No VN Council election this year owing to shortage of candidates
The names of the candidates standing in the 2019 RCVS Council elections have been announced.
This year there will be nine candidates standing for election, including five existing Council members eligible for re-election and four candidates not on Council. They are:
Dr Linda Belton MRCVS
Dr Niall Connell MRCVS
Mr John C Davies MRCVS
Dr Joanna (Jo) Dyer MRCVS
Professor Timothy (Tim) Greet FRCVS
Professor John Innes FRCVS
Dr Thomas (Tom) Lonsdale MRCVS
Dr Katherine (Kate) Richards MRCVS
Dr Peter Robinson MRCVS
This year there will be three elected places available for the candidates, as opposed to six in previous years. The move follows a Legislative Reform Order passed last year, which changed the size and composition of Council.
The RCVS said there will be no election for VN Council this year because it only had two candidates standing for the two available places. These are current VN Council vice-chair Liz Cox and newcomer Jane Davidson.
Rachael Marshall, chair of VN Council commented: “First, I would welcome our new VN Council member Jane Davidson who is well-known to many in the profession as @JaneRVN, a prolific tweeter on all things #planetrvn and a powerful advocate for the veterinary nursing profession through her work with the media, including her regular Vet Times blog. I also wish to congratulate Liz who I am sure will continue to be a great asset to VN Council for a further three years.
“However, it is disappointing that there were not enough candidates standing for us to hold an election this year and give the profession the opportunity to exercise their democratic right and decide who they wish to elect. We will be taking stock of the situation over the next few months and considering how we can do more to promote the activities and decisions of VN Council and its members in the hope that, next year, we will see an increase in the numbers standing as candidates.”
Ballot papers and candidates’ details for the RCVS Council election will be posted and emailed to all veterinary surgeons eligible to vote in the week commencing 25 March. All votes must be cast by 5 pm on Friday 26 April 2019.
Members of the profession are invited to ‘Quiz the candidates’ by putting their questions to those standing for election. Each candidate will choose two questions from those received and produce a video for the RCVS Website and YouTube.
Biographies and statements for each candidate can be found on the RCVS website. Vets should email their question (one per person) to vetvote19@rcvs.org.uk or send it to the College’s Twitter account @theRCVS using the hashtag #vetvote19. The deadline for questions is midday on Monday 4 March 2019.
Image (C) RCVS
Two independent vets have launched a podcast to help owners strengthen their bond with pets. Dr Maggie Roberts and Dr Vanessa Howie, who have worked in both veterinary practice and major charities, are keen to use their experience to enable people to give pets a better life.
