Direct amendments at conference to NPF documents

Proposed Draft Constitutional Amendment

The Labour Party Rule Book 2003, Section A, Chapter 3 - Party Conference, Subsection 3C Procedural rules for party conference, Conference rule 2 - Agenda

Paragraph 3C2. 3 reads as follows:

1 All affiliated organizations and CLPs may submit

2 one motion on a topic which is either not

3 substantively addressed in the reports to

4 conference of either the NPF or the NEC or

5 which has arisen since the publication of those

6 reports. The CAC shall determine whether the

7 motions meet these criteria and submit all

8 issues received to a priorities ballot at the start

9 of conference. Motions must be in writing , on

10 one subject only, or be in the form of a

11 constitutional amendment and must be received

12 by the General Secretary at the offices of the

13 party by the closing date determined by

14 the NEC.

Amendment

Add at end: “In a year when conference is considering the final stage

documents from the National Policy Forum, and as an alternative to submitting either a motion (as defined in this subsection) or a constitutional amendment, CLPs and affiliated organizations may submit, for debate and voting at Conference, one amendment to the material set out in the final stage document.”

Supporting arguments: The Partnership in Power rule changes introduced in 1997 substantially reduced the opportunities for members’ participation in Labour’s policy making process. Until this year a motion on a subject not covered in the National Policy Forum (NPF) or the NEC reports did not get a hearing unless supported by 50 per cent of CLP delegates. At the 2003 Conference a rule change submitted by East Devon CLP, Islington North CLP, and Faversham & Mid Kent CLP, and carried primarily thanks to the support it received from trade union delegates now gives CLPs the right to debate four subjects of their choice. But most policy proposals are still decided by the National Policy Forum where CLPs and affiliated trade unions are under-represented. It has so far produced hardly any “minority reports” which, in theory, would be voted on at conference. For this to happen support from about 35 NPF delegates (out of 176) is needed. The rule change we are proposing would allow CLPs and affiliated organizations to amend NPF reports at Conference if they chose to forgo their right to submit a “contemporary” motion or a constitutional amendment.

Closing date for constitutional amendments is 11 June