Motion #20
Autumn 2020 Conference tasked SOC with reforming the proxy voting system. Proxy voting effectively gives some members more votes than others, but removing proxy voting raises issues about the accessibility of Conference. SOC believes post-plenary voting on motions would allow both removal of proxy voting and enable greater accessibility.
To view the background paper for this motion, click here.
Section 1 - removal of voting from plenary except for procedural motions & removal of proxy voting
In Standing Orders for Conduct of Conference:
Delete G5.5 (“G5.5 Members registered to vote remotely will be able to act as proxy holders for the days for which they are registered.”) and renumber subsequent clauses appropriately.
Delete G5.6 (“G5.6 Members registered to vote remotely will not be able to grant proxies for the days for which they are registered.”) & renumber subsequent clauses appropriately.
In H5.2, delete ““that the motion be not put” to the vote or” so that the new H5.2 reads: “H5.2 Any procedural motion that curtails debate on a motion or an amendment, for example “to move to a vote”, “to move next business” and “the motion be put” to the vote shall not be accepted by the chairperson if a) there have been less than 2 speeches in favour and there are still members wishing to speak for the motion or amendment, or b) there have been less than 2 speeches against and there are still members wishing to speak against the motion or amendment.”
In H5.3, after the final sentence add “Procedural motions can not prevent a motion from being put into the Conference Ballot, excepting a procedural motion from its proposer to withdraw the motion” so that the new H5.3 reads:
“H5.3 Procedural motions that curtail debate require a two-thirds majority. Other procedural motions require a simple majority. Procedural motions can not prevent a motion from being put into the Conference Ballot, excepting a procedural motion from a the motion’s proposer to withdraw their motion.” In H8 Fast Tracking, delete “c) Fast tracking will not take place if ten or more members present vote against the proposal. If ten or more members object to the fast tracking the motion will be ordered into its original position on the agenda.” and renumber clauses accordingly.
In H8 Fast Tracking, replace “d) Fast tracked motions will be voted on directly after the SOC report” with “c) Fast tracked motions will be voted on as part of that plenary’s Conference Ballot” Insert the following new section H9 & renumber subsequent sections accordingly: “H9 Conference Ballots H9.1 At the end of each plenary session, a Conference Ballot will open to allow voting on the motions moved during that plenary. A one week period will be allowed for voting on amendments to motions. Following this, the Ballot will re-open with motions as amended for a further one week period. Motions for which there are no amendments will be voted on in the first week. H9.2 For each motion in the Ballot, an STV election will be held with the options: a) accept b) reject c) refer back Option c) will not be available for Reports.
H9.3 For each amendment to a motion in the Ballot, an election will be held with the options accept or reject.
H9.4 Registered attendees to Conference will automatically be registered for Conference Ballots. Any other member of the Party may register for the Conference Ballots provided they have been members for 3 months preceding the start of Conference.
H9.5 The Conference Ballots will be run by the ERO appointed by SOC.
H9.6 Motions to amend the Constitution at and by Conference, to amend the Philosophical Basis of the Party at and by Conference, Enabling Motions, and to grant exceptional powers to GPRC, and all votes while Section A of Standing Orders has been suspended, require a two-thirds majority to pass. All other motions at Conference require only a simple majority, including amendments to motions and motions delegating the power to amend the constitution or Philosophical Basis of the Party to the membership through a ballot.
H9.7 In determining majorities, the majority required must be obtained as a majority of votes for over votes against.”
In the current H9, insert new clause a) & renumber subsequent clauses accordingly: “a) Attendees and registered voters at Conference will be able to vote on such procedural motions as arise in the course of debate. Voting on amendments and motions themselves will take place in the Conference Ballots, with the exception of the SOC Report which is considered ahead of Conference as per F7.1.”
In the current H9, delete:
H9.1.d) (“d) Motions to amend the Constitution at and by Conference, to amend the Philosophical Basis of the Party at and by Conference, Enabling Motions, and to grant exceptional powers to GPRC, and all votes while Section A of Standing Orders has been suspended, require a two-thirds majority of attendees. All other motions at conference require only a simple majority, including amendments to motions and motions delegating the power to amend the constitution or Philosophical Basis of the Party to the membership through a ballot.”)
H9.3 (“H9.3 In determining majorities, the majority required must be obtained as a majority of votes for over votes against.”)
H9.4 (“H9.4 Conference may appoint scrutineers to assist SOC in the counting of plenary votes.”)
Delete H10 Ballot card votes and voting by proxy
Replace H11.1 (“H11.1 Plenary sessions shall be recorded and livestreamed where possible. Workshops may be livestreamed.”) with new H11.1: “H11.1 Plenary session must be recorded, and shall be livestreamed where possible. Workshops may be livestreamed.”
In H11.4, delete “Those who have given a proxy as in H10 may advise their proxy how to vote, in real time, if a ballot card vote is called for.”so that the new H11.4 reads: “H11.4 Members who are not attending the Conference venue may participate in plenaries at the discretion of the plenary chair, if this facility has been made available. Participating members may be required to book and pay a fee.”
Replace H13.1: (“H13.1 All voting during the suspension of these Standing Orders requires a two-thirds majority and only Section D: Agenda deadlines can be suspended. All voting during the suspension shall be as laid down in H9 and H10.”) with new H13.1: “H13.1 All votes on procedural motions heard during the suspension of these Standing Orders require a two-thirds majority and only Section D: Agenda deadlines can be suspended.”
In H13.7, delete “by vote or otherwise”, so that the new H13.7 reads: “H13.7 Immediately the business is disposed of Section D of Standing Orders is deemed to be in force without further vote.”
In Appendix A: The Policy Process, Section 6 Voting Papers, clause j, replace “A vote will then be taken on the motion to accept the VP and insert it in PSS.” with “The motion will then go into the Conference Ballot for that plenary, and inserted into the PSS if approved.” so that the new clause j reads: “j) At the Conference, the Committee will ensure the VP is debated in one or more workshops. The workshop(s) will consider the VP as a whole, and those amendments in order. The VP will at the same Conference be debated in plenary session. This session will receive a report from the workshop, including a report on the debate on each amendment considered. The plenary session will debate the VP and the amendments of it according to the usual procedure. The motion will then go into the Conference Ballot for that plenary, and inserted into the PSS if approved.”
Section 2 - adjustments to publication, consideration, and passing of the SOC report
In Standing Orders for Conduct of Conference:
In E5.2, replace “conference during” with “amendment to” so that the new E5.2 reads: “E5.2 If the decision to split a motion is overturned by amendment to the SOC report, the original single motion will be heard as a whole and reordered into the agenda in place of the highest prioritised part motion.”
Replace E6.3 (“E6.3 At the appropriate place in the agenda, SOC will put the composite motion to Conference for acceptance or rejection and it shall be accepted or rejected on a simple majority. In the event of a rejection of the composite, the individual motions shall be voted upon in an order to be determined by SOC subject to approval by Conference.”) with:
“E6.3 The composite motion will be placed in the agenda immediately before the highest ranking of the single motions included in the composite. If the composite motion is overturned by amendment to the SOC Report, then it shall be removed from the agenda.”
in E7.3, replace “a vote on” with “an amendment to” so that the new E7.3 reads: “E7.3 If a motion is recommended by SOC as Out of Order in the First Agenda, the reasons shall be stated. An amendment can be submitted to SOC during the Final Agenda stage by four of the co-proposers to correct the fault/s. If SOC considers that the coproposers’ amendment would put the motion in order, then SOC may recommend in its Report that the motion as amended be restored to the Final Agenda. Such a recommendation would be at the discretion of SOC. Any motion not restored to order in this way cannot be restored to order by an amendment to the SOC Report.”
Replace F4 (“F4. Errors in Final Agenda Errors in the Final 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.”) with:
“F4 Errors in Final Agenda. Errors in the Final Agenda shall be notified in writing to the Convenor of SOC who shall advise Conference of reported errors at the commencement of Conference. Errors shall not invalidate the published Agenda. The Convenor of SOC may propose a procedural motion to correct the Final Agenda, which will need a two-thirds majority to pass.”
Replace F7 (“F7. Motions to accept Reports. F7.1 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.”) with:
“F7. Motions to accept Reports. F7.1 SOC shall propose a motion to accept the report of the SOC. This motion shall be considered at a special meeting of SOC to take place online one week before the commencement of Conference. The meeting will be independently chaired and otherwise run like a plenary. At the end of this meeting, voting will open on the SOC Report and any amendments, and close at 23:59 of the day before the first plenary of Conference. SOC and the ERO will agree a suitable division of the voting period between amendments to SOC Report and the final form of the SOC Report. Any members of SOC may propose or second an amendment or amendments to this motion.”
In F7.2, replace “proposed formally by SOC from the floor of Conference” with “included in the SOC Report”, so that the new F7.2 reads: “F7.2 SOC shall be responsible for ensuring that the Agenda of every Annual General Meeting shall include motions to accept the reports of the Party Treasurer, Executive, Co-chairs of GPRC, PDC, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and other governance bodies as required by the Constitution. If any such motions to accept reports have not been received by the due date from the appropriate Party Officers, the motion to accept the report shall be included in the SOC Report.”
Replace H2.2 (“H2.2 The first business of Conference shall be the SOC Report. This will include the wording of any composited motions and will detail the order in which items are to be debated. It will include details of motions where the proposers have supplied and accepted amendments that bring motions back into order, with a recommendation that these motions be restored to the Agenda.”) with: “H2.2 In order to enable Conference to proceed, the SOC Report shall be considered ahead of Conference at a special meeting of SOC as detailed in F7.2.”
Delete H2.3 (“H2.3 The SOC Report can be referred back to SOC who will meet immediately to agree changes.”) & renumber subsequent clauses appropriately.
In H2.5, replace “reported at the start of Conference. Any objection(s) shall be made in the debate on the Standing Orders Committee report and a vote shall then be taken to decide whether the Executive’s decision shall be accepted or reversed” with “submitted as an amendment to the SOC Report”, so that the new H2.5 reads:
“H2.5 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 Party Executive which is taken before Conference and submitted as an amendment to the SOC Report.” In H4.3, replace “This may be given during the taking of the SOC Report” with “This may be given by the motion proposer submitting a procedural motion to withdraw their motion when called to put it to Conference”, so that the new H4.3 reads:
“H4.3 Motions and amendments cannot be withdrawn by the proposers after publication of the Final Agenda without the consent of Conference. This may be given by the motion proposer submitting a procedural motion to withdraw their motion when called to put it to Conference.”
In K1.1, replace the final use of “Conference” with “the Conference Ballots” so that the new K1.1 reads: “K1.1 SOC shall publish Outcomes of Conference within a week of the close of the Conference Ballots.” Section 3 - replace amendments from the floor with a Special Amendments Forum
In Standing Orders for Conduct of Conference:
In C1.6 replace “proposed and seconded from the floor of Conference which may amend the Report. Such amendments shall be submitted to SOC before they are proposed” with “as detailed in D6.4”, so that the new C1.6 reads: “C.16 Motions to accept Reports which have not been published in the First Agenda shall be open to amendments as detailed in D6.4.”
Insert a new D6.4 (renumber following clauses appropriately): “D6.4 Special Amendments Forum Following publication of the Final Agenda, a minimum of one week will be allowed for the proposal of amendments to any Reports that were not received by the First Agenda deadline. SOC will provide an amendments forum for this purpose, specifying which Reports may be amended. Amendments shall each require four co-proposers. SOC will apply the criteria set out in E2 and E3.1 to determine if they are in order.”
In the current D6.4 “Three weeks” (p5), add after the final sentence, “A supplementary agenda detailing proposed amendments to reports as accepted via the Special Amendments Forum will also be provided”. Delete E3.3 (“All amendments from the floor at Conference shall be submitted to SOC before they are proposed. SOC will apply the criteria set out in E2 and E3.1 to determine if they are in order and may be proposed.”)
In F7.3, replace “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” with “as per D6.4 Members of SOC may not propose or co-propose such amendments except for amendments to the SOC Report”, so that the new F7.3 reads:
“F7.3 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 as per D6.4. Members of SOC may not propose or copropose such amendments except for amendments to the SOC Report.” In H3 Items not on the Agenda, delete “e) amendments to motions and reports that did not appear in the First agenda, including composited motions, Late Motions and Emergency Motions”
Delete H11.3 (“H11.3 Where remote participants in a workshop have voted at that workshop, these figures shall be reported to the plenary in the workshop report, separately from the figures of voting by attendees, at the discretion of the chair of the plenary.”) and renumber accordingly
Section 4 - removal of straw polls from workshops and plenary
In Standing Orders for Conduct of Conference, edit current H2.4: “H2.4 SOC will seek to ensure that a workshop is timetabled for each motion it has placed on the published Final Agenda, prior to the motion being debated by Conference. The workshop chair shall call for a non-binding straw poll, and the Chair of the plenary session may call for a report on the workshop and the poll to be reported to Conference.” By removing “The workshop chair shall call for a nonbinding straw poll, and” & “and the poll”, so that the amended clause reads:
“H2.4 SOC will seek to ensure that a workshop is timetabled for each motion it has placed on the published Final Agenda, prior to the motion being debated by Conference. The Chair of the plenary session may call for a report on the workshop to be reported to Conference.”
Section 5 - removal of Late Motions
In Standing Orders for Conduct of Conference: In “Contents” (p1), remove “Late Motions” from “Section C”. In the sub-heading “Section C” (p4), remove “Late Motions”. In C1.5 (p4), remove “except for amendments to Emergency Motions and Late Motions”. Delete clause C2 Late Motion submissions (p4). Delete clause D7 Late Motions deadline (p5). In H3 “Items not in the agenda” (p12), remove “C) late motions”. In H3.e (p13), remove “Late Motions”. In H13.8 “Emergency Motions shall only be accepted provided:”, item i) (p16), replace “since the deadline for Late Motions” with “since the pre-agenda deadline”.
Section 6 -confirmation clause for these amendments
Add to Record of Organisational Statements:
“Conference instructs SOC to bring a motion to Spring Conference 2024 that asks Conference to confirm the changes to SOCC made in the Autumn 2022 motion “SOCC amendments for Conference reform”. If this motion is defeated, then SOCC should revert to the version as amended by Spring Conference 2022.”