The union encourages all members to play an active role in our organisation and the NUJ is a democratic and campaigning trade union that strives to represent media workers in all sectors of the media industry.
One way members can get involved in the union is by volunteering to stand for election. The union has a series of councils and committees that make the day-to-day decisions about how the union is run and its priorities. All full (not temporary) NUJ members can volunteer to participate on NUJ councils and committees.
Eligibility to volunteer sometimes depends on the member's employment sector (newspapers or freelance, for example) and if there is more than one volunteer then there is an election in which members get to decide.
Members who want to put their name forward to volunteer for a council or committee will need to be nominated by their branch at a formal meeting. You can find details of your current branch in My NUJ.
You can change your sector or branch in the Change Membership under the Edit Profile section of My NUJ.
There are also elections that take place at the union's delegate meeting (DM) conference and these vacancies are advertised in advance of the event. Where there is only a single candidate, or two candidates choose to job share, they are deemed elected without a ballot.
When a union member is appointed or elected as an NUJ rep on a council or committee then they have their own constituency of NUJ members for whom they are responsible and must represent and assist.
Examples of constituencies include the North West England or NUJ members working in magazines. In addition, every NEC member has a constituency and all members can find out who represents them on the NEC contacts page.
Successive NUJ delegate meetings (DMs) have agreed that more needs to be done to reflect properly the union's diversity of membership. The union therefore encourages more women, young members, disabled members and Black and minority ethnic (BAME) members to volunteer and asks branches to encourage members from under-represented groups to get involved.
There are often vacancies on NUJ councils and committees, which are sent out at regular intervals.
Latest information on elections
The current vacancies for the 2027-29 cycle are listed below. Closing date for nominations is 1pm on Wednedsday 18 November.
National Executive Council
Equality seats:
- Black Members
- Disabled Members
Sector seats:
- Books
- Broadcasting
- Digital Media
- Freelance
- Magazines
- Newspapers & Agencies
- Photographers
- PR & Communications
Geographic seats:
- Continental Europe
- East Anglia
- London (4)
- Midlands of England
- Northern Ireland
- North West England
- Republic of Ireland (2)
- Scotland (2)
- South East England (2)
- South West England
- Yorkshire & North East England
- Wales
Scottish Executive Council
Equality seats:
- Black Members
- Equality
Sector seats:
- Broadcasting (2)
- Digital Media
- Freelance (2)
- Magazines, Books & Journals
- National Newspapers & Agencies (2)
- Provincial Newspapers
- Public Relations & Communications
Branch Seats:
- Berwick & Borders
- Dundee
- Edinburgh & District
- Edinburgh Freelance
- Glasgow
- Highlands Inverness
- Scotland Broadcasting
Welsh Executive Council
Equality seats:
- Black members
- Equality
Sector seats:
- Broadcasting
- Digital Media
- Freelance
- Magazines, Books & Journals
- National Newspapers & Agencies
- Photographers
- Provincial Newspapers (2)
- Public Relations & Communications
Branch seats:
- BBC Wales
- North Wales Coast
- South Wales (2)
Broadcasting Council
- Black Members
- Disabled Members
- Equality
- Agencies/Independent TV
- BBC English Regions (2)
- BBC London (2)
- BBC Nations (Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales)
- BBC World Service & Monitoring
- BBC World Wide
- Commercial Radio (2)
- ITV (3)
Ethics Council
- Developmental (student)
- Books
- Broadcasting
- Digital Media
- Freelance
- Magazines
- Newspapers & Agencies
- Public Relations & Communications
- Photographic or videographic
- Continental Europe
- Republic of Ireland
- Scotland
- Wales
Freelance Council
- Black members
- Disabled Members
- Equality
- Continental Europe
- East Anglia
- East/West Midlands
- London (6)
- North East England
- North West England
- Northern Ireland & Isle of Man
- Republic of Ireland
- Scotland (2)
- South East England
- South West England
- Wales
- Yorkshire & Humberside
Magazines, Books & Journals Council
- Black Members
- Disabled Members
- Equality
- Books (4)
- Magazines (8)
Digital Media Council
- Black Members
- Disabled Members
- Equality
- Continental Europe
- London (2)
- Midlands
- North East England
- North West England
- South East including East Anglia (2)
- South West England
Newspapers and Agencies Council
- Black Members
- Disabled Members
- Equality
- National Newspapers (3)
- News Agencies & Local democracy reporting service (2)
- Regional Press (5)
Public Relations and Communications Council
- Black Members
- Disabled Members
- Equality
- London & South East England (5)
- Midlands
- North East England (2)
- North West England (2)
- Northern Ireland
- South West
Other Committees
Appeals Tribunal
- Nine seats
Disabled Members' Council
- Seven seats
Equality Council
- Eight seats, including one seat designated for members aged under 30
Health & Safety Committee
- Books
- Broadcasting
- Digital Media
- Freelance
- Magazines
- Newspapers & Agencies
- Public relations & Communications
IFJ Triennial Congress
- Four seats
Note: the IFJ consitution states that delegations must be strictly gender-balanced (equal numbers of women and men).
Journalist Editorial Advisory Board
- Seven seats
NUJ Extra 2027-31
- Five trustees
Note: four-year term from DM 2027 until DM 2031.
Professional Training Committee
- Six seats
Standing Orders Committee
- Five seats
TUC Delegation
- Three seats
Womens’ TUC Delegation
- Three seats
60 + Council
- Six seats
More information
Circulars, including nomination forms, get sent to branch reps (elected officer) through out the year. If branch reps have any queries, questions or nominations they can be emailed to [email protected].
Branches may nominate candidates to any industrial council for any sector in which members of that branch work. If you are unsure, please encourage the member to contact membership to check their industrial sector in My NUJ as, if incorrect, this could result in the branch's nomination being rejected. All branches may nominate candidates to DM-elected bodies.
Branches in Scotland may make nominations to the Scottish Executive Council (SEC) for industrial sectors or geographical areas in which they have members, as well as for Black members', disabled members' or equality seats. Anyone nominated must work and live in Scotland.
Branches in Wales may make nominations to the Welsh Executive Council (WEC) for industrial sectors or geographical areas in which they have members, as well as for Black members' and disabled members' seats. Anyone nominated must work and live in Wales.
Nominations must be made at a properly called and constituted branch meeting.
Nomination forms must be signed by an elected officer of the branch.
- Branch officers who would like to be nominated should obtain a countersignature from another branch officer, as this will speed up the administration process.
Please assist Headland House by including the most up-to-date email address for each nominee and keeping your branch officer details up to date and keeping your branch officer details up to date.
All members seeking nomination must be in benefit: this means they are up-to-date with their union contributions.
Members seeking nomination to industrial seats or industrial councils must be registered as working in that sector on the NUJ membership system.
Members seeking nomination to geographical seats must live in the relevant geographical area.
Members seeking nomination to the Black members' council or any Black members' seat must be registered as a Black member on the NUJ membership system.
Members seeking nomination to the disabled members' council or any disabled members' seats must be registered as a disabled member on the NUJ membership system.
Nominees must sign the consent section of the nomination form or inform Headland House that they are willing to accept the nomination.
Elections take place if any of the seats are contested. If there are the same number or fewer nominees as there are seats, then those nominees will be deemed elected without opposition.
In the event of a ballot, candidates standing for election will be asked for a statement, which shall not exceed 400 words, plus a list of NUJ union offices held.
This statement must be delivered to Headland House no later than seven days after the deadline for nominations. Please assist us by including the most up-to-date email address for each nominee.
The election timetable is very tight and, to comply with the rules, nominees must provide their statement on time, otherwise the election booklet will read: "No statement received".
In the event of a ballot, voting will be by single transferable vote and Civica Election Services will act as official scrutineers in accordance with Section 49 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 as amended by the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993.
