Running the party
Running a party that has over 700,000 members will never be straightforward but we can make sure it is fair and open by making it as democratic as possible.
Our proposals cover:
→ Membership fees and party funding
→ The National Political Committee
→ Party building
→ Electing leaders and officials
→ Democratic decision-making
→ Trade union affiliation
→ Party alliances
→ Natural justice and disciplinary procedures
→ Preventing fiefdoms
→ Dual memberships
→ Data
Membership fees & party funding
50%
of fees should go to the national party.
25%
of fees should go to the constituency party.
10% should go to ward parties where applicable.
25%
of fees should go to the regional party.
The basic organising structure of the party should be constituency based.
But we need to recognise that where constituencies are small in terms of membership size or in less dense population areas then we allow flexible party structure - constituencies should have the freedom to merge with other constituency parties that agree if the membership votes for this.
Where this organising model is adopted then a mandatory consultion involving members from each constituency should have individual annual meetings to review this merger position.
Membership fees
→ Standard
£5 per month
With a voluntary option to pay more
→ Concessions rate
£10 annually one off payment or £2 per month
→ 21 and under rate £2 for a two year membership
Electing the National Political Committee
→ The National Political Committee (NPC) must be democratic and weighted to members, elected by one member, one vote (OMOV) in a single transferable vote (STV) procedure. It must be gender balanced.
→ It should only be composed of 16 representatives of the membership elected by single transferable vote, the leader(s), the deputy leader, the party chair, the Welsh and Scottish leaders should have full/associate places. The National Field Director should sit on the NPC without a vote.
→ The party chair will chair the NPC and should be elected by OMOV and should be subject to removal by a two-thirds NPC vote. The party chair and must not be an MP.
→ The NPC should be the central body of the party that carries out the will of conference, articulates the views of the lay membership and advises, supports and scrutinises the leadership team (i.e. the Leader(s), Deputy Leader, Party Chair, National Field Officer and Campaign Coordinator).
→ We need an engaged, dedicated and skilled membership base. Conference should agree a national target of engaged members every year for the NPC - their success as the NPC will be, in part, measured by this.
→ Every political party’s membership is an exercise in fundraising. This is desirable for establishment parties where leadership factions vie for control, but a socialist party that is truly democratic cannot settle for this.
Party building
→ We need to develop an education offering for members as well as initiating an ambitious skillshare and training programme.
Electing leaders & officials
→ Leader(s), the deputy leader and Scottish and Welsh leaders should be elected by a STV OMOV procedure. There should be no requirement for any of these positions to be held by an MP, MSP or Senedd member. Should there should be a threshold of nominations for candidates, nominations should only be required from local parties, not from MPs.
→ Key roles – including the National Field Director, Regional Field Directors and National Campaign Coordinator – should be elected by OMOV for fixed terms, ensuring accountability.
→ The National Field Director would be responsible for all staffing in the national party, the Regional Field Directors would be responsible for all staffing in the regions. These must be elected through OMOV and have a two-year term of office to be reviewed at next year’s conference. The Regional Field Officer will be accountable to both the National Field Officer and the regional political committee.
→ The national campaign coordinator should also be elected by OMOV and serve the same term time as the National Field Director.
→ The Party Chair, the National Field Director and Regional Field Directors should be salaried roles. If the elected leader is not an MP, they should also receive a salary.
Conference as the sovereign body
Conference must be the party’s highest decision-making body,
with the NPC unable to overrule it. Conference sovereignty safeguards grassroots democracy.
→ The online portal pioneered for the founding conference should, if successful, be utilised future conferences to determine the prioritising of issues. Motions should be submitted by constituency parties and trade union branches well ahead of future conferences for the CAC to group into topics. All members should, prior to conference, have the ability to vote on the priority of issues and read the motions sent to conference. The priority ballot of all members will set the agenda for conference.
Trade union affiliation
The Democratic Bloc recognises the centrality of the trade union movement to the socialist struggle and we welcome their involvement. However, that does not mean we ignore concerns around trade union affiliation.
If there is to be affiliation we believe that we have a viable model for how it could work:
→ Each union should have a seat each on the NPC when they affiliate.They should be required to run an internal election for the post either at their annual conference or by OMOV.
→ Affiliated unions should also benefit from conference participation, but without block votes. They will be entitled to send any of their members to future conferences provided they are also a member of the new left party.
Option two: trade union delegates
In this model, all conferences after the founding conference would be run on a delegate structure. Local parties would send delegates to represent them. In this model trade unions would affiliate nationally to get a seat on the NPC, but then it would be up to their branches to affiliate individually to the party to get a delegate at conference.
This stops block votes - instead of delegates being sent centrally from a trade union, the branches have control of the voting behaviour of their delegates and can mandate them to vote on certain issues.
However, the limitation of this model is that those that are both in a local party and in a trade union branch are represented twice by a delegate, giving them an unfair level of representation. Moreover, the union delegate’s power should be weighted by the number of new left party members in their branch, not by the size of their branch. This creates a logistical problem.
Option one: everyone is welcome
If we create a conference structure similar to that of The Green Party, where any member can turn up, then we would allow all trade unions to organise their members, recruit them to the new left party and cover their attendance fees. The onus would be on the unions to organise their members, to motivate them and then to win votes on conference floor.
The limitation is that, in a party of 700,000 members or more, the logistical issues of organising a conference where everyone can attend would be difficult - even if it is a hybrid conference.
As we see it there are two possible models for trade unions at conference, all have their limitations. We want you to let us know your views on these two models, their limitations and their strengths and any alternatives you can come up with.
So what do you think?
Tell us your thoughts on this issue by clicking here.
→ When another left party seeks an electoral alliance, it should be voted on at a national level by the National Political Committee (NPC). It should require a majority vote to pass.
→ The leadership should actively approach left parties for electoral alliances after a majority vote on the NPC mandates them.
→ Any party that sits in alliance with the new left party should be invited to submit candidates in the open primary processes.
→ If the NPC wants to recommend to a local party to stand aside at an election, the local party should hold a OMOV on whether to find a candidate or endorse the NPC-favoured party.
→ A list of alliance parties should be listed on the party website. This list should be ratified every year at conference.
We believe in a pluralist politics. We believe we should seek to make common ground with others. This involves dialogue – we should not to seek to impose our will on others – instead we should seek to build genuine alliances.
Alliances should be democratically agreed nationally and locally, in keeping with democratic local control and strategic national aims. Candidate selection must go through pluralist open primaries, with annual ratification at conference.
Party alliances
Other parties should not expect permanent committee seats. They must either enter into alliances on equal terms, as previously outlined, or dissolve into the new party to participate democratically.
It is unsustainable to have a system where political parties, whether they are legally constituted or self-described, affiliate to the new left party in expectation that they will hold seats on any party committee.
They should have two routes to participation with/within the new left party:
→ To follow the party alliance approach outlined above;
→ To remove their legal or rhetorical status as a political party, dissolve and their previous members participate within the democratic processes.
Preventing fiefdoms
Dual membership
Members may hold membership in other approved democratic parties, subject to annual NPC review and conference ratification, with transparency over finances and compliance.
The NPC should agree a list of political parties which are deemed acceptable to have membership of, in addition to the new left party.
This list should be ratified every year by conference.
→ All these parties should be democratic, open and share their books with the new party’s NPC – so that we can understand the size of their membership, their finances, their GDPR compliance and their disciplinary procedures.
Natural justice & disciplinary procedures
The principle of natural justice needs to be at the heart of our disciplinary process – we need to have clearly defined membership rules that mean members must be treated fairly, with clear reasons given for decisions affecting them.
→ Respectful Conduct: Members should engage in politics without anger, hate, racism, or discrimination, upholding respect for all genders, faiths, and non- faith positions.
→ Positive Culture: Debate should be robust but conducted with civility, ensuring inclusivity and dignity in all interactions.
→ Yellow Card / Red Card System
Yellow Card: Formal warning for unacceptable behaviour with clear guidance for improvement.
Red Card: Suspension or removal from membership for repeated or severe breaches.
→ Disciplinary Structure: A National Disciplinary Panel, supported by independent legal advice, oversees serious cases.
→ Regional Panels handle local issues with consistency and transparency.
→ Right of Appeal: Individual members may appeal regional decisions.
→ Decisions may be challenged at National Conference if supported by at least ten constituencies, ensuring collective accountability.
Data
→ Membership data should always belong to members rather than be the personal property of individuals. Data ownership should reside with constituency parties (via the membership officer), regional parties/devolved nations and the overall NPC.
