by As agreed by the LLA launch conference on 22nd February 2020. You can download the constitution in PDF format here. Please note the appendix at the bottom.
1) Aims
The Labour Left Alliance (LLA) was set up in July 2019 to bring together groups and individuals on the Labour Left in order to build a democratic, principled and effective alliance that:
- organises democratically and transparently;
- both supports a left Labour Party leadership against attacks by the right, and is independent and able to criticise our leaders when necessary;
- opposes racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and all other forms of discrimination and is consistently internationalist – a stance which by definition includes support for the democratic and national rights of the Palestinians;
- campaigns for the free movement of people;
- opposes attempts to conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism and opposes the witch-hunt against the left;
- campaigns to radically transform and democratise the Labour Party and the trade unions;
- campaigns for open selection so that the Parliamentary Labour Party better reflects the views of the members;
- campaigns for a disciplinary process in the Labour Party which is based on natural justice and due process;
- supports and encourages struggles against austerity and all forms of oppression.
2) Structures
2.1. We encourage all those not already involved in local Labour Left groups to become active in one or help set one up. Our aim is to organise every single signatory in an active LLA group.
2.2. We expect all individual LLA signatories to be members of the Labour Party, and affiliated organisations to be politically oriented towards the Labour Party and actively engaged with it. Organisations or individuals, and their members or supporters, who are standing, or intend to stand, candidates for election against the Labour Party, are not eligible to become affiliates or signatories of the LLA.
2.3. We welcome those who have been unfairly or unjustly suspended or expelled from the Labour Party; the Organising Group will make such judgement in such cases.
2.4 Individual supporters are requested to pay a subscription and affiliated groups are required to pay an affiliation fee. Subscription rates, and affiliation fees for groups to be set by the Organising Group.
2.5 Decisions on all levels are made by consensus where possible and by simple majority where necessary (not counting abstentions). Decisions should be reached as quickly as possible, allowing the discussion to be as thorough as possible.
2.6 LLA branches and affiliated groups are encouraged to communicate and form any collaborative ventures they wish.
2.7 We welcome national, regional and local groups, unions and individuals to become signatories of our appeal.
3) Organising Group and Steering Committee
3.1 The Organising Group (OG) is made up of representatives from all the affiliated groups. The affiliated groups can change their representative/s at any time.
3.2 The OG meets at least quarterly. Meetings should be scheduled well in advance (at least one month). It publishes agendas, minutes, reports and financial overviews and may set up working groups.
3.3 The OG elects its Officers at least annually or after each conference, if sooner. The Officers are accountable to the OG; they work together as the Steering Committee (SC), and shall include as a minimum the following:
- Secretary
- Chair
- National Organiser
- Treasurer
- Social Media and Website Coordinator.
Additional Officers may be included as the organisation grows, to be determined by the OG.
3.4 Where an Officer position cannot be filled, the OG may co-opt a signatory of the LLA to the SC – they will have speaking, but no voting rights.
3.5 The SC produces regular minutes and work reports for the OG. If there is a serious disagreement on the SC, the issue should be brought to the OG to be resolved.
3.6 The SC is in ‘permanent session’. It will consider proposals from signatories where possible, but it must discuss all motions or proposals made by at least 10 LLA signatories or an affiliated group.. Should the movers disagree with the decision by the SC, they can submit their proposals to the Organising Group, which will have to discuss it at the earliest opportunity.
4) Conference and its composition
4.1 Conference takes place at least annually. A special conference will be held at the request of a number of individual supporters or affiliated groups or branches (to be decided by the OG).
4.2 Conference decides on political strategy, campaigning priorities, structures and the constitution.
4.3 The OG decides on the ratio of delegates per signatory in an LLA group, and the number of delegates for a nationally affiliated organisation.
4.4 The OG decides on a method to allow the full participation of individual signatories who cannot attend meetings of any local LLA groups.
4.5 The OG establishes a Conference Arrangements Committee (CAC), which decides speakers, and the agenda, and publishes detailed guidelines and timetables for motions and amendments.
4.6 All decisions are made by a simple majority of those voting.
Appendix
As agreed by the Organising group on 21st March 2020:
To 2.4
Affiliation fees for local groups = £20/annum
Affiliation fee for national groups = £100/annum
Individual supporters are requested to pay a minimum subscription of £1/month/£10/year.
to 4.1
A special conference can be requested by either 1/3 of current affiliated groups/branches or 10% of individual LLA supporters. After each conference, the OG publishes membership figures. Currently, that percentage translates to 200 members.
The OG meeting of May 16 2020 further decided:
To 3.1.
There should be minimum requirements for local and national groups in order to be able to affiliate:
a) Local groups should have at least ten LLA signatories in order to be able to affiliate and get a representative on the OG
b) National groups should have at least fifty members in order to be able to affiliate to the LLA and claim two representatives on the OG.
Addendum:
On 22 August 2020 conference passed the following procedures as an addendum to the constitution:
