THE council of the Royal College of Nursing is likely to stand down after it lost a no confidence vote at an extraordinary general meeting in Birmingham today.

The motion “We have no confidence in the current leadership of the RCN” passed with 78 per cent of respondents’ votes. Anger had been running high in the union following admissions in the summer that information given to members being balloted on a pay offer was misleading, with suggestions that staff would receive rises of at least 3 per cent not being accurate.

The backlash forced chief executive Janet Davies to stand down in August.

Nursing activist Danielle Tiplady, who helped organise the petition, said: “Today RCN members have spoken. Members clearly want radical change. They want a union that is accountable, democratic and transparent.”

Council chair Maria Trewern said: “Today’s honest and open debate in Birmingham has cleared the air and the college will emerge stronger as a result.”
 
 The council had “received the message” and would enter a period of transition, she said.