model resolutions |
CONFERENCE 2021There's a major initiative to bring a debate on PR to Labour's 2021 Conference. Please persuade your CLP to pass a resolution in favour of voting reform, if they haven't already, and to submit our suggested motion to the next Labour Party Conference. The motion is endorsed by LCER and by all the other organisations which are members of Labour for a New Democracy. | Resolution to Labour Party ConferenceTIME FOR PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION The First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system is a barrier to progressive change, repeatedly returning extreme Tory governments against the wishes of most voters. In 19 of the last 20 general elections parties to the left of the Conservatives won the popular vote yet the Tories have governed for two-thirds of that time. This has enabled soaring inequality, underfunded public services, attacks on trade unions and callous and incompetent responses to Covid and climate breakdown. FPTP privileges ‘swing voters’ over neglected voters - including younger, black and minority ethnic communities. It allows the UK to be governed by an out of touch elite, throwing our democracy into crisis. Those societies with the lowest levels of inequality and social exclusion all have proportional voting systems. No other left-wing party in Europe supports the use of FPTP for general elections and polling shows three quarters of Labour members want Labour to back PR. ‘Levelling up’ is about power, not just economic opportunity. We need a Labour government to transform society. But to protect the gains we make in power, to avoid losing future decades to Tory minority rule and to give everyone a real voice in a 21st century democracy, we must change the voting system. Conference resolves that:
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PASSING A RESOLUTION IN YOUR BRANCH OR CLPMany Labour Party branches and CLPs have already passed resolutions in favour of voting reform, and we'd urge all members to table a motion at their local meeting. You can adapt the wording of the Conference resolution above, or scroll down for more ideas.
We would encourage you to:
After the resolution is passed, please
Hover over "National Policy Forum", click on "Policy Commissions", then scroll down and select "Justice and Home Affairs". Click the button at the top right labelled "Make a Submission". You will be asked to register or log in. Use the same login details that you use to access the Labour Party's website; if you are not a registered user, you will be able to set up guest access. When you post a submission on the NPF website, other visitors to the site can read and comment on it. Members are the relevant oplicy commission are also supposed to check for submissions and respond to them, though this does ot always happen; submissions are meant to be tabled at meetings of the policy commission. | how to get a resolution passed in your constituency labour party (CLP)If
your CLP has a "delegate" structure (each branch sends delegates to
meetings of a General Committee), resolutions must first be passed by a
local branch, and then submitted for discussion at the GC. Submit your resolution to your local branch secretary in time for it to be included on the agenda for the next meeting. When the motion is passed by the branch, you can request that it is sent to the GC for discussion. Many CLPs, particularly in rural areas, have an "all-member" structure, in which all local members are invited to attend CLP meetings. Some of these require motions to be submitted by a branch, but in many CLPs, a motion may be submitted by any member. Submit the motion to your CLP Secretary in time for it to be included on the agenda. LCER is happy to supply a speaker to your CLP meeting, though a resolution cannot be proposed by a visiting speaker - a local member would have to do that. |
SUBMISSIONS TO LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCEWe're working with our members and supporters to ensure that as many resolutions as possible are submitted to the next Labour Party Conference. We'd suggest using the wording at the top of this page. If you haven't been involved in submitting a motion to Conference, please see our short explainer. We will also be giving help and support via our telephone campaign. The work doesn't stop when motions are submitted to Conference. We'll be campaigning to ensure that the motion on voting reform is prioritised in the delegates' ballot (the rules state that only the top 10 motions will be discussed). And of course, we'll also be campaigning to ensure that delegates vote for the motion! | how clps send motions to conferenceCurrently, each CLP may submit only one resolution to Conference. The deadline for submission is usually a few weeks before the start of Conference, but many CLPs meet to decide what motion they will be submitting much earlier than this. Find out from your CLP secretary when the relevant meeting will take place, and submit the text of your resolution. Be prepared to argue the case for your CLP to submit a motion on voting reform, since there will very likely be other motions under consideration. It doesn't hurt to do a bit of work beforehand to drum up support among your fellow members. |
MODEL RESOLUTIONS FOR TRADE UNIONSIf you're a member of a Trade Union, please consider tabling a motion on voting reform at your local meeting. Any of the resolutions drawn up for CLPs or Labour Party Conference may be adapted for trade union meetings; alternatively, our Trade Unions page has links to model resolutions specially formulated for trade unions. |