How elections work
Each year, every Faculty will have a number of roles open for nomination. Due to the term length of some roles, and the formation of individual groups, not all Faculties will have all roles available every year. Read more about the range of Faculty roles and find full role descriptions.
You can check the current roles available list and navigate to your Faculty’s open roles to find out which are available in your region. You can also find out more about your local Faculty by visiting your Faculty page, including who is currently on the Board and the programme of activities your Faculty offers.
Roles will have different term lengths and eligibility depending on whether these are leadership roles, or another Faculty role such as career stage or community representative.
How to make a nomination
Once you have found a role that you are interested in, please check that you are eligible, then you can self-nominate to stand for election.
If you are not sure if you meet the eligibility criteria, please email your Faculty to see how you can get involved with Faculty activity.
To self-nominate you will need to complete an online form entering your personal details and a short statement as to why you would like to stand for that position. The form also asks you to submit a Declarations of Interest and Probity statement which will be reviewed by the incumbent Faculty Chair along with the RCGP administration team.
The Declarations of Interest Policy is available on the college website.
During the election period, you can access the self-nomination form which will be available on the current roles available list. Just navigate to your Faculty and click on the link displayed.
How positions are elected
You will receive an acknowledgement email after you submit your self-nomination to confirm whether or not your nomination is eligible for a position on the Faculty Board. When voting opens we will share your name and your statement with all Faculty members via a personalised email link sent directly to every local member. Your name and statement are the only personal information that will be shared with all RCGP members in your Faculty.
Members will then be offered the opportunity to vote on who they would like to take up the various Faculty Board roles.
If there is more than one member standing for one role, then all names and statements will be shared with the Faculty membership. We use the single transferable vote system to manage all RCGP member elections.
If there is one person standing for one role, then we will notify the membership, again sharing your name and statement so that Faculty members can see who the Board comprises of.
How new Board members are confirmed in post
Once voting has closed, then the member with the highest quota of votes will be confirmed in their role at the November Faculty Board meeting.
You can check who your Faculty Board members are by visiting your local Faculty Page.
Key dates
- Nominations open 14 August 2026
- Nominations close 28 August 2026
- Voting opens 11 September 2026
- Voting closes 18 September 2026
Nominations for leadership and lead positions will reopen in the summer of 2027. Please check the Faculties page if you wish to join as a board member in the meantime.
FAQs
We are moving elections online to ensure transparency of process and to provide an equal opportunity for all members to get involved in their Faculty if they wish. Online elections will also raise the profile of Faculties, their work and the volunteers who dedicate their time provide a positive and supportive experience for local members.
You can look at the individual Faculty pages to find out more about what is going on in your local area. Here you can find out about what activities they offer and who currently sits on the Board. Faculty Boards meet four times per year in November (first meeting of the RCGP Council year), March, June and September and are made up of GP volunteers of all career stages.
The meetings are an opportunity to find out about the Faculty's member engagement activity plan, debate Council papers, and discuss issues affecting grassroots GPs in the area. All members are invited to observe meetings in order to understand more about what's involved in being part of the Faculty Board. As an observer you can contribute to discussions, or just listen to what is being discussed.
If you'd like to stay involved, you can join as Board member, to receive the papers and discussions points in advance, and get directly involved in shaping your local RCGP Faculty. Please email Faculties@rcgp.org.uk if you wish to attend as an observer.
You can view the full range of roles, including role descriptions, on the Faculty roles page. Not all roles will be available in all Faculties so you will need to check which roles are available with the available roles page.
Have a look at the descriptions for the Faculties as often they explain the area they cover. If you are unsure, then get in touch with Faculties@rcgp.org.uk who will be able to look your Faculty up on the database. Another way to find out is to look out for your Faculty Fortnightly email that is sent from RCGP every other Friday. Here you will see the Faculty name at the top of the email.
Individual Faculties are welcome to share information such as annual updates at their celebration events. You may want to continue to produce a booklet for these events with an overview of events and finance. These events are a place to bring together local members, both established and new members and celebrate achievements and work across the Faculty.
Our Faculty Boards are made up of members with different roles and experience. For some roles, such as the leadership roles, you will need to be either practising or living within your Faculty to be on the Faculty Board and be currently actively engaged with your Faculty. Other roles, such as career stage roles, are limited to your member grade. Have a look at the individual role descriptions to see what the different requirements are.
You can visit the roles available page to find out which roles are available in your Faculty.
Yes, it is possible to hold multiple roles within the Faculty Board, apart from the Leadership roles, where we ask individuals to take on one role at a time. The exception is the Faculty UK Council rep and Deputy Council rep role that can be occupied by a member also currently occupying another Leadership role.
You will need to complete the nomination form, along with the relevant Declarations and Probity forms and submit in line with the annual deadlines.
There may be an option of role sharing some roles, or you may be able to join the Board and get involved in opportunities relating to that role. For 2026 we are concentrating on establishing our leadership roles and filling all other vacant roles. For the coming years we will be including all other roles in the election process. Contact your Faculty Administrator who you will find details of on the individual Faculty pages to find out.
You can always join the Board as Board member without a specific role. It’s a great way to get involved in Faculty activities and make connections with members before taking on a role. You will still need to complete a Declaration of Interest and Probity form which will be reviewed before your confirmation at the next Board meeting.
You can withdraw your self-nomination at any time. Please contact your Faculty Administrator who will be able to help you do this.
Nominations open on 14 August and close on 28 August. The voting opens on 11 September and will close on 18 September. We will contact all candidates with the outcome 21 – 25 September.
When voting opens, all members of the Faculty will receive an email link that will enable them to cast a vote in their Faculty’s elections. You will see a list of all eligible candidates, as well as those that are being reconfirmed into their roles. Members only need vote on contested positions (where there is more than one candidate).
All Faculty members, including GP Registrars are eligible to vote in local elections. We hope that through the process of online voting, members will learn more about their Faculty and the volunteers who dedicate their time to providing an engaging local programme.
RCGP uses the Single Transferable vote system across all its election. This mean that the electorate will rank candidates in order of preference.
Please see our canvasing code of practice for more information.
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