March 2018 EC minutes

[Anonymous]

MINUTES OF THE 3rd MEETING OF THE 115^th EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF

THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF GREAT BRITAIN

Head Office, Saturday 3 March 2018 at 1.53pm

[Note: These are draft minutes only and are not official until adopted by the EC]

Present: D Chesham, C Dee, N Kirk (via Skype), M Tenner, P Shannon, L Stevens.

Apologies: M Foster (family commitment) and G Thomas (sickness); in attendance: K Parkin

It was Agreed that cde Chesham take the chair and cde Tenner the minutes.

1. Minutes of the previous meeting

Adoption was Agreed after the following amendments (Tenner):
2(f)ii: T Kilgallon – Standing Orders;
2(g)iii: add “. . . and one respondent has joined the Party. Figures could be understated due to erratic record-keeping.”;
6(b)i: Motion was from North London Branch; and (Assistant Secretary)
3: Forms A to list Marcos Colome, Richard Cox, Ben Pugh, Isaäk Pfister rather than initials only.

2. Matters arising from February and previous meeting minutes

a) June 2016 meeting minutes: i. Re Motion 6 (“The EC requests the auditors to report on procedures to be put in place to prevent incorrect payments.”), report of the Auditors (30 December). It was Agreed to defer in the absence of cde Thomas.

b) Re 2(f)ii Further call for nominations for vacant positions. Accepted nominations are:

Steve Finch Education (Manchester 8-0)
Paul Bennett Membership Applications (Kent & Sussex 4-0-0)
Richard Botterill Membership Applications (Kent & Sussex 4-0-0)
Howard Moss Membership Applications (Kent & Sussex 4-0-0)
Mike Browne Standing Orders (Lancaster 4-0-0)
Pat Deutz Standing Orders (Kent & Sussex 4-0-0)
Pat Deutz Standing Orders (Lancaster 4-0-0)
Roy Beat Library Committee (Kent & Sussex 4-0-0)
Roy Beat Premises Committee (Kent & Sussex 4-0-0)
John Helps Premises Committee (Kent & Sussex 4-0-0)
Max Hess Media Committee (Kent & Sussex 4-0-0)

It was Agreed that all nominations be accepted.

c) 2(g)iii: Glasgow Guardian advert. Cde Tenner submitted a proof based on our existing insert copy. Subject to the deletion of one section and the addition of a website tracker, it was Agreed that the back page of the March issue be booked at a cost of £850 plus VAT. Cost of artwork was £80 plus VAT. Circulation of the paper is around 30,000, mainly to students, and the University and Colleges Committee is looking at a possible Glasgow weekend school to augment the promotion. Details of all respondents to the advert would be forwarded to the local branch. Our Guardian insert is due this weekend in 100,000 copies in the London region [members report their finding]. Further insert promotions would be suggested next month.

d) 50 copies of the History of Universal Suffrage pamphlet had arrived from India, despite our February order for 20 copies (Motion 9). Cde Buick suggested a selling price of £3 from literature stalls and £4 for orders by post, which was Agreed.

e) 50 Clapham High Street (6e). E-mail from Bradley Lomas, the new owner, to cde Chesham: “. . . nice to e-meet you [to e-meet you, nice] . . . once we have a clear picture of what works are required . . . I will communicate with you straight away”. Noted.

f) Advertising Committee adverts (Motion 11). The Committee provided the text of their adverts, which appear in just The Big Issue and Fortean Times. It was Agreed that they be asked to discontinue bookings in both publications and try a promotion in The Week, which cde Lee had expressed a wish to do (cde Tenner to supply contact details if necessary). It was further Agreed to ask the Committee to let the EC have an alternative text for consideration.

g) Head Office staffing. Cde Chesham reported that the premises will be open in March on Mondays 12:00 to 14:00, Wednesday afternoons, and Thursdays 1st, 8th, 15th & 29th, 10:30 to 15:30. The Head Office Organiser was asked to display these times in our window.

h) O’Gorman bequest. ‘Charwyl’ did not meet the £300,000 guide price at auction in February (although the EC had previously requested a reserve of £250,000). Our solicitors advise that the auctioneers “will continue to review interest in the hopes that it will sell in the next couple of days” but suggest re-listing at another auction on 19 April and ask for our comments. MOTION 1 (moved Tenner, seconded Dee): “That cde Thomas be asked to instruct that ‘Charwyl’ be auctioned in April at an asking price of £275,000, with leeway given to the auctioneers to accept a slightly lower bid should this figure not be met.” Carried 5-0-1

3. Forms A and F. An e-mail had been received from Isaäk Pfister (whose Form A had been accepted at our last meeting), asking to withdraw his membership request but wishing us future success. MOTION 2 (moved Shannon, seconded Tenner): “That our consent to Isaäk Pfister’s Form A be rescinded.” Agreed

4. Treasurer. i) Cde Rob Cox requested inclusion on the circulation list for EC agendas. This was Agreed. ii) He had noted the additional requirements in becoming our Registered Treasurer for Electoral Commission purposes and was confident that he could undertake the work, which involved weekly financial submissions in General Election periods; quarterly recording of, and receipts for, all donations; the adoption of Excel software; and more stringent control of cash and banking records. Cde Cox was not yet a signatory to cheques but would shortly be meeting cde Thomas to discuss handover issues. The EC thanked cde Cox for agreeing to this extra workload.

5. Reports of Party Officers, Subcommittees and discussion of advertising, campaigns and the
Socialist Standard

a) Report of the Standing Orders Committee (Preliminary Conference 2018 Agenda).

Arising therefrom, Kent & Sussex sent the following resolution (carried 4-0-0): “This Branch questions whether it is appropriate for Motion 1 to be on the Conference agenda as a motion. We suggest it would be more appropriate for it to be taken as an item of discussion, which would provide an opportunity for a discussion at 2018 Conference on any recommendations that are made.” Noted

b) Report of the Auditors to Conference 2018.

c) Report of the Election Committee to Conference 2018.

i) In this connection, West London Branch sent the following resolution (carried 5-0-0): “That we request EC permission to contest Barnes ward in the Richmond constituency at the May 2018 local election, cde Adam Buick to be our candidate.” Permission granted (4-0-1) Cde Parkin also reported that South London wished to contest Southwark in the May local election but that details had not been finalised, other than that he would be the candidate. ii) Cde Tenner had written and posted, by recorded delivery, a further appeal against the proposed £10,000 fine for breach of Electoral Commission regulations, for which the EC thanked him. A memorandum from cdes Thomas and Tenner outlining Electoral Commission reporting obligations — 2(b)v of January minutes — had not yet been received.

d) Report of the Socialist Standard Production Committee to Conference 2018. Arising therefrom, the Committee advised that cde Westley no longer had access to an internet connection for the purposes of SSPC layout work. It was Agreed that the Party fund this at a monthly cost of around £30 plus a one-off set-up charge of £20.

e) Report of the Universities and Colleges Committee to Conference 2018.

f) Report of the Publications Committee to Conference 2018. i) The following resolution was Agreed: “That as a matter of urgency, the Publications Committee be asked whether an approved text of the proposed ‘Gender and Politics’ pamphlet can be before April’s EC meeting, given that our Summer School is on the topic.” ii) A further resolution (moved Tenner, seconded Shannon) was Carried 5-0-0: “That the Publications Committee be asked whether they can supply to the EC a list of topics to which they consider priority should be given, bearing in mind that at 2017 Conference the Membership Applications Committee listed, in order of prevalence, the following reasons for rejection of applicants: ‘socialism’ in other countries (state capitalism); support for reforms; religion; and war.”

g) Report of the Investment Committee to Conference 2018.

All of the above reports were approved.

6. Correspondence. i) E-mail from cde Cox re amending the Member’s Handbook. It was Agreed to defer pending a fully revised draft. ii) Form C from North London Branch. iii) Socialist Party of Canada Secretary’s Report, February 2018. Noted.

Cde Stevens left the table at 4.40pm.

7. Any other business.

i) Website upgrade. Cde Kirk reported that he was hopeful work would be completed by mid-March. A preview before launch lift-off was requested.

ii) Conference catering. Cde Norman Deutz was unable to prepare refreshments this year. Cde Tenner agreed to ask cde Vahe Stephanian whether he could do so, at least on Saturday 21 April.

iii) August’s scheduled EC meeting conflicts with Summer School. It was Agreed that the EC meet on Saturday 11 August.

iv) Meeting in the North East. Cde Chesham reported that cde Kilgallon was arranging a May Day Rally at The Mining Institute in Newcastle on Saturday 5 May (2.30 to 6.30) on the subject of Momentum and the Labour Party. Hall hire would be £150, with a probable maximum spend of £250 and cdes Slapper and Gardner the proposed speakers. The EC Agreed the expenditure and awaited confirmation of details.

v) Volunteers. Cde Chesham recalled that three members had volunteered their help in response to the EC’s ‘A Call to Arms’ letter but didn’t know whether their offers had been taken up. It was finally Agreed to ask Cde Buick.

Nomination of chair of next meeting: Cde Dee.

Meeting closed at 5.03pm

[jondwhite]

Was a late pamphlet proposal discussed under AOB? Also which Rob Cox is mentioned here?

[Anonymous]

jondwhite wrote:

Was a late pamphlet proposal discussed under AOB? Also which Rob Cox is mentioned here?

The minutes are a complete record of the meeting's proceedings; if an item doesn't appear then it wasn't discussed.  There is only one 'Rob' Cox and he is the current Party Treasurer.

[Author]

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