NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN to all members of this Company that in accordance with the Charter and Byelaws of this Company, a Court Election will be held on Wednesday 6 July 2022 in Carmen’s Hall. There will be two vacancies to be contested at the Election.

All candidates for Election must be Liverymen of the Worshipful Company of Carmen who were clothed on or before 6 July 2019, and must be proposed and seconded by Liverymen or Freemen of the Company. They may be proposed or seconded by a member of the Court who may only support one candidate. Candidates are required to forward a non-returnable deposit of £50 with their application letter which will be deducted from the Election Fine of £500 if successful. The balance of £450 becomes payable when installed on the Court of Assistants. Initial applications to stand must be received in writing with your cheque for £50, by the Clerk no later than Tuesday 14 June 2022 at the latest.

Intending candidates will be interviewed either in the Company Offices or on Zoom by the Master, Wardens and Immediate Past Master on Thursday 16 or Friday 17 June 2022. This meeting is to ensure that candidates are fully aware of the responsibilities and implications of joining the Court, and for the Master and Wardens to seek candidates’ views and expectations and to offer them guidance as to their applications.

The June interview is mandatory for those who have not stood for Court before.

Candidates will be asked shortly after their interview if they still intend to progress to nomination and those who do will be issued with nomination papers which must be returned promptly to the Clerk.

Following this a list of recommended candidates will be forwarded to members of the Court of Assistants for consideration and approval as candidates for election at the July Court. Only those candidates recommended by the Master and Wardens and approved by the Court will be put before the membership for election. The successful candidate will be installed at the Court Meeting on 19 October 2022.

Click here for Guidance for Candidates, however a number of further rules applying to Court Elections and to the procedures for the nomination and selection of candidates are also listed below:

There is no age restriction for candidates, although the Court accepts that the ideal age for joining the Court might be 50. Candidates must be prepared to devote the necessary time and resources to their duties as Assistants and should preferably have some transport connections, although this is not an absolute requirement. The Master and Wardens will, however, take into account candidates’ records of support for the Company during their membership to date.

There must be at least one person more standing for election than there are vacancies.

A Court member may propose or second one candidate only for the election. A proposer or seconder may not play any part in the deliberations regarding a candidate that he or she is intending to propose or second.

The Election will be a secret ballot carried out by those Liverymen and Freemen attending the election. A postal ballot is also available to any Carman requesting so beforehand as long as their quarterage payments are up to date. Proxy votes will not be accepted. All Liverymen, and Freemen will have up to two votes each on this occasion and can vote for one or two of the candidates standing.

It is hoped that many Liverymen and Freemen will attend a lunch in Carmen Hall on the Election Day. For those who cannot attend lunch the election will run from 2.30pm to 4.30pm.

In order that there should not, as hitherto, be an automatic presumption that Assistants will be prepared to serve as Master, the Court has agreed that members newly elected henceforth must declare if they do not aspire to Mastership. If they still decline after five years, they will then be subject to the two-year retirement rule, unless this is waived by the Court.  Court Assistants who are not elected to Junior Warden retire after eight years as an Assistant.

All listed candidates are entitled to submit a single A4 sheet informing the Corporate membership of their eligibility for election, with all relevant details including a passport-size photograph, provided to the Clerk. This may only be distributed to members by the Clerk’s office, together with all other candidates’ submissions, in a single mailing. No other promotional material may be disseminated within the membership.

The Company discourages persistent canvassing of members, especially at Company events, and expects candidates and their supporters to canvass, if at all, with restraint at the election itself.

The Master will declare the result of the Election late afternoon on Wednesday 6 July 2022.

As agreed at a previous Court Meeting, members of the Court will be informed on a weekly basis regarding the number and details of those who have applied.

Liverymen, qualified under the rules given above, wishing to stand for election are invited to write to the Clerk giving their intention by Tuesday 14 June 2022.  Click here for an outline sequence of events for the Election.