Motion #11

Add Constitution Section on Spokespeople

Synopsis

This motion would add a section on Spokespeople to the constitution. This motion would outline the procedure to appoint Spokespeople – aligning with the Green Party Regional Council’s (GPRC) motion “Change the Governance Structures of the Party”. This motion will also outline Spokespeople’s expectations, accountability, etc.

Motion

SOC Note: This motion will require a 2/3 majority to pass Text which has been struck through is noted as being Out of Order: as creating an ambiguity; and being contrary to the Constitution, since the responsibility for appointing a ‘panel of Speakers’ (interpreted as referring to spokespeople) is currently reserved to Green Party Executive by section 7(xi)(c) of the GPEW Constitution and this motion contains no provision to amend or remove that section.

Add a new section to the constitution titled Spokespeople.

The content of this section will state:

1. Spokespeople will be the public faces of the Party, responsible for presenting Green Party policy and promoting its campaigns, relevant to their role, to the public on a daily basis.
2. The Youth & Student Spokespeople shall be the elected Co-Chairs of the Young Greens of England and Wales, as per the constitution and standing orders of the Young Greens of England and Wales, which takes precedence over the points listed below.
3. Applicants for Spokesperson roles shall have been members of the Party for three complete years, preceding the date of close of applications, and shall be required to complete a standard application form. Applications must be supported by the signatures of a minimum of twenty members of the Party.
4. Spokespeople shall be appointed every two years, following the Party Leader and Deputy Leader elections. The Party Leadership Team, consisting of the Green Party Leader (or Co-Leaders), the Deputy Leader (or Deputy Leaders), the Leader (or Co-Leaders) of the Wales Green Party, and the Deputy Leader (or Deputy Leaders), shall nominate applicants to Spokesperson roles by a quorate majority vote. They shall be appointed only subject to ratification by the Green Party Regional Council, who may approve or reject any nomination by a quorate majority vote. Application forms must be submitted within one month of the Party Leader and Deputy Leader election results announcements. Spokespeople must be selected and announced within one month of the application closing date.
5. Spokespeople will be accountable to the Party Leadership Team and the Green Party Regional Council; they will be expected to outline their future plans and work to the Party Leadership Team and the Green Party Regional Council.
6. Spokespeople, in exercising their duties, will at all times abide by Party policy, the Policies for a Sustainable Society, Philosophical Basis and the Spokesperson Code of Conduct.
7. Spokespeople will submit an Annual Report which will be made available on the members’ website, with a deadline of four weeks before Autumn Conference.
8. In the event of ten per cent of the membership or twenty percent of constituted Local Parties petitioning the Green Party Regional Council, a two-thirds majority of Spokespeople, or a quorate majority of the Party Leadership Team to recall a Spokesperson, a new appointment process for that post only shall be held in which the current post-holder shall not be eligible to apply. The current post-holder(s) will retain their post until the completion of that appointment. The new post-holder(s) shall serve a term lasting as if they had started following the appointment of the previous post-holder(s).
9. In the event of the resignation or suspension of a Spokesperson, there will be a new appointment by the Party Leadership Team for that post only. The new post-holder(s) shall serve a term lasting as if they had started following the appointment of the previous post-holder(s).

Background

The selection process of Spokespeople is unclear to those not in the Green Party Executive (GPEx). As our Spokespeople are effectively seen as our Party’s ‘frontbench’, the Party Leadership Team are often held responsible for Party Spokespeople by the general public, as is the Party as a whole; there should therefore be a clear selection process and recall process of our Party’s Spokespeople. Following previous consultations, GPRC are proposing a motion to change the governance structures of the Party, this motion will align with that motion.