Preparing for Parliament
It is time for a party that puts the people, not politicians, first.
Selecting MPs democratically
→ MPs, including incumbents, must
face OMOV constituency selections. Constituency parties should retain the right to decline running candidates where appropriate.
→ Any member, or a member of an allied electoral party, should be welcome to put themselves forward for selection by an OMOV procedure at the constituency level.
→ Sitting MPs should face democratic procedures for selections and for re-selection.
→ Constituency parties should also have the freedom to decline to run a candidate at an election, therefore refusing to hold a selection process. This should be agreed democratically through debate and a vote of all members.
A democratic whip
The party whip in almost every political party is an unfair and undemocratic system that gives leadership excessive power to horse trade. We need a new democratic system along the following lines:
Applying the whip
→ Conference policy decisions are sovereign – when they clearly align with parliamentary debates they will become the basis for a three-line party whip. If more than 20% of MPs raise concerns prior to a debate, the NPC will decide whether the conference decision is applicable.
→ The leadership can raise an urgent debate in parliament with the NPC and it will have the power to provide emergency party whip rulings. The NPC can vote it through with a two-thirds majority.
→ An MP will be excused from a three line whip if a meeting of the constituency party, open to all members, mandates them to vote against nationally agreed policy.
Implications of breaking the whip
→ MPs that are suspended from the whip will lose the right to contact members using party data.
→ The NPC can vote to readmit MPs to the party whip with a simple majority.
→ If an MP has not regained the whip ahead of a candidate selection, they will have the right to stand. If they stand, all members should be notified of the MP's voting record and an explanation from the NPC as to why the candidate lost the whip and did not re-gain it.
→ If an MP breaks the whip after the reselection process then the local political committee can hold a meeting of all members in their constituency to decide how to proceed.
Regional Political Committee & local autonomy
→ Regional Political Committee (RPC), elected by OMOV, will provide democratic oversight of local politics, with secretaries and representatives accountable to members.
→ Candidates to RPC should seek nominations from constituency groups and meet a minimum nomination threshold set by the national NPC. Then candidates should be voted on by all members.
→ All representatives, not including the regional field director, will have one vote on the regional political committee.
→ The autonomy of regional groups and executives should be respected by national party.