Constitution

Constitution of Allerdale and Copeland Green Party

1. TITLE AND STATUS

1.1 The name of the local party shall be as Allerdale and Copeland Green Party (ACGP), hereafter referred to as “the party”.

1.2 The party is a constituent part of The Green Party of England & Wales and is subject to its rules and constitution.

1.3 The geographical area of the party is Allerdale and Copeland Borough Councils until such time that the party wishes to divide into two borough parties.

1.4 The party is also part of North West Green Party.

2. AIMS

2.1 The object of the party is to promote the aims of The Green Party as stated in its Constitution:

a) To develop and implement ecological policies consistent with the Philosophical Basis of the Party as expressed in the Manifesto for a Sustainable Society.

b) To that end to win seats at all levels of government.

c) To organise any non-violent activity which will publicise and further these aims.

3. MEMBERSHIP

3.1 The membership consists of all National Green Party members resident within the geographical area of the party.

3.2 Members may not be a member of another political party (other than Green Parties abroad) at the same time. Should a member join another political party then they immediately cease to be a member of the party.

3.3 The party will seek to resolve any disputes between members through discussion and conciliation. The North West Disputes Officer and or National Party Disputes Resolution Committee could be consulted and may be involved if considered appropriate. However, the party has the right and responsibility to take disciplinary action (including suspension or expulsion from the party) against any member who has acted against the aims and agreed policies of the party or brought it into disrepute. Such decisions can only be made at a properly constituted, in quorum regular meeting where advance notice of the matter has been given. The national disciplinary procedures shall be used for national members.

3.4 Should a situation arise in which a member is in such conflict with the branch that outside agencies such as the Disputes Resolution Committee are unable to resolve the situation, then a vote may be taken to exclude that member, so that (s)he would be unbranched and thus unable to attend local party meetings. This action could take place at either an EGM or the AGM.

4. EXECUTIVE AND NONEXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE PARTY

4.1 The party shall elect its executive officers at the AGM. The Green Party constitution requires every local party to specify four executive officers. Their basic responsibilities are described in APPENDIX 1. These must include a Coordinator, a Local Party Contact, the Nominating Officer(s), and a Treasurer. All members undertaking these posts have to be members of the national party.

4.2 The fifth elected executive officer of the party is the PPERA Second Officer. PPERA refers to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. The Act only requires the Green Party to register two specific officers, the Treasurer and PPERA Second Officer. These two posts must be filled by different people. Also refer to APPENDIX 1.

4.3 The party shall elect its nonexecutive officers at the AGM. These will normally include the Chair, Secretary and Election Agent. Also roles such as Membership Secretary, Fundraiser and Website Manager etc. These positions may be shared.

4.4 The AGM has the discretion not to fill posts other than the five executive officers if no suitable nominations are forthcoming, or to propose the merging of posts, or the creation of other posts with the agreement of a simple majority.

4.5 Nominations shall be proposed and seconded and won by a simple majority vote. Any member can ask for a secret ballot.

4.6 Should any executive officer fail to attend three consecutive regular meetings without good reason or apology the party may co-opt another person to act in their place.

4.7 In the event of a vacancy an officer may be co-opted at the next regular meeting.

4.8 Officers may be deselected at an AGM or EGM.

5. MEETINGS AND DECISION MAKING

5.1 The business of the party shall be decided and managed by regular meetings open to all members (and potential new members). Decisions should be reached by consensus where possible.

5.2 Motions should be proposed and seconded, and will be carried by a simple majority vote of members present.

5.3 Members should be notified of any motions relating to policy at least one week before the meeting to discuss the issue.

5.4 Only members of the party will be entitled to vote. Those unable to attend may make their views known to the meeting, either in writing or through representation by another member, but only those in attendance will be entitled to vote.

5.5 The regular business meeting will be deemed to be in quorum if there are five or more members in attendance.

5.6 Attendance and business conducted at meetings shall be recorded in minutes to be approved by the next meeting.

5.7 A draft agenda will be circulated to all members at least one week in advance of each meeting, together with the minutes of the previous meeting. Anyone can suggest additional items for the agenda in advance of or at the start of the meeting.

5.8 In the event of an exceptional decision needing to be made before a regular meeting, an emergency decision may be made by agreement of a simple majority of the executive officers of the party. This decision must be ratified by the next regular meeting.

5.9 Working groups may be set up to discuss specific issues such as transport policy, literature updating etc. Any decision shall be ratified by the regular meeting. All members can attend these groups.

6. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)

6.1 Every AGM shall be held for the purposes of:

(a) Presentation of a report of work which has been carried out over the year.

(b) Presentation of a financial statement for the year.

(c) Election of the executive and nonexecutive officers.

(d) Agreeing the cheque signatories.

(e) Reviewing strategy and setting goals for the following year and beyond.

(f) Any other business on the agenda (to be determined in the same way as for a regular meeting).

6.2 The Chair shall be taken by a nominated person as agreed by members attending the regular business meeting prior to the AGM.

6.3 All members of the party who are present have one vote each, and resolutions must have the support of a simple majority.

6.4 Notice of the AGM shall be given at fifteen days prior to the meeting and any motions for consideration shall be submitted in writing to the secretary at least two weeks prior to the meeting.

6.5 The agenda will be circulated in advance at least one week prior to the meeting.

6.6 The Chair has the right to rule on the admissibility of any emergency motions put forward.

6.7 The quorum of an AGM shall be 10 members or 25% of members of the party (whichever is the smaller).

6.8 An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on a particular agenda may be called at the request of the regular meeting or at least six members or 20% of members of the party (whichever is smaller). The same general rules apply to EGMs as to AGMs.

7. FINANCE

7.1 The Treasurer shall collect or arrange the collection of all money due to the party and shall receive all donations to the party and shall be the custodian thereof.

7.2 The Treasurer will arrange payment of any bills incurred by the party, and will notify the group if it is in danger of becoming overdrawn.

7.3 All money drawn from the party’s bank account shall be signed by two authorised persons from a list of at least three, to be agreed at the AGM.

7.4 Wherever possible, funds will be held by a banking organisation with a policy of ethical investment acceptable to the membership (such as Triodos, Cooperative Bank, Ecological Building Society).

7.5 Members and working groups may incur expenditure on behalf of the party provided prior approval is obtained from a regular meeting.

7.6 Any affiliation fees to another organisation or donations to another Green Party group must have the approval of a regular meeting. The party will not make donations to other groups or organisations outside of the Green Party.

8. SELECTION OF ELECTION CANDIDATES

8.1 For selection of parliamentary candidates national rules must be followed.

8.2 For selection of local authority candidates refer to APPENDIX 2.

9. AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION

This constitution can only be altered by an AGM or EGM of the party. A two-thirds majority is required for such action. Amendments to this constitution require advance notice.

10. WINDING UP

The party may cease to exist only by agreement of an EGM or AGM. In the event of the party being wound up, the balance of funds shall be transferred to North West Green Party. In the event of the party becoming defunct, national rules apply.

11. ADVANCE NOTICE

Some business requires advance notice. This is written notification to the entire membership eligible to vote at the meeting. For an AGM or EGM it shall be posted fifteen days before the meeting. For a regular meeting it shall also be fifteen days. Motions requiring advance notice may not be substantially amended at the meeting.

 

APPENDIX 1

BASIC EXECUTIVE OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES

1 THE COORDINATOR

The Coordinator liaises with the national Green Party and is usually the elected Chair, but does not have to be.

2. THE LOCAL PARTY CONTACT

The Local Party Contact or Public Enquiry Officer is usually the person elected as Secretary, but does not have to be. Their name and phone number can be given to the public. Enquiries may be about a wide range of issues, ranging from local campaigns to potential membership.

3. THE NOMINATING OFFICER(S)

The Nominating Officer(s) will usually be the person, or people, the local party elects as year round Election Agent(s), but does not have to be. They get a certificate from the GPEW National Election Agent, (who is also the nationally registered Nominating Officer), to authorise election candidates in the local party’s area to use the name ‘Green Party’ (and certain other specific variants of it).

4. THE TREASURER

The Treasurer is required to maintain accounts and inform the registered treasurer of the GPEW, via national party office, of all donations and loans of more than £500.

5. THE PPERA SECOND OFFICER

The PPERA Second Officer has the legal function of being responsible for organising a replacement treasurer should the one in post leave for any reason. PPERA is an acronym of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

 

APPENDIX 2

SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR LOCAL AUTHORITY CANDIDATES

Allerdale and Copeland Borough Councils are divided into electoral wards, whereas Cumbria County Council has larger electoral divisions. Wards in this document refers to both wards and divisions.

1. THE TIMETABLE

For normal May elections the candidate who represented the ward in the previous round of local elections shall be deemed to be the prospective candidate for the following round, until and unless they formally resign or cease to be eligible because for example they leave the party or the area or a formal selection procedure is held for that ward.

Selection procedure shall start after the 1 September preceding the elections. For target wards the procedure will be timed to have a candidate in place by the 30 November. This allows for the option to reopen nominations if the nominated candidate becomes deselected.

For by-elections the selection process will take place as quickly as possible to meet the closure of nominations. If a candidate has already been selected to fight the election in the following May election, then that candidate shall stand, unless they resign as candidate.

2. CONTROL

The procedure will be controlled by the Election Agent (EA). They will act in accordance with these procedures and report back on progress to the regular meetings. The regular meeting may instruct the EA if those instructions do not conflict with this document. The EA or regular meeting shall appoint a deputy.

3. TARGET WARDS

A Primary Target Ward is one where there is a good chance of winning at the next round of local elections. The bulk of election work and expense will be focused on this ward or wards.

A Secondary Target Ward is a ward with relatively good prospects and where a candidate may get some support from the wider Party. 

Target wards will normally be chosen at the AGM but can be changed by a quorate regular meeting provided that notice has been given. For by-elections, the EA must decide whether there is sufficient time for a local selection procedure.

Non Target Wards are also referred to as other wards. Candidates for other wards will be selected by a regular meeting. If there is only one nomination then the candidate may be selected by open voting, unless any member present wants a secret ballot.

4. NOMINATIONS

All members eligible to be councillors shall be written to, inviting them to stand for nomination. They will be informed of the target wards and the date(s) nominations close, which may well be different for target and other wards. Their nominations are normally forwarded by the EA.

Prior to balloting, and to avoid competitive elections the EA or deputy may facilitate dialogue designed to achieve consensus among potential candidates. If competitive ballots are to take place the EA will try to organise ballots in order of target priority. For other wards where no nominations are received, nominations may be reopened and invitations to stand be issued on an informal basis.

6. DESELECTION

At any stage of the procedure a candidate may be deselected. To deselect a candidate, a meeting shall be called of the full membership.

The candidate involved will be informed of the meeting and will have the right to speak once at any point to state their case and at the end of the meeting to answer the points made. If they wish, and the meeting approves, they may answer questions.

Ballot papers will then be issued to the meeting and a secret ballot will take place. A majority vote of those present at the meeting will be sufficient to deselect the candidate.

7. AMENDMENTS

This document may only be amended at an AGM of the party. Amendments may only be considered if proposed and seconded in writing to the secretary in time for them to be included in the written notification for the AGM.