item0056C  864, 865

Amendments proposed by Labour Links
All substantive amendments are highlighted in red.

The Labour Party
Constitution

Section A    Chapters 1-6 

Section B    Chapters 7- 16 Model Rules for Party Units, Supplementary

Section A

Chapter 1    Constitutional rules
Chapter 2    Membership rules
Chapter 3    Party Conference
Chapter 4    Elections of National Officers, Committees
Chapter 5    Selection for elected public office
Chapter 6    Disciplinary rules

Chapter 1   Constitutional Rules

Clause I     Name and Objects 

1. This organisation shall be known as “The Labour Party” (hereunder referred to as “the Party”.  Its purpose is to organise and maintain, in government and in the country, a political Labour Party.

2. The Party shall give effect, as far as may be practicable, to the principles and policies from time to time approved by Party Conference.

3. These rules and standing orders shall hereunder be referred to as “the Constitution”.

• Note The Party in the country determines the "principles and policies" of the Party, without participation by the salaried politicians. But professional elected politicians determine the Party's governmental programmes, and are under no binding obligation to implement such policies. This would create a looser relationship between the Party and its salaried politicians, giving each element far greater freedom of initiative and expression, and encouraging a new dialogue.

Clause II    Party structure and affiliated organisations 

1. There shall be a National Executive Committee of the Party (hereunder, the “NEC”) which shall, subject to the direction and control of Party Conference, be the administrative authority of the Party.

2. The Party shall be organised on the following basis:

(a)     In  every UK representative parliament or assembly there shall be established a Governmental Labour Group (“GEG”); 

(b)     In every Westminster parliamentary constituency there shall be established a unit of the Party, to be known as a “constituency Labour Party” or “CLP”; within each CLP, members shall be organised in branches, the number and area covered by such branches to be agreed by the CLP and the NEC; a women’s forum may be established in each CLP, consisting of all individual women members within that CLP; 

(c)     In Scotland, Wales, Greater London and each of the English regions there shall be established a Regional Executive Committee (“REC”) 

Note  This "tidies" up the various Party arrangements for Scottish and Welsh "Executives" and regional "Boards"; bodies of this kind already exist, but would be strengthened.

(d)     Subject to the approval of the appropriate representative of the NEC representative, local government committees may be established within the areas of directly elected local government above that of parish/community council; 

(e)     Members on local authorities shall be organised locally in Lab our groups, and nationally in the Association of Labour Councillors; 

(f)       Young Labour (no change) 

(g)     Labour Students (no change)   

(h)     TU/Labour Party Liaison (no change) 

(i)       Labour Party Properties (no change)  

3. Organisations may, subject to the decision of the NEC which shall be final and binding, affiliate to the Party if they fall within the following categories:

(a)     trade unions affiliated to the Trades Union Congress or are considered by the NEC to be bona fide trade unions; 

(b)     co-operative societies; 

(c)     socialist societies; 

(d)     other organisations which, in the opinion of the NEC, have interests consistent with those of the Labour Party. 

4. Each affiliated organisation must:

(a)     accept the aims and values of the Party; 

(b)     agree to conform to the Constitution of the Party.

5.  DELETE  [ Negative declaration of types of organisation that may not be affiliated – given the position definition already stated and the overriding discretion of the NEC, this Declaration is superfluous, and should be removed ] 

6/7/8  [ Affiliation Fees – these would necessarily be subject to consequential review, no details proposed ] 

9(a) Membership fees for each individual member shall be collected by, or on behalf of, the Party’s head office and shall be divided between head office, the relevant REC and the relevant CLP, as laid down in the Membership rules;  (b) [ NEC to arrange electoral and other insurance for all CLPs, no change ]

Clause III  The Party’s financial scheme 

• [ This Clause regulates the designated accounting units within the Party, for the purpose of compliance with electoral legislation, and would necessarily be subject to consequential adjustment, no changes yet proposed ]

Clause IV  Aims and Values 

• No changes are proposed

Clause V  Party Programme

• DELETE  [ This regulates consultations on matters to be included in the Party’s governmental programme and manifestos – the proposed reform would remove all Party claims to regulate any governmental programme ]

Clause VI  Labour Party Conference

1. The work of the Party shall be under the direction and control of a national party conference (the “Party Conference”, which shall itself be subject to the Constitution of the Party (Chapter 3).  Party Conference shall meet regularly once in e very year and also at such other times as it may be convened by the NEC.

2. DELETE  [This paragraph, applying the rules and amended rules of this Constitution, is merely declaratory, and superfluous]

Clause VII  Party Officers and Statutory Officers 

1A   DELETE [ Party Officers  Leader and Deputy Leader:  Responsibility for the election of all Party Leaders would be assigned to the respective, self-regulating Governmental Labour Groups ] 

1B  Chair and Vice-Chair    There shall be a Chair and a Vice-Chair of the Party elected every two years by a ballot of all individual members of the Party on the basis of one-member one-vote in accordance with this Constitution. 

Note  All other posts (NEC, Treasurership) are elected for two years, whereas the Chairmanship is rotated each year, nominated by the NEC; this revision enhances the status of both offices by extending tenure to two years and providing for all-member election.

1C  General Secretary   (a) There shall be a General Secretary of the Party, who shall be appointed by the NEC, and who shall act as secretary to the NEC; (b) [NEC delegees have further power to delegate, no change ] 

1D  Party Treasurer  There shall be a Treasurer of the Party who shall be elected by Party Conference at its regular annual meeting in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. 

1E  Auditors  Two Conference delegates shall be elected to act as auditors of the Party accounts to be submitted to the annual meeting of Party Conference in the following that in which they were elected. 

Statutory Officers  [ Formal compliance with electoral law, Election Commission, no change proposed ] 

Clause VIII  The National Executive Committee 

1. 24 members elected in accordance with this Constitution;

2. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Party
3. The Treasurer of the Party;
4. One youth member elected at the national Young Labour Conference;
5. One member elected by the Labour Party Black Socialist Society at its conference as laid down in the rules of the socialist society.  This member to be elected once the individual membership of the socialist society has reached 2,500 and at least one-third of eligible trade unions have also affiliated to the socialist society.

Note  This abbreviated list of NEC members omits all professional elected politicians, and represents one of the key proposed changes.

1. contribute to policy development;

2. win elections and maintain the support of voters;

3. maintain a healthy party at all levels, engaged in the community and upholding the highest standards in public life;

4. ensure a high quality of service, through a contract with Party members;

5. fulfil its operational and constitutional responsibilities as defined in this Constitution;

6. maintain a balanced partnership between all party stakeholders;

7. ensure the party meets its legal and financial responsibilities in compliance with the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 and all other legislative requirements.

Note  Without direct participation by the professional politicians, it would inappropriate for the NEC to lay claim the right to determine the right to give "strategic direction for the Party as a whole", and it is proposed that this assertion be withdrawn, allowing the Party to focus on functions "in the country".

1. [ To enforce Constitution, disciplinary powers, no change proposed ]

2. Subject to preceding sub-clause (a) and through its national and regional officers, to ensure the establishment of and to keep in active operation, subject to the direction and control of Party Conference –

(i)                   A Local Government Committee for each elected level of local authority above parish or community;

(ii)                 CLPs in each Westminster Parliamentary and European parliamentary constituency area;

(iii)                Governmental Labour Groups for each UK elected representative assembly

(iv)                Regional Executive Committees in Scotland, Wales, Greater London and each English region. 

c/d/e  [ To foster Young Labour, women’s organisations, friendly and equitable conduct of Party business no change proposed ] 

f.  DELETE  [ These formal “governmental” consultations with the Parliamentary party would form no part of the proposed re-draft, although there would be a continuing general obligation to work in partnership to further Party objectives ]

g.  [ Present annual report to Conference no change proposed ]

h.  To propose to Party Conference such amendments to the Constitution as it may consider desirable, and such other resolutions as it may consider necessary, in the light of political circumstances; [ this wording represents a generalised simplification of the present formulation, but is not intended to make any change of substance ]

i.  [ National Policy Forum:  DELETE ]

j.  [ Balloting CLPs  no change proposed ]

k.  [ Maintain Election Funds – adjustment needed to reflect devolution, Scottish/Welsh and regional funds – no proposals made ]

l.  [ NEC borrowing powers  no changes proposed ]

m. [ Statutory compliance no change proposed ]

4. [ NEC  Adjudication jurisdiction in disputes  no change proposed ]
5. [ NEC powers of delegation no change proposed ]

Clause IX  The National Constitutional Committee

            No change is proposed to any of these provisions

Clause X  Scope of Rules

a.       CLPs

b.       Member branches organised within CLPs

c.       European Constituency Labour Parties

d.       Women’s forums

e.       Young Labour and Young Labour groups

f.         Local Government Committees

g.       Local government Labour groups

2.  NEC limited powers of local modification to above no change proposed

3.   Party units, whether or not subject to the above Model Rules and Standing Orders, may adopt rules or additional rules which do not contravene the provisions of this Constitution; all such rules shall be registered with the NEC prior to their implementation.

Chapter 2   Membership Rules

2A  Conditions of Membership

These remain without amendment, with the proviso that each individual Members should be required simply to undertake to –

  - accept and conform to the Constitution, aims and values of the Party

thus deleting the current requirement to accept the “programme, principles and policy” of the Party. 

Note that “the term “individual members of the Party” shall encompass all grades of membership as laid down in Rule 2C below” – thus including (a) Standard Membership (b) Reduced Membership (unwaged) and (c) Registered (affiliate members)

Chapter 3   Party Conference

3A  Delegations

3A.1 Party Conference, and all other duly convened regional or other conferences, shall be constituted as follows: 

1. Delegates duly appointed [ by affiliates, one delegate per 5,000 members, no change proposed ]

2. Delegates duly appointed [ by CLPs, one delegate per 750/250 members, no change proposed ]  c. additional womens’ and Young Labour representation, no change proposed ]

3. Ex-officio members of party conferences, who shall have no vote, are as follows:

(i)                   Members of the NEC 

(ii)                 Labour candidates for Parliament and other representative assemblies whose candidatures have been endorsed by the NEC; in the case of regional assemblies, membership shall be limited to candidates for relevant regional constituencies; 

(iii)                The General Secretary of the Labour Party;  

(iv)                Accredited organisers employed by the Party; 

(v)                  The lay members of NEC committees; 

(vi)                The Chair of the National Committee of Young Labour; 

(vii)               Members of the National Constitutional Committee; 

(viii)             Officers of the Local Government Association and the Convenor of Scottish Local Authorities Labour Group;

4. Any special session any party conference shall be convened on the same basis of representation as that upon which the preceding annual session (if any) was convened.

3A.2  [Additional delegate for any CLP or affiliate whose delegate is appointed or elected to office, thus losing Conference voting power – no change proposed ] 

3A.4  All delegates must qualify for appointment as follows: 

1. Every delegate must be an individual member of the Party as described in the membership rules, except persons who are resident in Northern Ireland who are duly appointed delegates of affiliated trade unions and who individually accept and conform to the Constitution, and the aims and values, of the Party.
2. Delegates must be bona fide members, or paid permanent officials, of the organisation appointing them or, in the case of CLP delegates, reside within the constituency they have been appointed to represent, except in the case of members of the PLP or duly endorsed parliamentary Labour candidates appointed to represent CLPs in accordance with the following sub-section c.

3. Duly endorsed parliamentary Labour candidates for elected office may be appointed as delegates by CLPs responsible for their candidatures; otherwise, CLP delegates must either reside or be registered as electors in the constituency they represent.

4. No person shall act as a delegate for more than one organisation.

5. All delegates must have been individual members of the Party for at least twelve months at the closing-date set for the receipt of names of delegates.

Note  The Party's elected representatives would not be qualified under any circumstances as Conference delegates: this does represent a significant change from present practice.

3B  Conference Arrangements Committee

          No changes proposed

3B  Procedural Rules for Party Conference

Conference Rule 1: Timing, notice-periods, attendance fees  No changes proposed

Conference Rule 2: Agenda

3C2.1  The NEC shall present its annual report (see Chapter 1/Clause VIII.3g above) – also C2.2  DELETE presentation of National Policy Forum report.

3C2.3  All affiliated organisations and CLPs may submit one motion to any conference on a topic which is not otherwise substantively addressed; the CAC shall determine whether the motions meet this criterion.  Motions must be in writing, on one subject only, or be in the form of constitutional amendment, and must be received by the General Secretary at the head office of the Party by the closing-date determined by the NEC.  3C2.4 deals separately with constitutional amendments, but these would be covered by the above amended wording, and this is therefore DELETED.

Note  This recreates an open Conference, with all affiliated units entitled to submit motions without constraint, subject only to administrative winnowing, which will require the development of further procedures.

3C2.5  Nominations for the NEC, Treasurer, Auditors, Conference Arrangements Committee and National Constitutional Committee, shall be sent in writing on the form provided (cont…) [ no changes proposed ] 

3C2.6  [ Motions only from paid-up organisations ]  [ no change proposed ] 

3C2.7 DELETE processing of National Policy Forum reports 

3C2.8 [ Three-year bar upon reconsideration of any constitutional amendment No change proposed ] 

Conference Rule 3: Voting 

DELETE all subsequent provisions for weighted card-votes: it is acknowledged and accepted that the relatively “large” TU delegations would continue to carry great weight at all party conferences, but the delivery of that influence would turn on the actual attendance of voting TU delegates.

3C3.1 Voting at any special conference session shall be on the same basis as that upon which voting took place at the preceding annual session, if any, of that Party conference.

Chapter 4 Elections of National Officers of the Party and National Committees 

4A  General Principles 

4A.1  Internal party elections for officer posts, and the membership of national and regional committees shall be conducted in a fair, open and transparent manner, in accordance with this Constitution and any NEC guidelines. 

4B Procedural Rules for elections for National Officers of the Party

4B.2  DELETE Election of Leader and Deputy Leader - these appointments would be the responsibility of the Governmental Labour Groups

4B.3   Election of Chair and Vice-Chair 

a.       The Chair and Vice-Chair shall be elected by Party members pursuant to Chapter 1 Clause VII.1 above;

b.       The NEC, and respective RECs, may also appoint a panel of three assistant chairs who, together with the Vice-Chair, to assist the Chair in the conduct of party conferences; delete remaining detail, regulating the management of party conferences.

4B.4   Election of General Secretary

The General Secretary shall be appointed by the NEC  no other change proposed. 

4B.5   Election of Party Treasurer

1. Every affiliated organisation and CLP may nominate a person for Party Treasurer who is an eligible member of the Party.

2. The Treasurer shall be elected by means of a ballot on card vote, as provided by this Constitution.

3. The term of office of the Treasurer shall be two years.

4B.6   Election of Auditors   No change proposed

4B.7   DELETE provisions for the establishment of Scottish Parliamentary and Welsh Assembly Labour Groups These would become the sole responsibility of the elected representatives.

4C  Procedural Rules for elections for National Committees

4C.1  General    The following procedures provide a rules framework to be followed when conducting elections for places on the Party’s national and regional decision-making committees. 

4C.2  Election of the National Executive Committee 

DELETE all provisions for the subdivision of the NEC: the 24 members would be chosen without divisional constraints, by the individual membership of the Party, with one-half retiring each year, and an open annual ballot for all vacancies being held, thus -   

New 4C.2a  The 24 members of the National Executive Committee shall be elected by a ballot of all individual members of the Party on the basis of one-member one-vote; 

New 4C.2b  The ballot shall be conducted by the NEC, with inter alia the object of securing that in each ballot one-half of those elected shall be women, and the votes cast for each nominee shall be recorded and published following each Conference. 

Note  It is proposed that the complex structural subdivisions of the NEC should be abolished, and replaced by open Party election, subject to retention of gender-balance procedures.  It is acknowledged that care would have to be taken to ensure continuity, in changing over from the present system to the new, and no detailed proposals are made as to that, which would be determined by the NEC as the changeover progressed.

4C.2c  Nominations for the NEC shall be made in accordance with the following conditions:

(i)                   Nominees must be bona fide paying members of the affiliated organisations/CLPs submitting their nominations (other than supporting nominations); 

(ii)                 A nominee of a CLP must be registered as an elector in the area of the CLP submitting the nomination, (cont)  no change proposed; 

(iii)                No Party member shall be eligible for nomination who is an MP, MEP, MSP, AM, GLAM, or elected Regional Assembly Member for any English Region; 

(iv)                [ Formal acceptance of nomination required, to NEC – no change proposed ]

4C.2d   [ Cooption to fill vacancies  no change proposed ] 

4C.2e   The term of office of each NEC member shall be two years, and members shall be eligible for re-election; 

4C.3  Election of the Conference Arrangements Committee 

No changes are proposed 

4C.4  Election of the National Constitutional Committee 

            Same changes proposed as for NEC Elections. 

4C.4  DELETE Election of National Policy Forum 

Chapter 5  Selections for Elected Public Office 

5.1      A right of Labour Party membership includes the opportunity to select candidates for public office at every level – local, regional, national and European.  Core principles shall apply to these selections that will enable members to select Labour Party candidates representative of our society who can uphold the highest standards of probity and integrity in public life. 

5A  General Rules for Selections for Public Office 

            No amendments are proposed to these rules. 

5B Selection of Local Government Candidates 

No amendments are proposed to these rules 

5B Selection of Westminster Parliamentary Candidates 

NB  The Constitution does not yet make express provision for the selection of MSP/AM/GLAM candidates, and these provisions are presumably being applied by the NEC by parity of reasoning – no changes are proposed to the principal provisions of this Constitution – with the single exception of the presumptive procedure in favour of sitting MPs ( Sub-Clause 5C.5) 

5C.5  DELETE entire sub-clause 

5C.6  In all circumstances, following the issue by the NEC of an appropriate electoral timetable, the CLP Shortlisting Committee shall draw up a shortlist of interested candidates to present to all members of the CLP who are eligible to vote in accordance with this Constitution.

• It is acknowledged that this removal of the “sitting member’s rights” may cause concern; but the effect is merely to create a presumption that open democratic processes would apply, and that every sitting representative would have to compete openly to retain the privilege of Party nomination.

No other changes are proposed, to the selection procedures.

5B Selection of European Parliamentary Candidates

No changes are proposed to the selection procedures

5B Selection of Candidates for devolved institutions

No changes are proposed to these provisions, under which the NEC is charged with preparing appropriate procedural guidelines.

Chapter 6  Disciplinary Rules 

No changes are proposed to these Rules 

Section B

Model Rules and Standing Orders

Rules for units of Party organisation

• It is envisaged that consequential amendments to these Rules might in due course prove necessary, but none are proposed at this stage.

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