Statement by the Council of the London Mathematical Society

 

The Council of the LMS held an Extraordinary Meeting on Friday 15 May 2009.  Fourteen members attended together with a further two on telephone links and the President-Designate.  The Council had been convened to consider issues arising in the consultation and voting stages in relation to the proposal to create a new unified mathematics society with the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications,.  Council had received a letter from a group of 80 members, including some past-Presidents and medallists, urging Council to review the level of support that Council would consider appropriate at the second SGM if it is to proceed further.  Several other members had written raising similar concerns.

Council noted that there had been a 56% vote in favour in the Referendum (in which 48% of the membership had voted) and 55% in favour at the first Special General Meeting (with a 33% participation).  Simple majorities are required at two successive SGMs under the Charter for the motion to be passed in order to proceed to the next stage of the creation of the new unified society, leading to the winding up of the LMS if the negotiations are successful.

Council debated at length the degree to which the voting figures reflected the wishes of the community, for or against the proposal, recognising that, while a majority of members voting were in favour, the margin was not overwhelming and a significant number of members had voted against the proposal, reflecting their continuing concerns.  It wished the decision to be made in a decisive and democratic way rather than by legal technicalities or through bodies outside the members' control.

Council decided that it would inform LMS members in advance of the second SGM that it will only proceed with negotiations if the majority in the second SGM exceeds two-thirds, on the grounds that a decision of such importance should have strong support from the community. A secondary but important consideration was that, in such circumstances, there would be a risk that the Privy Council would be unwilling to give its permission to the award of a new Royal Charter for the new society.

An announcement to this effect will be made at the beginning of the Special General Meeting to held at 2:30 p.m. on Friday 29 May 2009.

If you have not yet appointed a proxy to the meeting you are encouraged to do so; replacement proxy voting forms for the meeting can still be obtained by contacting the Executive Secretary (peter.cooper@lms.ac.uk, tel: 020 7291 9970). Members may rescind their appointment of a proxy by informing the Scrutineers in writing (to De Morgan House) no later than 2 days in advance of the Special General Meeting to which the appointment applies, or by attending the Special General Meeting in person. They may change their proxy vote by writing to the Executive Secretary (peter.cooper@lms.ac.uk) to ask for a new Proxy Voting Form.

Full details are available here