Gouvernance

1. I think the 'hurdles' to joining Council are not really large. incumbent Councillors may not always stand again and do not get re-elected all the time They have to follow the same routine as other candidates. I am told that prospective candidates who have difficulty in getting signatures properly organised by closing date are given help by CA.

2. Council's profile wishes cannot affect the voting of Members. I would say that the candidate address moves the voters most of all. That and some evidence of being interested in consumer affairs.

3. Only Members to vote, or all subscribers. I think the stats show that hardly any subscribers vote. However CA?Which really ought to drum up fuller membership to get to the 20,000 or more of the 1990s and before. Why the reluctance to find more of us activists?

4. The rule 3.13 is probably challengeable under judicial review but I doubt CA would actually try to reduce candidates until say 12-15 were put up. in any event surely the Members through the ballot box should 'reject ' candidates. Not the existing Councillors.

Appointing must be somewhat of a last resort when there are election processes and there are able runners up in the voting.

Ms Coburn had to go when her employers thought her impartiality as a journalist was threatened. Since it was only a week or two into her election surely the next person in the election should have been put into her place. That was obviously the wish of the Voters.

Notwithstanding all of the above one must recognise the achievements of the manufacturing side of Which? magazine. Rising circulation when print media is declining. Much more content than five or ten years ago. Continued recognition by the media of Which? testing integrity  Magazines that one reads immediately and from ene to end. Regularly updating of an enormous website of information. We should encourage the business side of things. After all it creates the money for campaigning.

But the business side must not lead to poor standards of governance in the Members Holding Company - the Charity CA.