National Policy Forum - Your Southeast CLP representatives

The new contemporary issues process at Conference

The new process for contemporary issues was backed by nearly 90% of the votes at Conference 2007. This process will be reviewed in two years time, to see if it is functioning properly.


The new process

Each local party will be able to submit one contemporary issue each year, to cover any issue not substantially addressed by the NPF process, and with a supporting statement explaining the reasons why it should be supported.

At Conference, provided the Conference Arrangements Committee agree that the issue meets the criteria, then it will be added to the list for priority voting (unlike the present system, there is no need for a resolution wording to be agreed, saving the compositing process – the issue alone in what is voted on).

As now, there is a vote on the issues for discussion. Unions vote for their top 4 and constituencies vote for their top 4.

If an issue is picked for debate, all the proposers of the issue meet with the ministers and policy commission co-convenors, to discuss what has happened on the issue so far and how the issue can be resolved.

Two speakers will be picked for each issue, and they will propose and second that the issue MUST be discussed by the relevant policy commission. In the debate, the con-convenor of the relevant commission must report on what the commission would do to take forward the issue. Conference then votes on whether the commission should consider the issue.

For issues that are passed in the vote, that issue will be put into the commission’s workplan for the following year. The commission can form a working group to look at the issue. The commission must also invite all of the organisations that proposed the issue to give evidence. The proposer and seconder will act as monitors, and have to be fully involved in the discussions on the issue.

The commission must also report back to the NPF regularly, with an interim report at the first NPF after conference and a report to every NPF meeting thereafter.

At the following annual conference, the commission must produce an annex to their report to conference on the issue, and report back on this to conference. Conference will then vote on whether they consider the progress acceptable or not, by voting on the annex.