The votes in the election were counted on Friday 4th July. The results were:
- Michelle Stanistreet: 2936
- John Toner: 1392
- Phillip Hunt: 280
- Chris Youett: 225
The result means that Michelle Stanistreet has been elected Deputy General Secretary.
Of course this is a disappointment. However, there is much in this election that we can all be proud of, and plenty that provides a platform for activism within the NUJ in the future.
John ran a brave, and principled campaign that put members and their industrial interests at the heart of his message.
His courage in doing so, and the number of members who rallied to his support, shows that there is a significant core of NUJ members whose first instinct is the promotion of journalists and their union.
It is also obvious from the turn out, that the vast majority of NUJ members are insufficiently engaged with the union to take the time to vote. Only 16% of those ballot papers that were distributed were returned.
Our job now is to carry on reaching out to all those members who know that they need the NUJ, but are turned off by the way that it does its business. They are the unheard majority, and it is to them that we must now turn our attention.
I know that John will be writing to as many of you as he can in the next few days to thank you for all your help. Rest assured, he, and those of us who have worked on his campaign are enormously grateful for all the time and effort that you have put in.
Best wishes,
John's campaign team
