The Labour Party Rule Book is updated annually by Labour Conference. Members can find the latest version of the rule book, along with details of important codes of conduct which all Labour members agree to follow, here.
The constitution of Brighton Pavilion Labour Party follows below.
Explanatory Note
These rules derive from chapters 7 and 15 plus appendix 7 of the 2020 Labour Party rulebook as amended by the Brighton & Hove Steering Committee on the reconvening of the CLP on 4 February 2017. This constitution was adopted and amended at the AGMs of Brighton Pavilion CLP on 6 December 2017, 8 December 2018 and 15 February 2020.
[These parts] were amended as agreed by the February 2020 AGM but this amendment is pending agreement by the Labour Party NEC or the RD(GS) of the Party.
Clause I. Name
1. The Brighton Pavilion Constituency Labour Party, hereinafter named ‘this CLP’, also known as Brighton Pavilion Labour Party or Pavilion Labour.
Clause II. Aims and values
1. National
A. The aims and values of the Labour Party as outlined in Chapter 1 Clause IV of the Labour Party rule book shall apply to this CLP.
2. Constituency
A. To unite the forces of Labour within the constituency and to ensure the establishment of, and to keep in active operation an appropriate organisation and structure, which shall normally include branches, as approved by the NEC.
B. To secure the return of Labour representatives to Parliament and local government bodies, by promoting the policies and principles of the Party throughout the constituency with a view to increasing the Party’s influence within the local community and securing support and membership from it.
C. To promote the policies of the Party within the constituency by formulating a development action plan for the Party in the area and to ensure its adoption and implementation by all Party units.
D. To provide the opportunity for all individual members of the Party within the constituency to contribute to the development of the aims and policies by ensuring that a full range of Party activities are available to them, including local policy forums, and that they may participate fully in discussion to broaden the political education of members of the Party and to increase their influence over the formulation of the Party programme.
E. To establish local policy forums, possibly in co- operation with neighbouring CLPs, as authorised by and with the support of the appropriate RD(GS) operating to guidelines produced by the NEC. The constitution of the Party places an obligation on CLPs to work in pursuit of our aims with trade unions, co-operative societies and other affiliated organisations, and it must consult its members, elected representatives, affiliated organisations, and, where practicable, the wider community in which it is based on policy making initiatives which are to be forwarded for consideration as part of the national policy making process.
Clause III. Affiliated organisations
1. Organisations may affiliate to the Party at constituency level if they fall within the following categories:
A. trade unions or branches thereof affiliated to the Trades Union Congress or considered by the NEC to be bona fide trade unions affiliated to the Party nationally. Where provided by the structure of an affiliated organisation, sub-sections of branches, retired member sections/associations may affiliate separately at the discretion of the RD(GS) of the Party in agreement with the appropriate authority of the affiliated trade union
B. co-operative societies, branches of the Cooperative Party and other co-operative organisations
C. branches of those socialist societies affiliated to the Party nationally
D. other organisations or branches thereof which in the opinion of the NEC are deemed eligible for affiliation.
2. Each affiliated organisation must: accept the programme, principles and policy of the Party; agree to conform to the constitution, rules and standing orders of the Party; have members who are registered as electors within the constituency.
Clause IV. Affiliation fees
1. Affiliation fees and contributions payable to this CLP shall be:
A. trade unions, branches of trade unions, retired member sections/associations of trade unions, branches of socialist societies and other organisations; 6p per annum per member resident or registered as an elector within the constituency, with a minimum payment of £6 per branch
B. co-operative societies and other cooperative organisations on the basis agreed between this CLP and the respective co-operative organisation, though as a minimum on the same basis as other affiliated organisations
C. the Co-operative Party in accordance with the agreement between the Labour Party and the Co-operative Union Limited currently in force
D. all affiliation fees shall be paid not later than 31 December of the relevant year.
Clause V. Individual membership
1. The conditions of membership for, method of enrolment of, and level of subscription payable by individual members of the Party within this constituency shall be as laid down in the membership rules of the Party in Chapter 2.
2. The constitutional rights of individual members of the Party within this constituency shall operate only where they are registered as electors and reside or, exceptionally if they are not eligible to be registered to vote, in which they reside only.
3. Women members in this CLP shall, if they so desire, be organised into a women’s branch acting in accordance with regulations sanctioned by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the RD(GS).
4. BAME members in this CLP shall, if they so desire, be organised into an ethnic minorities branch acting in accordance with regulations sanctioned by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the RD(GS).
5. Disabled members in this CLP shall, if they so desire, be organised into a disabled members’ branch acting in accordance with regulations sanctioned by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the RD(GS).
6. LGBT+ members in this CLP shall, if they so desire, be organised into an LGBT+ members’ branch acting in accordance with regulations sanctioned by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the RD(GS).
7. Individual members of the Party between14 years and 26 years of age inclusive shall, if they so desire, be organised in branches of Young Labour acting in accordance with regulations sanctioned by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the RD(GS).
[8. Individual members of the Party aged over 50 years shall, if they so desire in this CLP, be organised into an older members’ branch acting in accordance with regulations sanctioned by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the RD(GS).]
Clause VI. Method of organisation
1. General
A. The CLP may adopt any method of organisation currently approved by the NEC.
B. Methods of organisation include delegate structures and structures based on ‘all member meetings’. This CLP is organised on the basis of a delegate structure.
C. Any proposal to change from a delegate method of organisation to an all member meeting or vice versa may only be initiated by resolution of a Party unit or affiliate branch. Upon receipt of such a proposal the CLP Secretary shall declare the next-but-one scheduled meeting to be a special all member meeting, which shall decide by a simple majority whether to adopt the proposed new method of organisation. NEC guidelines in issue will be referred to; for example, setting out limits on the frequency at which the CLP may be asked to initiate this process and on the minimum requirements for consultation with local affiliates.
D. In any structure there must be provision for a general meeting (GM) either of all members or delegates.
E. In addition this CLP may propose new methods of organisation to the RD(GS). The General Meeting may seek approval from the NEC to pilot new methods of organisation to meet its objectives as part of an agreed development plan that continues to meet this CLP’s constitutional obligations.
F. Any method of organisation shall generally include branches on such basis as decided by the General Meeting and approved by the NEC. Branch boundaries shall as far as possible follow local government boundaries.
G. A branch established in accordance with this rule shall consist only of those individual members of the Party within this CLP who reside and are registered as electors within the area covered by the branch or, exceptionally if they are not eligible to be registered to vote, in which they reside only.
H. Branches shall operate in accordance with the rules for Party branches and any other regulations approved by the NEC. In particular, a branch shall maintain the necessary machinery for elections within its area. A branch may undertake other activities to promote the Party in its area and the involvement of its individual members in line with the development action plan agreed for this CLP. The public activities of a branch shall be approved by the Executive Committee of this CLP.
I. Where the General Meeting considers it desirable there may be established a coordinating organisation covering more than one branch subject to the approval of the regional office.
2. There may be established workplace branches covering one or more CLPs, acting in accordance with rules sanctioned by the NEC.
3. There may be established a women’s branch to co-ordinate work among women members, acting in accordance with the rules for women’s branches and any other regulations approved by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the NEC.
4. There may be established an ethnic minorities branch to co-ordinate work among BAME members, acting in accordance with the rules for ethnic minorities branches and any other regulations approved by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the NEC.
5. There may be established a disabled members’ branch to co-ordinate work among disabled members, acting in accordance with the rules for disabled members’ branches and any other regulations approved by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the NEC.
6. There may be established a LGBT+ members’ branch to co-ordinate work among LGBT+ members, acting in accordance with the rules for LGBT+ members’ branches and any other regulations approved by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the NEC.
7. There may be established a Young Labour members’ branch to co-ordinate work among Young Labour members, acting in accordance with the rules for Young Labour members’ branches and any other regulations approved by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the NEC.
[8. There may be established an older members’ branch to co-ordinate work among older members, acting in accordance with the rules for older members’ branches and any other regulations approved by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the NEC.]
9. There may be established other such forums among common interests groups acting in accordance with the rules for these forums and any other regulations approved by the NEC and on boundaries approved by the NEC.
10. There shall be established a Campaign Committee to co-ordinate the public activity of this CLP.
A. The Campaign Committee, which comprise campaign organisers and other members as appropriate. The chair, vice-chair/campaigns and treasurer of this CLP and the Member of Parliament and/or the parliamentary candidate and the parliamentary agent, shall be ex-officio members of the Campaign Committee.
B. The Campaign Committee shall elect a campaign co-ordinator who shall: co-ordinate constituency-wide campaigns; liaise with Head Office and either Scottish Labour, Welsh Labour or their English regional office and with affiliated organisations, as the case may be, in the promotion of the Party’s campaigns; and liaise with other election agents as appropriate over the election campaign strategy for elections and referenda taking place wholly or partly within the area of this CLP.
C. Where the campaign co-ordinator is not the election agent, the Campaign Committee shall ensure that an election agent is appointed to be responsible for all local elections within the area of this CLP. Agents shall liaise with other agents within the local authority area in order to ensure a unified and co-ordinated campaign. For national elections, the committee should seek to appoint an election agent at the earliest opportunity in consultation with the prospective candidate and appropriate RD(GS) and this appointment shall be subject to the approval of the NEC. Any member not otherwise disbarred from being an election agent may be considered for appointment.
11. The CLP Executive Committee shall provide a written record of decisions to the CLP General Meeting for approval. Standing orders for the CLP shall be published on an electronic platform provided by the Party.
Clause VII. Management
1. The management of this CLP shall be in the hands of the General Meeting. The decisions of the General Meeting shall be put into effect by an Executive Committee which shall be appointed by and report to an Annual General Meeting of this CLP and to other such meetings as required by the CLP rules and procedures.
2. This CLP adopts the rules and procedures for CLPs and branches set out in the appendix to these rules and such amendments thereto as may be agreed by Party conference or made by the NEC in accordance with the powers conferred upon it under Chapter 1 Clause X of the constitutional rules. This CLP shall have power to make changes to these rules, subject to the specific prior approval in writing of the NEC, Scottish or Welsh Executive Committees and providing that such changes do not contravene the spirit and intention of the rules as adopted by Party conference or alter the Party objects, basis or conditions of affiliated and individual membership, or vary the procedure for the selection of parliamentary candidates (other than as provided for in the rules) or effect a change in the relationship of this CLP with the national Party.
3. The General Meeting shall, but only with the specific prior approval in writing of the NEC, have the power to enter into property-related transactions on behalf of the CLP. Such power may also be exercised by the Executive Committee, or by officers of the General Meeting, if so authorised by the General Meeting.
A. NEC approval will be conditional in all cases upon legal title to the property being vested in Labour Party Nominees Limited as Trustee for the relevant Constituency Labour Party or in such other Trustee for the relevant Constituency Labour Party as the NEC may appoint.
B. The General Meeting and the Executive Committee shall procure that all legal title to property leasehold and freehold presently held for this CLP shall forthwith be transferred to Labour Party Nominees Limited to be held by it as Trustee for the relevant Constituency Labour Party upon the standard terms of Trust from time to time approved by the NEC.
C. Every CLP and BLP of the Party and as a pre-condition to continued membership thereto shall with effect from forthwith do and execute such acts and deeds to transfer the beneficial ownership of their respective freehold and leasehold properties legal title to which is presently held either by individuals or by Labour Party Nominees Limited to and for the benefit of The Labour Party subject only to the CLPs’ and BLPs’ existing rights of occupation thereof and to their continued receipt of all rents and profits there from and the right to license and to lease the said properties from time to time subject to the prior written consent of The NEC but subject to the CLPs’ and BLPs’ continuing respective obligations in respect of any borrowings secured on such properties.
4. The General Meeting shall, but only with the specific prior approval in writing of the NEC and on such terms and conditions as shall be approved by the NEC, have the power to employ staff on behalf of the CLP. Such power may also be exercised by the Executive Committee or by officers of the General Meeting if so authorised by the General Meeting. In all such circumstances, the primary responsibility for meeting financial and other obligations in respect of such employees shall be borne by this CLP.
Clause VIII. Officers
1. The officers of this CLP, the Executive Committee, and two auditors shall be elected at the annual general meeting of this CLP and shall continue in office until replaced or re-appointed.
2. The Executive Officers of this CLP shall be; chair, vice-chair/campaigns, vice-chair/membership, secretary, treasurer, policy officer, women’s officer, youth officer, BAME officer, older people’s officer, disability officer, LGBT+ officer, trade union liaison officer (who shall be a member of a trades union in accordance with Chapter 2 Clause I.6.B of the Labour Party rule book), political education officer, communications and social media officer. At least three of the first six officers listed above, as well as at least half of the total number of officers, must be women. This CLP may, with the approval of the NEC add other Executive Officer posts drawn from amongst its Coordinator roles subject to the gender quota being amended appropriately.
3. The Chair shall also be the deputy treasurer to be notified to the Electoral Commission. In exceptional circumstances, and with the prior approval of the General Secretary, a different person may be appointed.
4. In addition this CLP may elect coordinators to lead on specific areas of responsibility including community involvement, trade union liaison, membership recruitment and retention, diversity (CLPs may consider splitting this responsibility between two or more people – e.g. BAME, Disability, Youth, LGBT), fundraising, political education, information technology etc. The Women’s Coordinator, if appointed, shall be a woman. These coordinators shall be encouraged to attend Executive Committee meetings to report on their work and share expertise with colleagues but shall not be voting members unless elected to the Executive Committee as individuals.
5. The team of officers and coordinators, together with the parliamentary candidate and/or member of Parliament and the campaign coordinator, shall provide a strategic lead for the development of the Party in the constituency.
6. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Executive Officers, branch secretaries or other representatives elected by each branch and {-} members upon such proportionate basis of the whole membership as this CLP may decide, subject to the approval of the NEC.
7. The parliamentary election agent may also attend Executive Committee meetings.
8. Where a constituency plan agreement has been entered into by this CLP and an organisation affiliated to the Party nationally and approved by the NEC, the affiliated organisation concerned may appoint a member of this CLP to the Executive Committee to represent their interest: this member shall be an ex-officio member with voting powers of both executive and General Meetings.
9. The Executive Committee shall meet as required and be responsible for reviewing the implementation of the development action plan and supervising the work of the branches and other Party units in the constituency. The Executive Committee shall also deal with as much of the routine business of this CLP as possible to ensure that the General Meeting can devote its time to the discussion of policy and Party objectives for the constituency.
10. The treasurer shall be responsible for ensuring this CLP meets its legal and financial responsibilities under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 in respect of donation reporting, the filing of accounts and, if applicable, the auditing of accounts, and shall be the registered treasurer of the accounting unit, as notified by Party Head Office to the Electoral Commission.
11. This CLP Secretary shall notify Party Head Office immediately in the event of the resignation or replacement of the treasurer or the deputy treasurer, so that the Party can meet its statutory responsibility to inform the Electoral Commission of any such changes.
12. It shall be a requirement of their office that the treasurer and the parliamentary election agent undertake such training as deemed desirable by the NEC.
Clause IX. The General Meeting
1. Annual Meetings
A. The annual meeting of this CLP shall be held in December of each year or, in the event of such meeting not being held in that month for any reason, as soon thereafter as possible. The annual meeting should not normally be held before May in any year.
B. Affiliation fees due to this CLP for the previous year ended 31 December must have been paid to this CLP a clear 35 days before the date of the annual meeting.
C. New affiliations accepted at least 60 days prior to the AGM in the current year shall have all rights associated with attendance at the AGM.
D. Twenty eight days’ notice of an annual meeting shall be given to all eligible affiliated organisations and Party units.
E. Seven days’ notice of an annual meeting shall be given to voting members entitled to attend.
2. Special Meetings
A. Special General Meetings may be called at the discretion of the Executive Committee and shall be called on the written request of at least one third of the affiliated organisations and Party units which are or would be entitled to send delegates to this CLP under a delegate structure.
B. Seven days’ notice of a special meeting shall be given to voting members entitled to attend except in cases of emergency, when only business of immediate importance shall be transacted.
3. Ordinary General Meetings shall be held at such intervals as laid down in the standing orders of this CLP or as may be determined by resolution of the General Meeting, subject to a requirement that all members of the CLP must be given the opportunity to attend at least 8 meetings per year, including at least 2 policy meetings.
4. Seven days’ notice of General Meetings shall be given to voting members entitled to attend.
5. A notice calling an annual, special or ordinary General Meeting shall state as far as possible the business to be transacted.
6. Any notice required to be given under these rules shall be in writing which may include electronic communication. Notices to be sent to affiliated organisations and Party units shall be addressed to the secretary thereof.
7. Finance
A. Following each annual meeting of this CLP the Secretary shall forward to the General Secretary a copy of this CLP’s constituency annual report, including the annual statement of accounts and such other information as may be requested by the NEC in the format required and in compliance with this CLP’s legal and financial responsibilities under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
B. Where required by PPERA 2000, the annual statement of accounts must be presented to and approved by a general meeting in the first quarter of the year following the year in question. The annual statement of accounts must be forwarded to the Electoral Commission by 30 April of the year following the year in question.
Clause X. The Party Conference
1. Subject to the conditions laid down in the rules of Party conference and the constitutional rules of the Party, this CLP may appoint to any Party conference convened under Clause VI of the constitutional rules of the Party, one delegate for the first 749 eligible members, or part thereof, and a further delegate for each additional 250 eligible members, or part thereof. Eligible members shall be defined as those listed by the Party as members of this CLP at 31 December in the previous year.
2. When appointing their delegate(s) this CLP shall seek to increase the representation of women at conference, by ensuring that at least every second delegate shall be a woman; where only one delegate is appointed this must be a woman at least in every other year.
3. Where the individual women’s membership within this CLP is 100 or more, an additional woman delegate may be appointed.
4. Where the individual Young Labour membership within this CLP is 30 or more, an additional delegate under the age of 27 may be appointed.
5. This CLP may appoint a delegate in addition to its above entitlement if one of its duly appointed delegates is the national treasurer, a member of the NEC, member of the Conference Arrangements Committee, or a member of the NCC due for re- election that year.
Clause XI. Duties of the General Meeting
1. The general provisions of the constitution, rules and standing orders of the Party shall apply to this CLP and the General Meeting has a duty to act within and uphold such provisions.
2. The General Meeting shall be responsible for establishing objectives for this CLP in the constituency through political debate and policy discussion, setting targets for development of CLP organisation and campaigning in the area and promoting links with the wider community.
3. In particular this CLP is required to submit in the fourth quarter of each year a development plan in a format approved by the NEC for the constituency for the coming year. The plan shall be submitted to the appropriate regional office (or Scottish or Welsh national office).
4. It shall be the duty of the General Meeting of this CLP to ensure that at least 50 per cent of their delegates to other Party bodies (where delegate entitlement is more than one) shall be women.
5. This CLP and units of this CLP shall not enter into affiliation with or give support, financially or otherwise, to any political party or organisation (or ancillary or subsidiary body thereto) declared by Party conference or by the NEC in pursuance of conference decisions to be ineligible for affiliation to the Party. Nor shall they give any such support to individuals ineligible for membership of the Party.
6. This CLP shall co-operate with the NEC of the Party in conducting a ballot of all eligible individual members for the selection of parliamentary candidates, the election of the leader and deputy leader of the Party, the national treasurer and auditors, and the appropriate sections of the NEC, and NCC. Such ballots to be conducted in accordance with guidelines laid down by the NEC and subject to the provisions of Chapter 4.
7. In the event of this CLP being dissolved or ceasing to exist for any reason, its assets (after payment of outstanding liabilities) shall be transferred to the NEC of the Party.
8. This CLP shall co-operate fully with the NEC in respect of its legal and financial obligations under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Should this CLP fail to co-operate with the Party with regard to its obligations under the Act, the NEC will not hesitate to take appropriate disciplinary action against individual members and/or suspend this CLP.
Clause XII. Disciplinary
1. It shall be the duty of the General Meeting of this CLP to take all necessary steps to enforce the constitution, standing orders and rules of the Party within this constituency and to safeguard the programme, policy and principles of the Party within this constituency. This CLP shall take such action as it deems necessary for such purposes in accordance with the provisions laid out in the disciplinary rules, contained in Chapter 6 above.
Clause XIII. Parliamentary candidates
1. The Party’s parliamentary candidate for this constituency shall be selected in accordance with the rules for selection of parliamentary candidates laid down in Chapter 5 and in the selection guidelines appended thereto, along with any other regulations approved by the NEC.
Clause XIV. Local government candidates
1. Local government candidates shall be selected in accordance with the rules for selection of local government candidates laid down in Chapter 5 and in the selection guidelines appended thereto along with any other regulations approved by the NEC.
Clause XV. Amendment to rules
1. These rules, or any part thereof, may be amended, altered or additions made thereto by resolution carried at an Annual General Meeting by a vote of two thirds of delegates present, subject to the approval of the NEC under Clause VII.2 above. The provisions of the model procedural rules for Party meetings shall apply to this CLP with such local additions and modifications as may be approved by the RD(GS) of the Party on behalf of the NEC.
Procedural rules
Clause I. Model Standing Orders for Party Units
1. These model procedural rules are designed to provide a framework for well-ordered Party meetings. Party units will want to adopt local standing orders to reflect their specific method of operation; however, local arrangements must not conflict with the provisions of these model rules which have the full authority of the NEC and form part of the rule book.
2. Throughout these rules alternative ‘A’ is for Party units which have a delegate structure (e.g. CLPs, Local Campaign Forums); alternative ‘B’ is for meetings of individual members (e.g. CLPs, branches, women’s forums, Young Labour).
A. Annual General Meetings
i. The Annual General Meeting of Brighton Pavilion CLP shall be held each year in the month of December.
ii. A formal notice of the annual meeting shall be sent by the Secretary to all Party units and organisations entitled to be represented at least 28 days prior to the meeting. A notice detailing the business of the annual meeting shall be sent to all duly appointed delegates or eligible members at least seven days prior to the meeting.
B. Ordinary meetings
i. Ordinary meetings shall be held on the following regular basis as agreed by the General Committee. There shall be no meetings to transact ordinary business during the period of a national election campaign.
ii. Formal notice of all meetings shall be sent out by the Secretary to all those entitled to attend at least seven days prior to the meeting. Such notice shall as far as possible include an indication of the business to be transacted at the meeting.
iii. A record of attendance at meetings shall be kept and those attending may be required to show a credential and/ or proof of membership card to gain entry to the meeting room.
C. Meeting times
i. Meetings shall commence within half an hour of the advertised time. Business meetings shall not be held if a quorum is not present within 30 minutes of the appointed time; always provided that in special circumstances members present may agree to transact pressing business subject to the ratification of the proceedings by the next quorate meeting. Meetings shall close two hours from the notified starting time, except that a particular meeting may be temporarily extended for a specified period with the support of two-thirds of the members present.
D. Quorum
i. The quorum for business meetings of Brighton Pavilion CLP shall be 25 per cent of those members entitled to vote in attendance.
ii. The proceedings and resolutions of any quorate meeting shall not be held to be invalid simply through the accidental failure to give notice of the meeting to, or the non- receipt of such notice by, any person entitled to attend.
E. Entitlement to attend
i. All delegates must be current endorsed individual members of the Party residing and registered as electors or, exceptionally if they are not eligible to be registered to vote, residing only within the area covered by this Party unit. Delegates whose details have been duly notified by their organisations to the secretary of this Party unit shall be entitled to attend meetings and to vote. Only those duly appointed delegates who have been elected to it may attend and vote at meetings of the Executive Committee.
When an annual or special meeting is not held for any reason or is abandoned without completing the business on the agenda, such meeting must be reconvened as soon as practicable in order for any necessary outstanding business to be transacted. Only those eligible to participate in the meeting as first convened, whether or not held, shall be entitled to participate in any further reconvened meeting.
F. Chair
i. The elected chair of this body shall preside at all meetings, except where otherwise provided for in the rules of the Party unit.
ii. In the absence of the chair the vice-chair shall preside and in the absence of both the secretary or other officer shall call on those present to elect a member to take the chair of the meeting. Should the office holder arrive once a member has been elected to preside in her or his place then she or he may claim, if they wish, the right to preside at the meeting once the current item of business has been disposed of.
iii. At the annual meeting the chair shall preside until a successor is elected, except where the chair is not a duly appointed delegate to the meeting; in which case the election of chair shall be taken as the first item on the agenda. The new chair shall take over the conduct of the meeting forthwith and proceed to the election of other officers and further business.
G. Party business
i. The prime function of Party meetings is to provide delegates and members with the opportunity to participate in Party activities through social contact, political debate and policy discussion; and to establish objectives for the Party in the area for campaigning, the development of Party organisation and the promotion of links with sympathetic individuals and bodies within the wider community.
ii. Plans for campaigning on local issues, the development of community engagement and the strengthening of both links and communication with individual members, affiliates, supporters and community groups should be central to all business.
iii. The agenda of all Party meetings shall be drawn up to give due priority to the Party business highlighted above, the endorsement and introduction of new members and/or delegates, the discussion of resolutions, Party policy items and other matters of interest to Party members and the receipt of reports from public representatives.
iv. Nominations for delegates and representatives to other bodies should be sought as widely from among Party members as possible. Wherever practicable, any vacancies to be filled shall be advertised to all members as they arise and any Party member who has indicated willingness to accept nomination shall be considered for any post, provided they have the support of at least one Party unit or organisation entitled to appoint delegates to the general meeting of this CLP, as evidenced by a nomination or resolution received by the secretary in writing not less than 14 days prior to the meeting at which said vacancy is to be filled, or by the nominations deadline if later, or unless otherwise stated in the rules.
v. Party business shall in general have precedence at all business meetings of this body. As far as possible the officers and/or Executive Committees should deal with routine items of correspondence, finance and reports from other Party bodies or functional officers, provided that the general meeting shall have the opportunity to question, amend and/or ratify any recommendations put to them.
H. Notice of motion
i. Original motions for the general meeting of this body shall be accepted only from Party units and organisations entitled to appoint delegates to it and must be received by the secretary in writing not less than 14 days prior to the meeting for which they are intended.
Motions for discussion shall be made available to those entitled to attend with the notice and agenda of the relevant meeting, except for emergency motions which must be sent in writing to the secretary as soon as the nature of the emergency allows before the commencement of the meeting.
Emergency business may be accepted by the majority of the meeting on the recommendation of the chair who shall interpret the term ‘emergency’ in a bona fide manner.
I. Discussion of motion
i. No motion shall be discussed at a meeting until it has been moved and seconded. Where a motion has been submitted by a Party unit or organisation it must be moved by a delegate from that Party unit or organisation.
ii. Speakers shall address the chair and shall only speak once on any motion except by permission of the chair, providing that the mover of a motion or an amendment may reply to the discussion without introducing new matter for debate; such reply shall close the discussion. No speaker shall be allowed more than five minutes, unless agreed by the meeting to be ‘further heard’ for a specified period.
iii. Amendments to any motion may be moved and seconded from the floor of the meeting but shall be handed to the secretary in writing. Amendments shall be taken in order with one amendment being disposed of before another is moved. If an amendment is carried, the amended resolution becomes a motion to which further amendments may be moved.
J. Procedural motions
i. A motion of ‘next business’ shall not be taken until the mover and seconder of a motion have been heard. Any motion ‘of next business’, ‘that the vote be taken’, ‘to adjourn’, ‘of no-confidence in the chair’ shall be moved, seconded and put to the vote without discussion; after such a vote the chair need not accept a further procedural motion for a period of 20 minutes.
K. Motion to rescind resolution
i. No motion to rescind a resolution of this body shall be valid within three months from the date on which the resolution was carried. Notice of rescinding motion must be given in writing and made available to those entitled to attend the relevant meeting in line with rule H above.
L. Voting on motions
i. Voting shall be by show of hands except where the constitution of the Party provides for a ballot vote or where this body decides otherwise. In the event of there being an equality of votes on any matter decided by a show of hands, the chair may give a casting vote provided that s/he has not used an ordinary vote. If the chair does not wish to give a casting vote, the motion is not carried.
M. Ballot votes
i. The election of officers and/or representatives of this body shall be by secret paper eliminating ballot either in rounds or by preferential vote. The election of Executive Committee members or large delegations may be by secret paper ballot using a multiple vote where members may not cast more votes than the number of positions to be filled. Any quotas for women laid down in the Party constitution which apply to this body shall be incorporated in the arrangements for the secret ballot.
ii. Ballot votes shall be held at meetings to select candidates and where otherwise provided for in the Party constitution; and where requested by any member supported by at least two others.
iii. In the event of a tie on a secret paper ballot the chair shall not have a casting vote. Where appropriate, the ballot shall be retaken and in the event of a continual tie lots may be drawn. In a preferential ballot the tie shall be broken by establishing which candidate had the highest number of first preference votes or took the earliest lead on transfers.
N. Chair’s ruling
i. Any breach of or question to the rules or standing orders may be raised by a member rising to a point of order. The chair’s ruling on any point arising from the rules or standing orders is final unless challenged by not less than four members; such a challenge shall be put to the meeting without discussion and shall only be carried with the support of two-thirds of the members present.
O. Miscellaneous
i. Party meetings and events shall be conducted in a friendly and orderly manner and organised in such a way as to maximise participation from members. No member shall be precluded from attendance because they cannot gain access to the meeting place for any reason. Harassment or intimidation of any member is unacceptable as is any form of discrimination on the basis of gender, age, sexual orientation and gender identity, disability or race. Smoking is not permitted at any Party meeting.
ii. Any member acting in an unruly or disruptive manner, in contravention of the standing orders, may be removed from the meeting by action of the chair. The chair shall put such a motion to the meeting, which to be carried shall require the support of two-thirds of those present and voting. Any member who has been removed from two meetings during a 12-month period shall, with the approval of the appropriate RD(GS), be ineligible to attend meetings of this body for the next 12 months.
iii. This Party unit accepts the principle of minimum quotas for women at all levels of representation within the Party and shall take steps to ensure that 50 per cent of any delegation shall be women and, where only one delegate is appointed, a woman shall hold the position at least every other year.
iv. Jobshares – The conditions under which job shares are allowed are as follows:
- A job can be shared by a maximum of two members.
- Those members must be specifically nominated as a job share, by whatever system of nomination is being used by that Party unit.
- Chair cannot be a job share, nor can Treasurer, due to the statutory responsibilities of these roles.
- Any members sharing a role will only have the equivalent of one vote between them, either as:
- One vote each, where only one member will be attending any meeting at any given time; or
- 5 votes each, where both members will be in attendance; or
- Both members agree to nominate one of them as the voting member.
- Where a man and a woman are job sharing, the woman would not count towards the minimum quota of women, unless a woman is also part of another job share.
- For positions requiring access to data, a personal data form must be signed and returned by each job sharer.
v. The general provisions of the constitution and rules of the Party shall apply to this body. No changes shall be made to the rules and standing orders of this organisation except at an annual or special meeting called for this purpose and carried with the support of two-thirds of the members present. No alteration shall be effective until it has received the approval of the appropriate officer of the NEC of the Party.
Appendix Procedural guidelines for the general organisation of the CLP
Clause I. General
1. Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) may adopt methods of organisation most suited to their local circumstances, subject to the approval of the NEC.
2. CLPs are also encouraged to agree methods of organisation which allow cooperation with other CLPs, affiliated organisations and the wider community.
3. In any model of organisation, there shall be such officers to ensure compliance with current legal obligations, and an Executive Committee elected to ensure the day to day running of the CLP.
Clause II. Delegate Organisation
1. The General Meeting of this CLP shall consist of delegates elected by:
A. affiliated organisations, in accordance with Clause III of these rules. Each affiliated organisation may have a maximum of five delegates to this CLP, except that the RD(GS) with the approval of the NEC may vary this limit in agreement with the affiliated organisation where it has more than 1,000 members resident in the constituency.
B. branches established in accordance with Chapter 8 of these rules together with the secretaries who shall be ex-officio members with voting power. Branch parties with three or more members under the age of 26 may elect from among them an additional youth delegate.
C. women’s branch where established.
D. workplace branches where established.
E. BAME branch where established.
F. Disabled Members’ branch where established.
G. LGBT+ branch where established.
H. Young Labour members’ branch where established.
[I.Older Members’ branch where established.]
J. Other such forums properly constituted by this CLP.
Clause III. Basis of representation
1. The basis of representation of the General Meeting shall be as follows:
A. Party branches: One delegate per 20 members, plus branch secretary ex-officio
B. Other organisations: One delegate per 20 members or part thereof
provided that:
2. only a member in respect of whom an affiliation fee or a membership fee for the full year or period of membership as the case may be has been paid to this CLP for the previous year or part thereof to 31 December may be counted in calculating the number of delegates
3. a Party unit with fewer than ten members shall be represented by not more than one delegate whether the secretary or any other member
4. members in arrears shall not be counted when establishing the number of delegates from Party branches to the General Committee/All Member Meeting
5. an organisation during the year in which it is affiliated or a Party unit during the year in which it is established shall be entitled to appoint delegates to attend and participate in meetings of the General Meeting subsequent to the annual meeting, the number of delegates being calculated on the basis of the affiliation fee or membership fees paid in the said year.
Clause IV. Conditions for appointment of delegates to this CLP
1. Every delegate must be an individual member of the Party in this CLP as described in the membership rules.
2. Delegates from branches must reside within the branch appointing them. Delegates from affiliated organisations must be bona fide members or paid permanent officials of the organisation appointing them.
3. No person shall act as a delegate for more than one organisation/Party unit.
4. Delegates must either reside or be registered as electors in the constituency.
5. Members of Parliament may be appointed as delegates to the General Committee/All Member Meeting in the constituency they represent, provided they fulfil the criteria above. They may not be elected to or serve on the Executive Committee, or hold any office within such CLP. MPs shall have the right to receive notice of, and to attend Executive and General Committee/All Member Meeting meetings of, the CLP they represent and report on their work.
6. The term of office of a delegate shall commence with the opening of the annual meeting of this CLP following their appointment or the date of their appointment if after the annual meeting. Unless terminated by their resignation, death or for any other reason by the affiliated organisation or Party unit which appointed them, the term of office of a delegate shall extend to the conclusion of the next following annual meeting of this CLP but they shall not be entitled to attend except as members of the Executive Committee of this CLP to tender reports to that meeting but not to vote unless reappointed as delegates for the appropriate year. All delegates who qualify under these conditions may be re- appointed. It shall be the duty of the secretary of this CLP to invite affiliated organisations and Party units to elect their delegates prior to and in time to be called to the annual meeting and to assist this the Executive Committee may set a reasonable deadline for the appointment of delegates for that meeting.
Brighton Pavilion Labour Party 