DAY ONE BLOG
DAY ONE BLOG
Catch up with all the latest here for day one of founding conference:
We will keep this updated with all the latest at the Your Party conference. If you have any stories you would like us to cover or any questions then email us at info@dembloc.com.
DAY TWO UPDATES CAN BE READ HERE.
Killing time to stitch up the conference - choose between four bad names
4:34pm
The chair tells people that we have to talk about the naming of the party - this is killing the time of proper amendment debates in favour of a pointless, performative show
Chair claims that this is on the agenda - we wouldn’t know, it hasn’t been published
Chair is pulling up stewards to try to get rid of people who are standing up in opposition to this staged debate
First speaker calls out the stitch ups, calls out the leadership and calls out the s
Second speaker says clearly that they only reason for this debate is because they are killing time to stop amendments that have been endorsed actually being discussed.
Neither the first, nor the second, speaker actually like any of the options. But they both correctly make the point that this is a pointless debate.
The third speaker speaks for Popular Alliance and specifically to the name, rather than the wider issue at play. It has been mentioned throughout the day in conversations between delegates that apparently the most famous instance of this was for Franco’s party which is a big concern.
Fourth speaker compliments Laura chairing it and is speaking directly to the name.
THE FIRST MEMBER-WRITTEN AMENDMENT OF CONFERENCE
Public elected representatives should not accept gifts, donations or second jobs
4:25pm
First speaker is saying we are all here for a party of the people, not so that MPs can get free Sabrina Carpenter tickets.
Open question in this debate is whether this should apply to councillors - councillors are poorly paid, it seems unlikely that this can be applicable as this would mean councillors are on a salary of less than £20,000
Second speaker is opposed to the motion and saying that there are MPs who are doctors and surgeons and that they should keep working as doctors. “I am a pragmatist. I have an issue when gifts effect how you vote. But I don’t mind the odd free meal if they do a good job.” Not a great argument…
Carl, a 62 year old trade unionist, says that “all politicians take gifts… I have to work two jobs, into the nights sometimes. If you represent me, why are you taking gifts. The wages I pay you through my taxes should be enough.”
English CEC election structures - roadmap amendment 5
3:45pm
The choice is between electing a CEC by regional seat or by a national election with no seats tied to regions. Essentially the choice is either between a OMOV election or regions having ingrained power through set seats.
Second speaker isn’t really speaking to the motion.
Energy is definitely running low on conference floor - strangely enough debates on four different quoracy options didn’t hype up the delegates in the way we expected…
Community organising or branch spending? - roadmap amendment 4?
3:45pm
We think that the debate happening right now is the wrong debate. We are raising it now with the standing orders room.
UPDATE: This debate is a total write off because we do not know what is being discussed.
One speaker has brought up the money, which should be the topic of the debate. They are saying clearly that it should be members in charge of branch funds, not regional bureaucrats.
A jovial swipe taken at the farming villages by a speaker, but there's plenty of rural radicalism out there!
Now a speaker is supporting option B - they understandably think option B is about community organising. But it is actually an option that will give branch budgetary powers to regions, rather than branches.
OUR POSITION: Please support option A, all the power to the branches! Don’t put regional staff in charge of our branch budgets!
Amendment 3 - debate on branch meeting quoracy
3:35pm
There was very little appetite to speak on this - perhaps because the leadership are using this to pad the day out and stop amendments with over a thousand backers from being heard.
We have had one speaker for 20%, now another for 25% - both raise good points about the need for members to be organised and mobilised and that this should be the priority.
Now we have a speaker for a 50% quorum. They think that quorum will ensure that “endeavours” to make meetings accessible are actual “endeavours” that make it accessible rather than just tacit effort.
We also now have a speaker for a 40% quorum.
It’s a session for the real meeting anoraks - a debate on quorum size for branch meetings. 20%, 25%, 40% or 50%. The options look like those on a O-Level Maths paper. On a serious note, many people are arguing for the lowest percentage figure on the grounds that it’s difficult to travel to meetings in many areas of the country.
OUR POSITION: We want the lowest quoracy so that branches can meet easily and get organising quickly.
Dual membership
3:15pm
The first speaker is criticising The Green Party for not agreeing to implement no-cuts budgets. They are telling us about the brilliant history of Militant. But they were called to speak in favour of Option A and have only got round to opposing expulsions in his last seconds - saying “let’s not do in this party what Labour did to Militant.” So it would seem opposed to Green dual membership but in favour of The Socialist Party getting to be part of YP.
The first speaker against dual membership is actually speaking in favour of dual membership and is against option A and against option B - “the assemblies did not ask for a half membership, they asked for a party of the whole membership”. They were stopped by the chair and asked why they were on the podium and made the funny and pedantic position that they were speaking against Option A. This is obviously the product of a half baked stage management plan from the leadership. Notably, the individual speaking was annoyed with the leadership and within Islington Community Independents.
The second attempt from the chair to get the first speaker for Option B has failed again - oops! Another member wants to work together across the movement - work together in Stop the War, work together for Palestine, work together in trade unions. The feelings of the membership are clear - no expulsions, YES TO DUAL MEMBERSHIP. “The leadership would do far better to focus on the people attacking the working class, rather than attacking socialists and witch hunting people who happen to be a member of a socialist party. I am a member of the SWP, I haven’t been expelled. I do not expect to be expelled because I have been building this party with people across multiple left parties. We need to support working class people.”
The chair is telling people we need someone to speak to Option B because we believe in fairness…
The fourth speaker in the debate is speaking about the need for one member, one vote. “Dual membership means by definition means that some will have the power to out organise others.” The claim that this is anti-democracy is odd, it is also claimed that it is anti-socialism and that it could lead to ordinary members feeling less valued and that this is a recipe for disunity.
Another Option B speaker is being called….
Fifth speaker in the debate is from Cambridge and is thanking people who were in small revolutionary groups - she says that there are so many sectarian parties that there isn’t time to list them. They claim that all these projects have failed. They say thank you to them for their efforts. We can’t sit in echo chambers. “Now we have YOUR PARTY! TO UNITE US ALL.” The sectarian groups are supposedly irrelevant, they are trying to “infiltrate local groups with chauvinism”. They claim that it is the sectarians not supporting a fair debate… the irony seems lost on them that the debates have been closed down by the leadership, not the sects. “Say goodbye to a splintered left and hello to a united left to save this country from fascism”.
Sixth speaker is voting for Option B - saying we do not know what we stand for and that we need to know what we stand for before we let them in. They charge the SWP with covering up a rape. The SWP speaker from earlier is now shouting at the stage. The mic is cut off for the sixth speaker after their comment about rape.
Clearly the leadership can ban a few SWP members from membership, but the leadership lacks the skill and attention to detail to revoke their actual conference passes. Funny.
OUR POSITION: We think that dual membership is about unifying the left - specifically our founding committee think the emphasis should be on working with The Greens. Both options are bad but we think everyone should vote for Option A.
The speech we would have delivered on dual membership
(none of our members were picked to speak)
The debate on dual membership was always going to be heated.
Not least because the leadership have made their view on this clear already – they have made it clear through expelling people last night, on the eve of conference.
I can remember when those same tactics, expelling people on the eve of conference, were used by the Labour right against Jamie Driscoll in Newcastle. When they expelled his organiser on the eve of Labour North’s regional conference.
It is a travesty that before our party has even started, some have resorted to attacks on the membership.
But I am not just angry because nameless people have been acting without a mandate to expel members.
I am angry because the decision put to us here is not a real choice. It is an illusion of democracy – a choice between two bad options.
Option A puts power only in the hands of the CEC to decide on which parties we can share membership in.
Option B says we can have no dual membership.
The option is either a proscribed list written by the CEC, or a proscribed list that is written by the bureaucracy as they decide what is, and what is not, a political party.
There were amendments that called for an option C – one that let people share membership with any party so long as they do not campaign against Your Party candidates. Because we should have no crime of association in this party. We should be working with The Green Party – creating organic links. We should be a broad tent party that welcomes those active across the socialist movement.
And so it is on the record:
The SWP are not a registered political party. Yet they have faced expulsion. Who decided they should be expelled – we do not know. I have no time for the SWP, but I will not stand silent while they are treated so appallingly.
So
I urge you to vote for Option A – but more important than that I urge you to prepare for the next conference where we will mobilise for a genuine choice. Not a choice orchestrated by an unaccountable, unnamed bureaucracy.
[Andrew Hedges, Chair of The Democratic Bloc]
Maybe we aren’t in the Socialist Unity Platform now?
3:01pm
After telling the Socialist Unity Platform (SUP) that we could not attend their fringe, a member of Weekly Worker has removed us from the SUP WhatsApp group. 🤷♂️
Collective vs individual leadership debate
2:55pm
“Movements break through when there is an individual the public can recognise… Jeremy symbolised a set of values that people could rally behind… Bernie Sanders did the same… a collective leadership could not inspire that hope.” The first speaker calls for individual leadership as being more accountable and more recognisable.
First speaker for Option B is from Woking. She wants a representative movement and “endorses Zarah Sultana’s bid for a collective leadership”. They say “we must go further and empower youth and students” and that we need a wing the youth and students and that we need a dedicated seat on the CEC for that wing. They want a national youth spokesperson.
Second speaker for option A is an NHS worker and thinks in a utopian world it would be great to have a leadership that changes all the time. In times of emergency, we need a leader - you know that when you are doing CPR. We are in a crisis now and we need clear leadership.
The second speaker for a collective leadership argues for a collective fightback on every issue. That this includes trans rights. “We must critically say that organising this fightback means taking seriously that every member must be active and an organiser.” “A single leader takes power away from the grassroots and towards getting them elected to Parliament.”
The third speaker for individual leadership, a Southampton gig-worker, thinks that we have enough checks and balances in place to hold the leader to account. We have a collective leadership now that has caused a serious issues and that we do not have time for power struggles at the top. “We need a clear leadership structure. Vote for option A.”
The final speaker for Option B is from Manchester and thinks that “it will show we are a completely different party, we are the people that give leadership. The collective leadership should include both Zarah and Jeremy. That collectivism should extend the whole way through.” The speaker had been expelled the night before because she was in the SWP. There is a huge round of applause for the speaker opposing expulsions.
We recommend that DemBloc members support individual leadership with a CEC that is empowered to hold them to account. Our worry with a collective leadership is that power struggles will define the party - with a single leader a clear mandate is established and we can focus outward and put the past power struggles behind us.
Hilary Schan moves the constitutional papers
2:40pm
Hilary, an independent cllr and ex-Momentum co-chair from the Momentum Organisers slate, is moving the constitutional papers. She says that there is one thing not up for debate, “everything will be subordinated to the members”. We are told “the democratic supremacy of the members is guaranteed”. She says that “because of us, there are no longer any MPs on the CEC”.
Hilary speaks about The Democratic Bloc’s Democratic Whip proposal which has been guaranteed in the constitution. She also speaks of the positive nature of the recall position and the need for a OMOV election for CEC members.
”This is a radically democratic document… it hardwires maximum member democracy into our structures.”
Hilary speaks of option A on the second constitutional road map amendment and that this could and should open up dual membership to The Green Party.
Hilary says she is proud that this constitutional paper recognises the need for a united Ireland and that we will persuade for Irish unification and never stand candidates on the island of Ireland. This receives a partial standing ovation.
Palestinian Youth
2:30pm
Jeanine Hourani addresses the floor saying “there can be no business as usual while there is a genocide in Gaza”. She condemns The Labour Party for facilitating the genocide, “shame on them” is shouted from the floor.
Belgian Workers’ Party
2:20pm
Benjamin Pestieau, Deputy Secretary General of the PTB, wearing a badge saying NO to retirement at 67. A reminder of the struggles we still have to fight in Britain! The Workers' Party has combined an unwavering commitment to its principles with engaging and outwards facing communication. A model for Britain and for Your Party!
More attacks on the left - Cllr James Giles barred from getting into conference
2pm
Ava Santina, from Politics Joe, shared the story that Cllr James Giles, a leading independent councillor and DemBloc member, was banned from coming into conference over a supposed ICO issue. James chaired Zarah’s fringe last night…
It is truly appalling - you can read more about it here.
Democratic Socialists challenge the chair via point of order - there seems to be no response
2pm
The Democratic Socialists have raised the need for the workers’ wage amendment to be heard - it had been ruled out of order on the amendments portal. They did this via the points of order committee and mobilised a large contingent around it. However, Andrew Jordan did not mention this in his speech when conference resumed at 2pm..
Laura Smith, ex-Labour MP, is chairing the session this afternoon.
Participant told they could not label comments as transphobic
12:12pm
A participant said that there were transphobic statements from individuals at the top of the party and that this was unacceptable. A chair told them that this was not “respectful discourse” and so the delegate changed their terms to “allegedly transphobic statements”.
The floor booed the censorship of the participant.
We haven’t left the Socialist Unity Platform - as far as we know!
12:05pm
Rumours are circulating from within the Socialist Unity Platform (SUP) that we have left the SUP. We haven’t (as far as we know)! We just can’t make their fringe event.
Don’t believe everything you see on Twitter!
Are we a mass party?
Roadmap amendment 3 to the political statement 12pm
Having debated whether we should be a socialist and a working-class party, conference is now debating whether Your Party should be a mass party.
A young Democratic Bloc delegate is speaking first - calling for a party that unites all of the people. A politics that is done with us, not for us. Young people should be at the heart of building the solutions. “We are building a mass party that listens, fights and wins… Our party must be a mass party.”
Our co-founder, Andy Walker, also spoke about the need for a mass movement like the Anti-Poll Tax Campaign. Only by building a mass movement can we unite the working class. And only by uniting the whole of the working class can we transform society!
Are we a working class party?
Roadmap amendment 2 to the political statement 11:43am
Similar debate to the debate on socialism earlier.
Speakers are now addressing the issue of whether to retain the term “working class” in the party’s constitution. This really is a no-brainer but no doubt as a new party all its key foundational tenets need to be agreed democratically by the conference. Speakers against retaining the term working class made similar arguments around labelling people that were made by those calling for the word socialism to be removed. It’s fair to say that there is not a great deal of support for removing the term working class from the party’s constitution. Again though, all dissenting voices were heard respectfully by conference attendees.
Are we a socialist party? DEBATE
Roadmap amendment 1 to the political statement - 11:25am
The arguments to retain socialism in our statement speak for themselves - and based on the conference floor at least will storm this vote. We urge all DemBloc members to defend the word socialism in our political statement.
There are three people who want to speak against the use of the word socialism in our political statement. A member from Hayes and Middlesex wants it removed because she does not think it is bad for us to label ourselves and we should not engage in the identity of socialism. The speech had some backing on the floor with a smattering of applause and one cheer. Odd.
The third speaker defending socialism attacked the expulsions that took place last night.
Voting on this will open as a whole on this paper - from lunch time.
[Andrew Hedges - Chair of DemBloc]
The first member has been ejected by stewards - 11:21am
One member tried to raise a point of order on the floor and was told they must go to the point of order committee outside of conference floor. There was significant anger at this from the floor.
[Andrew Hedges - Chair of DemBloc]
Standing orders announcements and VOTING rules - 11:10am
Jen Forbes (Chair of conference) addresses conference and tells us voting on a name is live.
Andrew Jordan, chair of standing orders committee, addresses conference. Standing orders were emailed to all members last night we were told. The standing orders committee was appointed by the Independent Alliance (IA) MPs .
Amendments - there will be amendments to all documents.
As has already been made clear - the roadmap amendments have been promoted by the leadership and will be given priority.
The individual amendments that have the biggest support will be allowed to appear in the order of endorsements if time allows.
Our view:
We need fewer key note speakers. We need more time for amendments. We are not delegates to a rally, we are delegates to a conference. Amendments are the most important part of this whole process.
Points of order should be directed to the standing orders committee which have their own room - they will decide what is brought forward.
VOTING:
Voting will all happen via the app and will be open to all members.
Voting on amendments brought to the floor today will run through until 9am tomorrow (Sunday).
The amended documents will be voted on until 4pm tomorrow (Sunday).
Voting on amendments brought to the floor will be open until 8am Monday.
Voting on those amended documents will be open until 4pm Monday.
[Andrew Hedges, Chair of DemBloc]
Jeremy speaks - Sat 29 November 10:48am
Jeremy receives a standing ovation as he calls for us to show solidarity with Palestine. From the crowd the chant for Free Free Palestine is heard. The party is clearly united behind showing solidarity with Palestine.
Expulsions already - Sat 29 November 10:40am
Last night leading figures of the Socialists Workers’ Party were expelled from Your Party. Expulsions on the eve of conference was a hallmark of the Labour right wing. They did it to one of Jamie Driscoll’s lead organisers on the eve of Labour North’s conference years ago.
For it to happen, as delegates travel to conference, is unforgivable. There is no mandate for expulsions.
There is no rule book to expel them with, there is no constitution. Yet the leadership has taken the decisions unilaterally. You don’t need to support the SWP to recognise that this is a gross overreach of power.
We released a statement last night, alongside Democratic Socialists and others.
[Andrew Hedges - Chair of DemBloc]
Cllr Lucy Williams speaks - 10:30am
I’m speaking in favour of moving to have an elected general secretary of this new left party, alongside a democratically elected treasurer, spokesperson and party chair.
Many of us will have spent years, some of us decades inside what is now one of the most crooked, right wing parties in British politics. Starmer’s Labour destroyed the organised left - today we are rising from those ashes.
But if we do not learn from the disaster of Labour, we will repeat the same mistakes.
It was an unelected, unaccountable general secretary *appointed by the leadership* that led the purges, the witch hunts and the stitch ups of selections.
*To avoid* any repetition of this - the only solution is to make the *head of the party bureaucracy* an elected role, accountable to the members *and not to the leadership*
In our new party, we have already seen how an unaccountable bureaucracy leads to problems.
An amendment process that opened at 10:15pm on Tuesday night. The endorsement window which opened 10:30pm Thursday night! Our members aren’t nocturnal, but now they could by rights be pretty annoyed!
An accountable general secretary will create a transparent, democratic and socialist party.
The alternative? The most powerful staff member in the party being appointed behind closed doors. The person that holds every lever to shut down democracy never facing any accountability.
If this new left party becomes the preserve of unelected professionals, and unaccountable bureaucrats it will cease to be a party of the working class.
Vote for this motion if you want to move forward, to build a strong, democratic party.
[Andy Walker - co-founder of DemBloc]
Naming the party - Sat 29 November 10:30am
Conference is now open. As we write, we are listening to Cllr Lucy Williams who is delivering the opening speech about the NHS during covid, internationally trained nurses, sexism within politics, and the need for comradely disagreement within our party.
A major update that came through last night was regarding the naming of the party. The four options on the table are:
Our Party
Your Party
For the Many
Popular Alliance
Considering 800,000 people were asked to submit name suggestions earlier this year - you have to ask how these names were whittled down. It seems like this isn’t a particularly democratic decision ahead of us - this is the product of us not having an elected conference arrangements committee.
[Andrew Hedges - Chair of DemBloc]
Conference agenda in LIVE - Sat 29 November 10am
The conference agenda is now live! 10am - a speech from Cllr Lucy Williams, 10:40AM - a speech from Jeremy Corbyn. Then at 11AM we have 1hr 30mins of debate on the political statement. 12:30PM - 2PM Lunch. 2PM Peter Mertens speech from the Workers’ Party of Belgium. 2:25PM - 4:30PM we have debate on constitution.
It is very poor how little time has been given to members articulating themselves and how much time has been given to key note speakers. We need this weekend to have debates of substance. Right now it doesn’t look likely that those debates will happen. But we will keep you updated with more news and any updates on debates that do take place.
[Andrew Hedges - Chair of DemBloc]
