After three years without the right to submit motions to conference, constituency parties have three more days to do so. The NEC is to allow votes this year on up to four motions from CLPs (chosen in a priorities ballot by CLP delegates) as they promised to do last year. Since the party rules have not yet been amended to allow motions, they must be submitted as “contemporary issue proposals”.
Each CLP can submit a contemporary issue proposals (closing date 12 noon on 17 September), provided the CLP did not submit a rule change in 2010 (deadline 30 July). Contemporary Issue proposals are one of the few opportunities that constituencies currently have to influence the Conference agenda and thus the Party’s policy making.
The Campaign for Labour Party Democracy has recently circulated model draft contemporary issue proposals to CLPs on “investment not cuts”, AV and housing which can be found here (the covering letter to CLPs can be found here ). These have been designed to overcome the unnecessarily restrictive attempts by party officials to gag constituency parties (see letter here) don’t be put off but be quick!
