Wales Green Party
Constitution
and related documents – valid from 1st Dec 2007
Contents
·
WGP Constitution
and Byelaws
WGP
Standing Orders for the Conduct of Conferences
Standing
Orders of Wales Green Party Council
Wales
Green Party Constitution
1)
TITLE
i)
The names of the Party shall be "Plaid Werdd Cymru" and "Wales
Green Party". The accepted abbreviations of these will be PWC and WGP
respectively. In all publications of WGP these names and abbreviations shall be
synonymous.
ii)
The Party shall consist of Local Parties which shall be called the "Plaid
Werdd {geographical name in Welsh}" and "{geographical name in
English} Green Party".
iii) For electoral purposes either the
national title or local title or a shortened form shall be used.
2)
OBJECT
i)
The object shall be to promote in Wales the aims of the Green Party, which are:
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; and
c)
To organise any non-violent activity which will publicise and further the first
two aims.
3)
STATUS AND FORM
i)
Wales Green Party is a constituent part of The Green Party. Unless and until
decided otherwise by a postal ballot of its membership, Wales Green Party shall
have the status and discharge the responsibilities of an Autonomous Area Party
as defined in the Constitution of The Green Party.
4)
MEMBERSHIP
i)
Membership will be organised into Local Parties in accordance with Byelaw 1 of
this Constitution.
ii) Membership shall comprise all those
members of The Green Party living in Wales for whom the appropriate portion of
the membership fee has been paid to Wales Green Party, and who are not members of any
other political party.
iii) Subscription rates for membership
shall be those set at the annual conference of The Green Party.
iv)
In Wales, all Green Party candidates for election to any level of government
shall be members of the Green Party at the time of selection and at
the time of nomination.
v) No member of the Party may be a
candidate for any other political party in an election for any level of
government. No member of the Party may be a candidate for The Green Party
jointly with any other political party, and no member of another political
party may stand for that party jointly with The Green Party. However, this
should not exclude joint election campaigns.
5)
ORGANISATION
i)
Wales Green Party shall have a Council responsible for the day-to-day running
of the Party, and for interim decisions between Conferences.
ii)
For the purposes of representation on the Wales Green Party Council, the Wales
Green Party shall consist of Local Green Parties. Subject to Byelaw 1below,
each Local Party shall be entitled to send one representative to the Wales
Green Party Council.
iii)
Following the selection of a Party List for a National Assembly region, a
Regional Campaign Team (RCT) shall be established for that region. Members of
the RCT shall be Wales Green Party members. The organisation, powers and duties
of an RCT shall be those specified in Byelaw 4 below.
6)
WALES GREEN PARTY COUNCIL
i)
The Wales Green Party Council (WGPC) shall consist of the representatives of
the Local Green Parties as defined in Clause 5(ii) above, plus the officers of
Wales Green Party elected by its Annual General Meeting, as defined in Clause
6(ii) below, plus the Wales Green Party representatives on The Green Party
Regional Council, as defined in Clause 6(iii) below, plus the Spokesperson and
Deputy Spokesperson, as defined in Clause 6(iv) below, all of whom shall be
full voting members of WGPC.
ii) The officers of Wales Green Party,
who shall be elected by the Annual General Meeting of the Party to serve for
the following year, shall be those listed in Byelaw 2 of this Constitution.
iii)
The Wales Green Party representatives on The Green Party Regional Council shall
be elected by postal ballot of the area membership to serve for the following
two years, and shall have full voting rights on WGPC.
iv) The
Wales Green Party Spokesperson and Deputy Spokesperson shall be elected by
postal ballot of the WGP membership to serve for the following year, and shall
have full voting rights on WGPC. The Spokesperson and Deputy spokesperson shall
be of different gender. Provisions for the election of the Spokesperson and
Deputy Spokesperson are set out in Byelaws to this constitution. The role of
the Spokesperson and the Deputy Spokesperson will be to represent the Party and
communicate its policies to the public and the media and to support candidates
and local parties in campaigns and elections. In carrying out their roles the
Spokesperson and Deputy Spokesperson may use the titles "Leader of Wales
Green Party" and "Deputy Leader of Wales Green Party"
respectively.
v) The WGPC shall meet at least four
times per year within Wales. Additional meetings may be held outside of Wales
(for example, at GPEW Conference) at the discretion of the General Secretary.
Meetings within Wales will be rotated between the regions on a regular basis.
These meetings shall be open to all members of the Party as observers, and the
WGPC may invite any person to attend as an advisor. Meetings of WGPC shall be
convened by the General Secretary and publicised in Green Wales.
vi)
The business of WGPC shall be governed by Standing Orders. Between Annual
General Meetings of Wales Green Party the WGPC shall be empowered to co-opt a
member or members to fill any posts listed in Byelaw 2 below which fall vacant,
but a co-opted member shall not vote.
vii) The quorum for WGPC meetings shall consist of officers
of Wales Green Party, the Spokesperson and Deputy Spokesperson and Wales Green
Party representatives on The Green Party Regional Council, as defined above,
totalling four; plus three Local Party representatives.
viii)
No member may be elected to the same post or sit on the same body for more that
5 terms consecutively. This ruling shall be applied strictly to Wales Green
Party posts, but is only advisory for elected posts in local parties, including
that of Local Party Representative on Wales Green Party Council.
7)
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
i)
The Party shall hold an Annual Conference every Autumn, which shall be the
Annual General Meeting of the Party and its policy-making forum on matters
pertaining to Wales.
ii)
The WGPC shall be empowered to call Special Conferences between Annual
Conferences,
which shall have all the powers of an Annual Conference except the power to
amend this Constitution. An Annual Conference may also decide by resolution to
hold a Special Conference before the next Annual Conference, and the power to
amend this Constitution may only be delegated to a Special Conference by a
resolution of the previous Annual Conference.
iii)
The business of the Annual Conference and any Special Conference shall be
governed by the Wales Green Party Standing Orders for the Conduct of
Conferences (SOCC). Each Annual Conference shall elect a Wales Green Party
Standing Orders Committee with five members, who shall serve until the end of
the next Annual Conference and whose duties shall be laid down in the Wales
Green Party SOCC.
iv)
Each Annual Conference shall elect an Electoral Returning Officer (ERO), who
shall serve until the end of the next Annual Conference and shall have overall
responsibility for the conduct of all those internal elections which are
provided for in this constitution, subject to any Byelaws setting out selection
procedures for elections to the Welsh Assembly. In the event of this post
falling vacant, the WGPC may appoint an Acting ERO to fulfil this role until
such time as a new ERO may be elected by the next available Annual or Special
Conference.
8) POLICY
MAKING
i) All
policy motions adopted by WGP Conferences shall be incorporated into the
Party’s policy document, the Manifesto for a Sustainable Society in Wales
(MfSSiW).
ii) Where
the adopted policy motion does not specify amendment of or addition to an
existing section of the MfSSiW, it will be added to the Manifesto of Policy
Statements of Wales Green Party (MoPSoWGP). The MoPSoWGP is comprised of two
sections, ‘Active Policy Statements’ and ‘Lapsed Policy Statements’. Any policy
statements passed before the 2002 AGM will initially be added to the ‘Lapsed
Policy Statements’ section. Policy statements passed on or after the 2002 AGM
will be added to the ‘Active Policy Statements’ section. Only policy statements
in the ‘Active Policy Statements’ section are WGP policy. Policy statements may
be moved between the two sections by motion passed by WGPC. Such a motion will
only have effect until the next Party Conference and it shall be submitted as a
policy motion by WGPC to the next WGP Conference.
iii)
Where the MfSSiW is silent on a policy issue, WGP may adopt policy on the issue
by motion passed at WGPC. Where such a policy motion is adopted by WGPC it
shall only have effect until the next Party Conference and it shall be
submitted as a policy motion by WGPC to the next WGP Conference.
9)
AMENDMENT OF THIS CONSTITUTION
i)
All previous Constitutions of Wales Green Party are hereby revoked.
ii)
Except as specified by Section 3 above, this Constitution may only be revoked
or amended by a two-thirds majority of members voting at an Annual Conference,
or at a Special Conference empowered so to do in accordance with Clause 7(ii)
above.
iii)
Clause 3(i) of this Constitution may be revoked only by a two-thirds majority
of members voting in a postal ballot of the Wales membership, and such a ballot
may be instigated only by a resolution carried by a two-thirds majority voting
at an Annual Conference or by The Green Party Regional Council in the exercise
of its power under Clause 5 of Appendix B of the Constitution of The Green
Party.
iv)
The following Byelaws to this Constitution may be amended or revoked, or new
Byelaws adopted, by means of a resolution carried by a simple majority of
members voting at an Annual Conference or at a Special Conference
empowered
to make amendments to this Constitution.
[As
amended at the 2004 AGM in Cardiff where the following sections were added or
modified: Sections 4) iii), 8) ii) and subsequently at 2005 AGM where
subsection 6) viii) was added.]
BYELAWS
1)
ORGANISATION OF LOCAL PARTIES
i)
The organization of local parties in Wales shall be in accordance with Section
5 of the ‘Constitution of the Green Party’.
ii)
Where the ‘Constitution of the Green Party’ requires local parties to provide
information to “Party Office”, such reports shall also be copied to the General
Secretary of Wales Green Party.
iii)
For the purposes of representation on WGPC, a Local Party shall consist of at
least five members, excluding any associate members.
iv)
In order to receive capitation from Wales Green Party, a Local Party shall:
a) Hold at least two meetings per year.
One of these shall be the Local Party’s Annual General Meeting, at which Local
Party Officers will be elected. All meetings shall be advertised to all members
of the local party.
b) Open a bank or building society
account, and notify WGP Treasurer of account details.
c) Within 12 months of formation, lodge a
written constitution with the General Secretary of Wales Green Party. The
constitution should include provision for winding up the local party, and
specific instructions for disposal of Local Party funds in the event of winding
up or ceasing to function.
v)
The General Secretary of WGP shall be responsible for maintaining a list of
recognized local parties and their officers.
2)
OFFICERS OF WALES GREEN PARTY
i)
The officers of Wales Green Party shall be: General Secretary, Membership
Secretary, Treasurer, Press Officer, Local Party Development Officer, Campaigns
Coordinator, Elections Coordinator, Green Wales Editor, Conferences
Coordinator, Website Manager and Fund-raising Officer.
ii)
That these party officers shall be elected at the Autumn AGM and shall hold
office from 1st January until 31st December the following year.
3)
PROCEDURES FOR THE SELECTION OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CANDIDATES
1.
Any Green Party (GP) member wishing to stand as a National Assembly (NA) Party
List candidate for the GP in an NA region where there is no Local Party or
total membership is less than 20, or in a First Past the Post (FPTP) seat not
covered by a Local Party, must have the written consent of Wales Green Party
Council (WGPC).
2.
In the event of a dispute within a Local Party or between Local Parties
concerning the adoption of a prospective NA candidate, WGPC may be called upon
to arbitrate.
3.
The procedure for the selection of NA candidates, both FPTP and Party List,
must ensure that:
a)
The prospective candidates are democratically selected by all eligible GP
members resident in the NA region in the case of Party List candidates, and by
all eligible GP members resident in the Westminster constituency in the case of
FPTP candidates
b)
There is provision for postal voting.
c)
At least one notice is sent in reasonable time to each member resident in the relevant
area, giving details of: the selection meeting; the timetable leading up to it;
the procedure for nominations; the procedure for voting.
d)
Voting shall be conducted by the STV method of proportional representation, and
the procedure will be such that members can reject all candidates nominated, in
favour of re-opening nominations.
4.
Members shall be eligible to vote in FPTP and Party List selection procedures
provided they have been in membership of WGP for three months continuously at
the time of nominations closing; and provided they are resident within the NA
region in the case of a Party List election or resident within the constituency
in the case of an FPTP election.
5.
The selection of FPTP NA candidates under these rules shall be solely a matter
for the relevant Local Party or Local Parties, subject to (2), (3), (4) and
(11) in these procedures, and shall be organised by the Local Party Electoral
Returning Officer(s) (ERO(s)).
6.
The EROs of Local Parties within each NA region shall liaise in a timely and
constructive way to appoint a National Assembly Chief Electoral Returning
Officer (NACERO) for that NA region, bearing in mind that it would be
undesirable for the NACERO to be a relative of or live in the same household as
any member seeking selection.
7.
In the event of difficulty in appointing a NACERO, any Local Party in the
region concerned may invite the Wales ERO to act as NACERO.
8.
In the event of a dispute between Local Party EROs within an NA region, WGPC
may be called upon to arbitrate.
9.
The NACERO shall be ineligible to stand in the NA elections.
10.
Subject to these procedures, the NACERO shall be responsible for and have
authority over:
a)
Procedures for the selection of Party List NA candidates in the NA region, and
the implementation of those procedures.
b)
Procedures for ordering the Party List in the NA region, and the implementation
of those procedures.
c)
Liaison with the Wales ERO.
d)
Liaison regarding the Party List with the electoral authorities in the NA
region.
11.
Party List and FPTP candidates shall have been members of WGP for one year
continuously at the time of nominations closing.
12.
As part of the selection procedures under 3(c) above, Party List candidates
shall provide a written selection statement to a maximum length specified by
the NACERO; candidates shall attend and participate in the selection meeting,
including making themselves available for questioning by members; and
candidates shall specify whether they would be standing as "active"
or "paper" candidates.
13.
As part of the selection procedures under 3(c) above, Party List candidates
shall affirm in writing to the NACERO that they will not withdraw from the
list, nor change from being "active" to "paper" candidates,
should they not be selected as the Lead candidate.
14.
Any of the following shall render a candidate's selection nomination invalid:
Failure to provide a written selection statement, under 10 above;
Failure
to attend and participate in the selection meeting, under 10 above;
Failure
to specify "active" or "paper" candidate status, under 10
above;
Failure
to make an affirmation on non-withdrawal, under 13 above.
15.
When the Party List is being ordered by the NACERO, all candidates stating a
willingness to be "active" shall be deemed to be selected above all
"paper" candidates, irrespective of actual votes cast.
16.
Once a Party List has been ordered by the NACERO, the RCT shall be empowered to
extend downwards the "active" and "paper" sections of that
list by decision of an RCT meeting.
17.
Membership information relating to GP members resident in Wales who last
subscribed to GP membership through the England and Wales Party Office shall be
obtained from Party Office by the Wales Green Party membership secretary and
passed on to the Local Party Contacts if this has not already occurred. This
information will be held in the Wales Green Party membership database and will
be passed to the various EROs and NACEROs upon request.
18.
Authority to apply any special criteria when ordering the Party List (eg
criteria relating to gender) shall rest with the members resident in the NA
region. Should members in the NA region request the application of special
criteria, the NACERO shall seek members' agreement as part of the postal
selection process.
19.
Should WGPC wish to advise NACEROs on special criteria or any other aspect of the selection process, such advice
shall be conveyed via the Wales ERO, preferably in writing.
20.
WGPC may, at its discretion, deselect an individual Party List candidate after
a hearing during a WGPC meeting in which the candidate has been given an
opportunity to put the case against their deselection.
21.
If a Lead candidate withdraws from a selected Party List, or ceases to be a WGP
member, the selection process shall be rerun in a timely way at the RCT's
expense. If a candidate other than the Lead candidate withdraws from a selected
Party List, or ceases to be a WGP member, that person's name shall be removed
from the list and each lower candidate on the list shall be moved up one place
to fill the gap.
22.
In the event of a NA FPTP byelection, the above procedures shall apply unless
the Local Party ERO(s) has/have obtained the written consent of WGPC for
specific variations in the procedures.
23.
In the event of a casual vacancy on the NA to be filled from a Party List, the
next person on the current list shall be selected.
24.
In the event of an FPTP seat not having a candidate or a NA region not having a
Party List by five months before polling day, WGPC may undertake a procedure to
select a candidate or create a Party List using the above procedures as
guidelines.
4)
REGIONAL CAMPAIGN TEAMS
i)
A Regional Campaign Team (RCT) shall be empowered to fund-raise, both inside
the party and externally, and to enter into spending commitments related to
National Assembly election campaigns.
ii)
An RCT shall be empowered to devise regional policies and issue campaign
literature
and other materials related to National Assembly elections, provided that no
policy, statement or other form of words shall contradict any aspect of Green
Party or Wales Green Party policy.
iii)
An RCT shall appoint officers, including a Regional Election Agent, a Treasurer
and a Campaign Manager.
iv)
An RCT shall keep minutes of its meetings, and shall provide such minutes to
any Wales Green Party member on request, free or at cost.
5)
MULTI-LINGUAL PROVISION WITHIN WGP
i) The
following WGP publications shall be published in both English and Welsh: the
WGP constitution and standing orders, membership cards, all standard forms and
all standard letters produced by WGP. The Constitution and Standing Orders
shall indicate the language in which the original was produced in footnotes to
be maintained by SOC. In the event of any discrepancy the version in the
language of the original is to be preferred.
ii) WGP
shall support both English and Welsh languages in its websites although not all
the content of these need be in both languages.
iii) All
WGP officers will endevour to respond to all communications in the language
used in the communication.
6)
ELECTION OF SPOKESPERSON AND DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON
i)
Nominations for the posts of Spokesperson and Deputy Spokesperson shall be
opened at least six weeks before the AGM at which hustings for the posts shall
be conducted.
ii) These
posts shall be elected by postal ballot of the WGP membership conducted within
1 month of the AGM. All the candidates for the posts will be entered in a STV
ballot including provision for negative voting. The ballot will produce an
ordered list of the candidates. The person who is first on the list will be
returned as Spokesperson. The next person down the list of opposite gender to
the Spokesperson will be returned as Deputy Spokesperson. The Spokesperson and Deputy
Spokesperson will hold office from 1st January to 31st December the following
year.
iii)
Should the post of Spokesperson become vacant between elections it will pass to
the next person down the list. Should the post of Deputy Spokesperson become vacant
between elections then it will pass to the next person down the list of
opposite gender to the Spokesperson. Where there is no such person it shall
pass to the highest person on the list not already elected.
Iv)
Where a vacancy arises after following the above procedure WGPC may co-opt a person to the post for the remainder of the
term of office.
7)
ELECTION OF REGIONAL COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES
i) Nominations for the post of Regional Council
Representative shall be opened at least six weeks before the AGM at which
hustings shall be conducted.
ii) These posts shall be elected
by postal ballot of the WGP membership conducted within 1 month of the AGM. All
the candidates will be entered in a STV ballot including provision for negative
voting. The ballot will produce an ordered list of the candidates. The person
who is first on the list will be returned as a Regional Council Representative.
Where both Regional Council Representative posts are being contested the
next person down the list will also be
returned as a Regional Council Representative. The Regional Council
Representatives will hold office from the following 1st January for two years.
iii) Should a Regional Council
Representative post become vacant elections for the post shall be held within 1
month of the next AGM.
iv) WGPC may co-opt a person to
the post of Regional Council Representative until the election is held.
v) Regional Council
Representatives may also hold any other office within WGP apart from WGP
ERO."
END
OF CONSTITUTION
[The
original of this document is in English]
[As
amended by the 2003 AGM in Newport where the following sections were added or
modifed: Byelaw 1 sections iv, v, vi and Byelaw 7. As amended by the 2004 AGM
in Cardiff where the following sections were added or modified Byelaw 3
subsection 17.]
Wales Green Party Standing Orders for the Conduct of
Conferences
Contents:
Section A:
Timetable
Section B: Attendance and Representation
Section C: First Agenda
Section D: Final Agenda
Section E: Conference Procedure
Section F: Special Conferences
Section G: Suspension of Standing Orders
Section H: Additional Duties
Section I: Miscellaneous
Definition of terms:
In these Standing Orders:
'Party' or 'WGP' means Wales Green Party,
'AGM' means an Annual General Meeting of the Party,
'Conference' means a Party Conference,
'Council' or 'WGPC' means the Wales Green Party
Council,
'ERO' means the Party Electoral Returning Officer
'MfSSiW' means the Wales Green Party policy book, the
Manifesto for a Sustainable Society in Wales,
'SO' means Standing Order,
'SOC' means the
Wales Green Party Standing Orders Committee,
Section A: Timetable
A1. At least ten weeks before the opening day of a
Conference the SOC shall publish in the Party Newsletter the date and venue of
the Conference, deadlines for receipt of motions and amendments, details on
provision of agenda papers and the name and address of a contact to whom
enquiry may be made.
A2. Motions and Policy Papers shall be delivered to
the Convenor of SOC not later than eight weeks before the opening day of
Conference. The proposers of substantive motions shall give a contact address
for amendments.
A3. The SOC shall issue the First Agenda not later
than six weeks before the opening day of Conference and shall cause that Agenda
to be sent within that time to each Local Party Contact and each party member
who has requested a copy since the publication of the conference detail
required under subsection A1. The First Agenda shall include all motions and
policy papers accepted by SOC and shall give the contact address for each
substantive motion. The First Agenda shall include a form for a prioritisation
ballot as required under SO D1.
A4. The First Agenda shall list posts for election and
invite nominations for them.
A5. Amendments to motions shall be delivered to the
Convenor of SOC not later than four weeks before the opening day of Conference.
A6. Reports by Party Officers, accounts and
nominations for elected officers (when appropriate) shall be delivered to the
Convenor of SOC not later than four weeks before the opening day of Conference.
A7. The Final Agenda shall be sent by such means as
will ensure its arrival not later than two weeks before the opening day of
Conference to each Local Party Contact, and each member who has booked a place
at Conference and paid the booking fee if applicable.
A8. SOC shall submit a Report with the Final Agenda
and shall notify how many motions have been ruled out of order and publish the
same.
A9. If it is necessary to combine some of the motions
into a composite motion both the original and composited motions shall be
published in the First Agenda (see SO D4).
A10.The SOC convenor shall be responsible for the
notification of agenda deadlines through the Party Newsletter.
Section B: Attendance and Representation
B1. Implementation of this section is the
responsibility of the Conference Coordinator. The Coordinator shall specify
arrangements for bookings and registrations.
B2. Attendance at Conference shall be by members of
WGP. Other persons may be admitted as observers.
B3. Places at Conference shall be bookable in advance
and may entail payment of a booking fee. Until four weeks before Conference,
sufficient places shall be reserved for members whose presence is required for
the business and organisation of Conference. Bookings by members shall normally
be accepted first come, first served.
B4. The members who shall be given priority in booking
places under SO B3, shall be:
a) Officers of WGP and members of SOC;
b) a proposer for each motion and amendment;
c) members who
are candidates for election at Conference, for whom valid nomination papers
have been received;
d) other members whose presence the Conference
Coordinator considers to be required for the business or organisation of
Conference.
Section C: First Agenda
C1. Motions may be submitted by any constituted WGP
Local Party, by WGPC, by a constituted Committee or Working Group of the Party,
or submitted and signed by any four individual members. No more than four
motions may be submitted to the First Agenda by any Committee, Working Group,
or Local Party, or submitted and signed by any four individual members (not
counting motions required of them by Standing Orders or the Constitution).
Motions submitted by a Local Party must have been adopted by a properly
convened meeting thereof and must be signed by three officials thereof and one
Party member also present at the meeting. The signatories of motions submitted
by a Committee or Working Group must include the Convenor and three other Party
members. Any member may not sign more than four motions, excluding those signed
by them as officers of WGP or a Local Party, or on behalf of a Committee or
Working Group.
With the texts of their motions, proposers shall be
required to submit synopses of them not exceeding 100 words. These shall be
published in the First Agenda. The names of signatories and a contact address
shall be published with each motion. All the above regarding the adoption and
signing of motions, but not their number, shall also apply to amendments to the
motions.
C2. Members of SOC may neither propose nor second
motions or amendments thereto, except as provided in SO C3 below, but may speak
to them.
C3. SOC shall propose a motion to accept the report of
the SOC and this motion shall normally be the first business of any Conference.
Any members of SOC may propose or second an amendment or amendments to this
motion. SOC shall also be responsible for ensuring that the Agenda of every AGM
shall include motions to accept the reports of the WGP Officers and any other
motions required by the Constitution and if any such motions have not been
received by the due date from the appropriate Party Officers, they shall be
proposed formally by SOC. Motions to accept Reports where the substance of such
Reports is not available until the publication of the Final Agenda shall be
open to amendments proposed and seconded from the floor of Conference. Members
of SOC may not propose or second such amendments except for amendments to the
Report of SOC. SOC may also propose a motion or motions to amend the
Constitution, these Standing Orders and other Standing Orders as specified in
SO H1(c), and if such a proposal is moved by SOC individual members of SOC
shall acquire the right to propose or second amendments to that proposal.
However, members of SOC shall not acquire such right in respect of proposals to
amend the Constitution, these Standing Orders and other Standing Orders as
specified in SO H1(c) which are proposed by anyone other than SOC.
C4. For each Party Conference the WGPC may select one
section of the MfSSiW for the conference to discuss.
(a) Any choice of a section for review shall be
advertised, and notified directly to relevant policy working groups before the
deadline for motions.
(b) If fewer than two policy motions affecting the
MfSSiW are expected for the conference, then WGPC shall make such a selection.
Otherwise WGPC may choose whether to make a selection.
(c) The WGPC shall propose the existing policy as a
motion, to be amended. If the motion is lost, whether amended or not, the
existing policy shall remain. Such motions shall be placed in Section B of the
agenda (see SO C9).
C5. SOC shall not propose or second policy motions.
C6. Motions or amendments shall be submitted in
writing on or before the last day calculated in accordance with SO Section
A except for Emergency Motions.
C7. Motions shall be accepted which propose: change,
deletion, addition or alteration to the Constitution of WGP, the Organisation
of the Party, Party Policy, or which commit the Party to activities consistent
with its philosophy and policies.
C8. Motions or amendments to motions shall be ruled
out of order on grounds of being:
(a) contrary to the Constitution,
(b) retrospective in their effect,
(c) ambiguous,
(d) vague,
(e) trivial or requiring no consequential action,
C9. The SOC shall compile the motions accepted into a
First Agenda, which shall be divided into three sections which shall be:
Section A - motions required to be taken by the
Constitution or Standing Orders, or in fulfilment of a resolution at a previous
Conference;
Section B - policy motions
Section C - organisational motions, except those which
belong in Section A.
C10. Motions in sections B and C of the First Agenda
shall be put in order according to the following priority: motions submitted by
WGPC or its committees or working groups should have highest priority; motions
submitted by Local Parties shall have middle priority; motions submitted by
individual members shall have lowest priority, with the exception that motions
on the same subject should appear together.
Section D: Final Agenda
D1. There may be a postal ballot of members to
prioritise motions in the First Agenda for the Final Agenda, if motions to
Conference exceed 15 in number and are deemed by SOC to be in need of
prioritisation. The ballot itself may take place at any time before the first
session of conference. The arrangements for this ballot shall be at the
discretion of SOC, subject to SO A3 above and the following criteria:
(a) a single ballot will be accepted from any party
member and all ballots will be treated equally;
(b) SOC shall decide the procedure to be used and
announce it in the First Agenda;
(c) The ballot shall not be used to prioritise items
within Section A, since these should all be considered;
D2. Where a postal prioritisation ballot is held under
SO D1, motions that have received no prioritisation votes shall at the
discretion of SOC be removed from the Final Agenda.
D3. Amendments to motions which negate the original
shall not be accepted. Amendments to policy motions which are purely textual or
grammatical shall be marked as such in the conference agenda, and shall be
decided by WGPC and not by Conference.
D4. SOC may consolidate motions into a single
composite motion and publish the composite motion together with the individual
motions. The composite motion shall be put by SOC to Conference for acceptance
or rejection and shall be accepted or rejected on a simple majority. In the
event of such a rejection, the individual motions shall be voted upon in an
order to be determined by SOC subject to approval by Conference.
D5. Final Agenda
(a) SOC shall compile the motions and amendments
accepted into a Final Agenda, which shall be divided into sections in the same
way as the First Agenda. Each section may be divided into subsections, each of
which shall correspond to one or more plenary sessions of conference. SOC will allocate sections and subsections to
plenary sessions in consultation with the Conferences Coordinator.
(b) The order of motions in sections or subsections of
Section A shall be determined by SOC.
(c) The order of motions in sections or subsections of
Sections B and C shall be determined by SOC. In this the SOC shall have first
regard to the results of the members' prioritisation ballot under SO D1. Each
motion published in the Final Agenda shall be accompanied by a note of the
number of votes it received in that ballot.
(d) The SOC shall have discretion to vary the order of
the Final Agenda from that indicated by the prioritisation ballot. SOC may
exercise this discretion:
(i) in consultation with the WGPC to give special
priority to any motion in Section C because of the lack of policy in a specific
area where it is needed.
(ii) because of the need to debate motions which
affect other motions in an appropriate order, or the desirability of placing
motions on the same subject together.
(iii) to give special priority to any motion in
Section C which SOC considers to be urgent for the resolution of controversy or
for the continuing functioning of the Party or any part thereof.
(iv) having regard to the previous Conference history
of motions, including whether they have been submitted for debate previously.
Any exercise of this discretion shall be notified to
Conference in the report of SOC. The decision of SOC to exercise, or not to
exercise, this discretion in regard to any motion may be overruled by
Conference by the passing of an amendment to the SOC report.
(f) In allocating motions to subsections and
subsections to sessions, SOC shall seek to ensure that motions that are more
highly prioritised do not have a smaller chance of being reached than less
highly prioritised motions. If there are motions yet unreached although less
highly prioritised motions in the same section have been reached, SOC shall
seek to ensure that they are debated in any remaining business session.
D6. Errors in the Agenda shall be notified in writing
to the Convenor of SOC who shall include any such reported error in the SOC
Report at the commencement of Conference. Errors shall not invalidate the
published Agenda but Conference may accept a correction to the Final Agenda if
accepted by a two-thirds majority.
Section E: Conference Procedure
E1. SOC shall ensure that adequate plenary time is made
available at the AGM for full and frank hustings to be held for all elections
to be held during Conference.
E2. The sections listed in SO C9 should all receive a
suitable allotment of time for discussion by Conference. A session may be
shared by one or more subsections to be taken in a specified order. The first
item of business shall be the SOC report. Acceptance of this report confirms
the allocation of motions to subsections and the order of motions within
subsections.
E3. One motion at any conference may be taken at any
time without regard to the prioritisation ballot. This may be done only by a
decision of the WGPC which is taken before Conference and reported at the start
of Conference. Any objection(s) shall be made in the debate on the SOC report
and agenda, and a vote shall then be taken to decide whether the WGPC’s
decision shall be accepted or reversed.
E4. Elections
(a) Nominations for posts to be filled by postal
ballot shall be submitted to the ERO in accordance with deadlines published in the
First Agenda.
(b) Nominations shall be proposed by one member,
seconded by one member, and accompanied by the consent of the nominee where the
proposer is not also the nominee.
(c) Nominations for posts to be filled by ballot at
conference shall be submitted to the ERO In accordance with deadlines published
in the first agenda.
(d) The ERO shall prepare and issue voting papers,
scrutinise and count votes and cause the results to be published orally at
Conference and in writing by announcement in the next Party Newsletter
following Conference.
(e) Voting shall be by means of the Single
Transferable Vote. Members of SOC shall take office at the end of the AGM at
which they were elected.
(f) Committees elected by Conference may co-opt
members for unfilled vacancies but shall notify WGPC and the membership in the
Party Newsletter.
E5. Motions
(a) If SOC considers that the volume of business
renders its adequate consideration unlikely, it may recommend that a certain
number of motions and amendments be provisionally excluded. The final decision
rests with Conference.
(b) No motions or amendments not included in the First
or Final Agenda shall be discussed or voted upon except for:
(i) procedural motions.
(ii) minor textual amendments which do not
substantially alter the original motion.
(iii) Emergency motions.
(c) Procedural motions arising in the course of
Conference shall require a proposer and seconder in the normal manner.
E6. The role of Chairperson
(a) The customary procedures of debate shall be
followed except where these Standing Orders expressly state otherwise. The
Chairperson of any session shall be responsible for interpreting the procedures
and orders, subject to the right of any member to appeal against a
Chairperson's ruling to SOC.
(b) The Chairperson of any session may call for an
indicative vote i.e. an approximate and non-binding count to assess the feeling
of Conference, if, in his or her judgement, such a vote would assist the
business in hand.
E7. Nonmembers may attend any session of Conference on
payment of the appropriate fee but they may be excluded from any session by a
majority vote of those members present at that session.
E8. SOC may, in its report to conference, propose the
following procedure for a specific motion. Alternatively, a workshop on the
motion may propose that this procedure is used.
(i) A basket shall be defined as a subset (possibly
all) of the amendments to the motion.
(ii) There shall be a general debate on all the
amendments in a basket followed by a series of votes on the amendments within
the basket with no further debate in between. At the start of a basket debate
and after hearing the report of any workshop on the amendments the chair may
propose that debate be limited to a specific time, subject to the fulfilment of
the specific requirements in (iii).
(iii) During the general debate, the chair will
attempt to balance the representation of different opinions. Proposers shall
have an opportunity to move their amendments. Where there are several
amendments from the same proposers, the chair may propose that they be moved
together. Where appropriate the chair shall give the proposers of the motion an
opportunity to respond to the amendments, and may require that this be to all
the amendments together.
(iv) Other baskets or ungrouped amendments will be
treated similarly, and when these have all been dealt with, the substantive
motion shall be considered as usual.
E9. Voting
(a) All Wales Green Party members attending Conference
shall be issued with voting cards for the days on which they are present at
Conference.
(b) Voting will be by a simple show of voting cards.
(c) Motions to amend the Constitution, all policy
motions, and all votes while Section A of Standing Orders has been suspended,
require a two-thirds majority. All other motions and amendments require only a
simple majority.
(d) In determining majorities, the majority required
must be obtained as a majority of votes for over votes against.
(e) A quorum shall be established by two
tests:
(i)
registration at conference by at least 7% of WGP members, based on a qualifying
number to be provided by the WGP Membership Secretary; and
(ii) one third of voting
cards issued for that day at Conference
rounded up to the nearest whole number. This number will be determined by SOC.
E10. Calling
members to speak
(a) When calling speakers, chairs’ primary duty is to
seek to ensure that Conference is empowered with the information and arguments
members need to reach decisions. To this end, chairs will have regard to
(i) whether a member asking to speak has indicated
that they have prepared a speech by completing a speaker slip and submitting it
before the start of the debate on the motion,
(ii) the value of calling speakers who seek to respond
to particular points raised during the debate,
(iii) whether a member asking to speak attended the
workshop on the motion.
(b) Chairs shall also seek to ensure that the range of
speakers called is broadly representative of Conference. To this end, when
calling speakers chairs shall seek to
(i) reflect the gender balance at Conference, and
other factors relevant in the particular debate,
(ii) give opportunities to speak to members who have
not already spoken at Conference.
Section F: Special Conferences
F1. The WGPC shall decide on conditions applying to
special Conferences based on these Standing Orders where practicable and
applicable. In all cases SO Section A (timetable), and SO E4 (elections) and SO
E9 (voting) shall apply.
Section G: Suspension of Standing Orders
G1. Section A of Standing Orders may be suspended to
discuss urgent business, subject to the following rules:
(a) Prior written notice of the motion to suspend
Section A of Standing Orders must be given to SOC and must include the text of
any Emergency motion to be debated under the suspension. Emergency motions must
be available for inspection for at least one hour before they are debated.
(b) Emergency motions shall only be accepted provided:
(i) the issue has arisen, or has substantially
changed, since the deadline for motions;
(ii) the motion is consistent with the MfSSiW and
neither changes nor adds to the text of the MfSSiW.
(c) No amendments to the Constitution or Standing
Orders are permitted under this suspension.
(d) A simple majority shall be required to suspend
Section A of Standing Orders. All voting during the suspension shall be as laid
down in SO E9, and shall require a two-thirds majority.
(e) The motion to suspend Section A of Standing Orders
is a procedural motion and shall be treated as such.
(f) Immediately the business is disposed of, by vote
or otherwise, Section A of Standing Orders is deemed to be in force without
further vote.
G2. Emergency motions shall normally be taken on the
last day of a conference following a procedure by which members may prioritise them.
The Conferences Co-ordinator shall have discretion to allocate earlier slots to
emergency motions, and may determine how emergency motions taken in such time
may be prioritised.
G3. SOC shall cause copies of all Emergency Motions
passed by conference to be published in the Party Newsletter. They shall not be
published in the MfSSiW.
Section H: Additional Duties
H1. (a) SOC
shall be responsible for verifying all changes to the Constitution, Standing
Orders and MfSSiW consequent upon the passing of resolutions by Conference.
(b) SOC shall produce an accurate record of Conference
decisions and publish the same within two months of the close of Conference in
the Party Newsletter.
(c) SOC shall prepare and publish Standing Orders for
the conduct of WGPC and secure approval of Conference for the said Standing
Orders.
H2. SOC shall from time to time draw up and publish an
example Local Party Constitution with additional notes to guide new Local
Parties.
Section I: Miscellaneous
I1. No one shall smoke during a session of Conference
in the Conference Hall.
I2. Morning and afternoon sessions of Conference shall
commence with a period of attunement to enable members of Conference to compose
themselves prior to the commencement of business. This period shall consist of
one minute's silence during which the doors of the Conference Hall shall remain
closed.
End of Wales Green Party Standing Orders for the
Conduct of Conferences
[The
original of this document is in English]
[As
amended at the 2003 WGP AGM in Newport where the following sections were added
or amended: C9.]
Standing
Orders of Wales Green Party Council
1. General
provisions
1.1 Terms
- In these standing orders, “Party"
means Wales Green Party, "Annual Conference" means a Party Annual
General Meeting. "Council" means Wales Green Party Council, "Returning Officer" means
the Party Electoral Returning Officer, and "the constitution" means
the Party Constitution.
1.2
Constitution - These standing orders are made under the constitution. They are
to be read and applied in conjunction with the relevant provisions of the
constitution. Nothing in these standing orders shall contradict any provision
of the constitution, and in the event of any conflict between these standing
orders and the constitution the latter shall prevail.
1.3
Standing orders - These standing orders shall apply at all times. They shall
apply not only to the members and meetings of the Council but also to anyone
engaged in activity for which the Council has a responsibility. These standing
orders may not be suspended.
1.4
Silence - Where these standing orders are silent, the General Secretary shall
make a ruling. Such a ruling shall be provided to the Council, and may be
changed by a decision of the Council.
2.
Responsibilities and accountability
2.1 Job
descriptions - The Council shall agree job descriptions for each of its
Officers and the other roles within Wales Green Party, which shall be provided
to the Returning Officer and made available to Party members on request.
2.2
Accountability - The Council shall seek to ensure that a clear line of
accountability exists for every decision for which the Council or any of its
members are responsible. A clear distinction shall be made between decisions
for which the Council is initially responsible collectively, and those for
which an individual member of the Council is initially responsible. All lines
of accountability for decisions shall
pass
through Council. A member of the Council who does not wish to be accountable
for a collective decision shall register his or her dissent from it at the time
the decision is made.
2.3 Consultation - In taking decisions and
acting in their particular area of responsibility members of the Council will
take the likely opinion of other members into consideration and, where
appropriate, consult with them in advance.
2.4 Record
keeping - Members of the Council will undertake to copy significant documents,
minutes etc., including notes of all decisions taken by the Council severally
or collectively to a main file held in Party Office. The General Secretary will
ensure the safe-keeping and eventual archiving of this file. The location of
the Party Office shall be agreed by the Council.
3.
Meetings of the Council
3.1
Responsibilities - The General Secretary shall be responsible for arranging
meetings of the Council and obtain agreement of the date, form and place of
meeting as appropriate, preparation and circulation of the agenda to be taken,
minutes and other papers, approval of the draft minutes for submission to the
Council and chairing the meeting. Meetings may take place in any form
previously agreed by the Council, for example by telephone or video conference.
3.2
Business to be discussed at meetings of the Council shall normally be published
in advance to its members in an agenda. Emergency business may be considered if
this is agreed by the Council. No other business which has not appeared in the
agenda shall be discussed.
3.3
Minutes shall be taken of Council meetings. The minutes shall record
attendance, decisions and votes, and such supporting discussion as is
considered worthy of record. Draft minutes of each meeting shall be provided to
the following meeting for approval. Proposed amendments of the draft minutes
shall normally be provided in writing.
3.4 Papers
- All papers for meetings are to be dated, signed, and marked prominently with
their purpose: for decision, information, discussion etc. Where ever possible
the person submitting the papers should also provide the General Secretary with
a copy in electronic format.
3.5
Timetable - Business for the agenda shall be notified to the General Secretary
not later than two weeks before the meeting. The agenda, draft minutes of the
previous meeting and other papers to be circulated with that agenda shall be
provided to the General Secretary not later than eight days before the meeting.
The agenda and papers shall be dispatched to members of the Council not later
than four days before the meeting.
3.6
Attendance – Party Officers shall normally attend all Council meetings, and
shall provide a sufficient apology in advance if absent. Local Parties should
make every effort to ensure they are represented at Council meetings and
provide a sufficient apology in advance if they will not be represented. The
Council shall invite such other people as they wish to attend.
3.7
Speaking - Members of the Council shall have the right to speak at meetings.
Others present may speak at the discretion of the Council. The number and order
of speakers shall be at the discretion of the General Secretary. The General
Secretary shall seek to ensure that debate is fair, informed and expeditious.
3.8 Making
decisions - Every effort shall be made to reach decisions by consensus. In the
absence of consensus, decisions shall be made by voting on proposals. The
General Secretary may call an indicative vote which is not binding, a
"straw poll", to ascertain the level of support for possible
decisions.
3.9
Proposals - A proposal may be put by any two members of the Council or by the
General Secretary. When more than one proposal has been tabled, the order in
which they are taken shall be at the discretion of the General Secretary. The
General Secretary shall have discretion whether to take a procedural proposal,
and whether to take a proposal which conflicts with a previous decision of the
meeting.
3.10
Voting shall be by show of hands. Each voting member of the Council shall have
one vote. For a proposal to be carried it must have votes in favour of a
majority of those Council members present.
3.11 No
smoking - There shall be no smoking in meetings.
3.12 Dates
published - The dates of all meetings of the Council shall normally be
published in the Party's Newsletter, unless they have been called at
insufficient notice for that to be possible. In the latter event all local
parties and Council officers shall be notified at least three weeks in advance
of the meeting.
3.13
Papers available - The agenda, minutes and other papers for meetings of the
Council shall be made available by the General Secretary to Party members on
payment of appropriate fees to cover the resources required to provide them.
3.14
Reports - The General Secretary shall ensure that reports on the work of the
Council are provided to the Annual Conference of the Party, and that articles on
the work are provided to the Party's Newsletter.
4.
Committees
4.1 Normal
arrangements - The Council shall agree a set of normal arrangements for
committees, which shall cover remit, delegation of powers, composition, voting
and administration. These arrangements shall be based on section 3 above where
appropriate. They shall also provide that the convenor of each committee be
elected by and from the Council, that the quorum for meetings be at least three
members of the committee of whom at least two shall be voting members, that
minutes shall be taken of meetings, and that meetings be open to Party members
and advertised.
4.3 Each
committee - A decision of the Council shall be required to establish each
committee. The committee shall have no executive powers except any specifically
delegated by decision of the Council. The Council shall agree a specific remit
for each committee, describing its role, any delegated powers, its membership,
its convenor and which members of the committee shall be allowed to vote.
4.4
Reports to the Council - Notice and minutes of each committee meeting shall be
circulated to all members of the Council. All committee convenors shall report
to meetings of the Council.
4.5
Information - The formation and role of committees shall be advertised in the
Party's Newsletter. The normal arrangements for committees and the specific
remit of each committee shall be made available to Party members on request.
5. Finance
5.1
Standing orders - The Council shall have the power to agree procedures relating
to finance which shall have effect as if part of these standing orders.
5.2
Authority - No-one shall commit the Party to any expenditure, loan or contract
without proper authority to do so. Anyone who does so without proper authority
knowingly or recklessly shall be held personally liable; anyone who does so
without proper authority otherwise may be held personally liable.
5.3 Record
- All expenditure, loans and contracts on behalf of the Party shall be properly
recorded in writing, and shall be signed by those responsible.
6. Changes
of Council Officers following the Annual General Meeting
6.1 Taking
office - Those declared elected as Officers of the Council shall be notified by
the Returning Officer forthwith. Each Officer shall take office on 1st January after receiving that notification.
From the time the notification is given to the 31st December there shall be a handover period, in
which the Officer Elect and their predecessor shall liaise. The predecessor
shall advise and assist the Officer Elect.
6.2 The Council shall normally meet within
one month of the Annual Conference. Officers Elect should attend meetings of
the Council. The first meeting of the new Council should take place in January.
6.3 Term
of decisions - Decisions of previous Council meetings continue to apply, unless
they are changed or suspended. A new Council may change or suspend decisions of
its predecessors.
6.4
Appointments and committees – existing appointments and the remit and
membership of existing committees, shall be submitted to the first meeting of
each new Council for confirmation. If such a decision is deferred, the status
quo will continue until it is made.
7.
Amendment of Standing Orders
7.1 By
conference - These standing orders may be amended by the Annual Conference or
by another conference to which power to do this has been specifically delegated
by the Annual Conference.
7.2 Modest
temporary amendments of these standing orders may be made by the Council, and
the amendments so made will stand until the next Annual Conference to which
they can be proposed for approval. If the temporary amendments are not brought
before that Annual Conference, or are not approved by that conference, the
standing orders will revert to the unamended version. Any temporary amendment
not brought before the Annual Conference or rejected by that conference may not
be made as a temporary amendment during the following year.
7.3
Implementing constitutional amendments - If the constitution is amended without
necessary and appropriate amendment of these standing orders, by agreement with
the Council the Standing Orders Committee may amend these standing orders as
required to accord with the amended constitution, without further
authorisation. Notification of such amendment shall be provided to the next
Party Conference.
End of
Standing Orders of Wales Green Party Council
[The
original of this document is in English]
[As
adopted at the 2003 WGP Special Conference in Rhayader]
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