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Council of Governors elections

Council of Governors elections

Our public and staff governors are elected by the membership and they are responsible for representing the interests of foundation trust members, service users, carers and staff.

Our governors are very important to our Trust and they play a fundamental role in improving services, advising the Trust about the needs of service users and the community, holding our non-executive directors to account, and informing our strategies and future plans.

Council of Governors Elections 2026

Please note: the 2025 elections were postponed due to ongoing uncertainty about the Government's plans for Councils of Governors as outlined in its recently published NHS 10 Year Plan. A decision has now been taken to proceed with the elections and the nominations have opened at the end of January 2026 - all members will receive the invite from Civica Election Services. You can complete your nomination at www.cesvotes.com/ELFT2026 

You can download the formal notice of elections. 

Please note you must be a Trust member to participate in the elections - you can join the Trust for free by clicking this link. To be able to take part in these elections, you must have joined before the close of nominations on 23 February 2026.

ELECTION STAGE DATE
Notice of Election / nominations open 26 Jan 2026
Nominations deadline 23 Feb 2026
Summary of valid nominated candidates  24 Feb 2026
Final date for candidate withdrawal 26 Feb 2026
Notice of poll published 23 Mar 2026
Close of election 20 Apr 2026
Declaration of results 21 Apr 2026

In the NHS 10 Year Plan, the Government has suggested that NHS Foundation Trusts may in future no longer be required to have Councils of Governors. This could mean that new legislation is introduced within the next year, which may bring all Governor terms to an end in 2027 or 2028. We wanted to make you aware of this when considering whether to stand for election. 

We are planning three online 'Becoming a Governor' informal workshops - please let us know on elft.membership@nhs.net if you'd like to attend one of these:

Wed 11 Feb 2026 11-30am - 12:30pm
Thu 12 Feb 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Sat 14 Feb 2025 10:30am to 11:30am

Elections are usually held each year and at the start of the election process, a formal notice is published, inviting eligible members to stand for election to the governor seat(s) that are open.  The formal notice includes the contact details of the external company that facilitates our election process (to request a nomination form).  In the case of contested elections, ballot papers are then sent to members who in turn vote for the candidate(s) that they wish to be elected to our Council of Governors.

Council of Governors elections 2024

All Trust members have received notification and guidance on how to nominate themselves to stand for election as a governor. The Trust is keen to represent all areas of the community on the Council of Governors and welcomes interest from anyone within the various constituencies. We are delighted to see significant interest in the role of Governor which means every constituency in 2024 saw a contested ballot:

Election Report 2024 from the independent returning officer. Below you will find a list of elected candidates. A full report has been submitted to the Council of Governors at their meeting on 14 November and is linked here.

We will provide a comprehensive induction programme and ongoing support for our Council of Governors.

Constituency Candidates
Names in bold indicate re-elected Governors
Bedford Borough Felicity Stocker
Central Bedfordshire Mark Cox
Hackney Renato Congias
Caroline Diehl
Coral Jones
Beverley Morris
Eseoghene Okonedo
Luton Fatima Begum
Newham Ian Gibbs
Hazel Thomas
Rest of England Elliot Goodman
Staff Andrea Okoloekwe
Tower Hamlets Gren Bingham
David Edgar
Rofikul Islam

Please contact the Governors & Members Office for details of previous elections.

We need people who are passionate about the NHS, care about their local services, have the enthusiasm and the willingness to represent the views of the people in their community or staff group, and who have the time to commit to the role.

Whilst there are no specific qualifications you will need to be able to contribute to strategy, have some understanding of how effective organisations work and be able to work well as part of a wider team. You will also be expected to discharge your responsibilities in a way that reflects ELFT’s values which are, ‘We care, We respect, We are inclusive.’

We provide a comprehensive induction programme and ongoing support for our Council of Governors. For more information about becoming a governor.

If you think you might be interested in standing for election, please visit our governor election page or contact the Governors & Members Office on freephone: 0800 032 7297 or email: elft.membership@nhs.net