the post. 

How do I request a replacement voting pack?

If you do not receive a voting pack by Friday, 11 April, please email elections@neu.org.uk to request a replacement – remember to provide your membership number and your current home address so we can ensure the voting paper reaches you. 

The cut-off date for requesting voting packs will be midday on Wednesday, 23 April.  The cut-off date for requesting duplicate ballot voting packs will be Wednesday, 23 April – after this date, we cannot guarantee the despatch and return of the ballot paper by the closing date of 29 April.

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