Motion #16
This motion delays the annual ballot if it would clash with a General Election, which may happen more often since the Fixed Term Parliaments Act was repealed. General Elections are a political priority, and holding the Annual Ballot (including party leadership) during one is a distraction harmful to our goals.
In Section 9 of the Constitution (Annual Ballot), Clause 9(iii) currently reads:
iii) The nominations for all posts included in an Annual Ballot shall open at 10.00 on the first week-day in June and close at noon on the last week-day in June. Voting shall close on receipt of the last post on the last week-day of August or five week-days before the start of the Autumn conference, whichever is the sooner.
Replace with (amended text in bold):
iii) The nominations for all posts included in an Annual Ballot shall ordinarily open at 10.00 on the first weekday in June and ordinarily close at noon on the last weekday in June. Voting shall ordinarily close on receipt of the last post on the last weekday of August or five weekdays before the start of the Autumn conference, whichever is the sooner.
Insert new clauses 9(iv) and 9(v) and renumber:
iv) If the date of the General Election is unknown at the time of the opening of nominations in the Annual Ballot, but the last possible date for the dissolution of Parliament is within nine months of the opening of nominations, there will be no Annual Ballot that year, provided the opening of nominations in the following Annual Ballot is not within three months of the last possible date for the dissolution of Parliament. If the date of the General Election is known at the time of opening of nominations in the Annual Ballot, and it is less than six months after the opening of nominations in the Annual Ballot, there will be no Annual Ballot that year. Additionally if the date of the General Election is announced during the Annual Ballot process before voting has opened and it falls less than six months after nominations opened there will be no Annual Ballot that year. In any of these cases the terms will be extended by one year in all roles that would have been up for election in that Annual Ballot, and in all roles due to be elected in the following Annual Ballot in order to maintain staggered elections.
v) If a General Election is announced while voting is open in the Annual Ballot and the date of the election falls less than three months after voting is due to close for the Annual Ballot, voting will be paused until at least two weeks after the General Election, and will then reopen for two weeks at a time decided by the Electoral Returning Officer in consultation with the Executive Commitee. Voting must have reopened within two months after the General Election. The terms of all relevant postholders will be extended until the declaration of the results.
In new clause iii, which currently reads:.
iii) The nominations for all posts included in an Annual Ballot shall ordinarily open at 10.00 on the first weekday in June and ordinarily close at noon on the last weekday in June. Voting shall ordinarily close on receipt of the last post on the last weekday of August or five weekdays before the start of the Autumn conference, whichever is the sooner.
Insert at the end:
If this timetable is departed from, eligibility for candidates based on the duration of their membership will be determined based on when the Annual Ballot would have been held under this clause. Remove new clauses iv and v Insert at the end of the motion:
Insert new clause iv, and renumber:
iv) If, in order to protect the party's political interests, the timetable of the Annual Ballot needs to depart from that outlined in clause iii (e.g., to avoid a clash with a General Election), GPRC may, prior to voting opening, instruct the ERO to modify the timetable. The timetable may be brought forward or delayed by up to twelve months, and the terms of existing and new postholders will be modified accordingly. Conference resolves to hold the 2024 Annual Ballot early, with nominations opening at 10.00 on the first weekday in December 2023 and closing at noon on the last weekday in December 2023. Voting will close on receipt of the last post on the last weekday of February 2024.
In new clause iii, which currently reads:
iii) The nominations for all posts included in an Annual Ballot shall ordinarily open at 10.00 on the first weekday in June and ordinarily close at noon on the last weekday in June. Voting shall ordinarily close on receipt of the last post on the last weekday of August or five weekdays before the start of the Autumn conference, whichever is the sooner. Insert at the end: If this timetable is departed from, eligibility for candidates based on the duration of their membership will be determined based on when the Annual Ballot would have been held under this clause.
Remove new clauses iv and v, which currently read:
Insert new clause iv, and renumber:
iv) If, in order to protect the party's political interests, the timetable of the Annual Ballot needs to depart from that outlined in clause iii (e.g., to avoid a clash with a General Election), GPRC may, prior to voting opening, instruct the ERO to modify the timetable. The timetable may be brought forward or delayed by up to twelve months, and the terms of existing and new postholders will be modified accordingly.
Insert at the end of the motion: Conference resolves to delay the 2024 Annual Ballot in order to avoid a clash with the General Election, which could occur up until January 2025. The 2024 Annual Ballot will be held simultaneously with the 2025 Annual Ballot.