Our Constitution - Green Party

1. Title and Form

The Constitution is the comprehensive organising document for the for the Green Party of England and Wales. The constitution can be amended and updated by motions raised and agreed at Spring and Autumn Conferences each year.

The last amendments to The Green Party Constitution was agreed at Spring Conference 2023 and is outlined on these pages.

i)    The name of the Party shall be The Green Party.
ii)    The Party shall comprise Local Parties. Each Local Party shall be called The {geographical name} Green Party or The {geographical name} Ecology Party or a combination of both.
iii)    For electoral purposes either the national title or the local title shall be used.
iv)    In all publications of the Green Party the terms ‘Green Party’ and ‘Ecology Party’ shall be synonymous.

[Three clauses below to add when commencement date for them is agreed]
v)    The legal form of the Green Party shall be a company limited by guarantee (from the Commencement Date of that company).
vi)    The Articles and Memorandum of the company (from the Commencement Date of that company) will stand alongside and make reference to the Constitution but will not affect any Constitutional Terms or provisions.
vii)    Changes to the Constitution, made in accordance with section 20 below, shall not change any of the terms of the Articles and Memorandum of Association.

2. Geographical Remit and Links

The geographical remit of the party shall be England and Wales. The party shall maintain links with the autonomous Northern Ireland Green Party, and with the independent Scottish Green Party and Comhaontas Glas (the Green Party of the Irish Republic).

3. Objects and Aims

The object shall be to promote the aims of The Green Party, which are:

i) to develop and implement ecological policies consistent with the Philosophical Basis of the Party as expressed in Policies for a Sustainable Society;

ii) to that end to win seats at all levels of government;

iii) to organise any non-violent activity which will publicise and further the first two aims.

4. Membership

i) Membership is open to any person who subscribes to the object of the Party, and is not already a member of another political party, other than Green Parties abroad, subject to clause 4(vii) below.

ii) Membership shall be of the smallest appropriate Party. Such membership shall automatically impart membership of The Green Party, and, in each of the Regions defined in Clause 5(ii) below, membership of the appropriate Regional Party, once the national proportion of the membership has been paid.

iii) The rates of subscription for membership, and the proportions in which they shall be divided between Local Parties, Regional Parties and The Green Party, shall be set by the Party Conference. Following a quorate 2/3rds majority vote of GPEx, they shall be authorised to offer discounts for new members joining on direct debit, of up to a third, for a period not more than 3 months in any calendar year. Membership subscriptions and capitation rates shall be subject to regular reviews as of Green Party AGM 2001. Such reviews shall be carried out on a 3 yearly basis by GPEx in consultation with GPRC. Capitations to Regions and Local parties shall each be a weighted average subscription value per member of the relevant party.

iv) Membership of The Green Party shall entitle members to vote on the business of the Party and hold office in it, in such ways as are laid down in this Constitution and Standing Orders made under it, and to receive certain services.

v) A Local Party may institute any form of Local Associate Membership and encourage Associates to participate in its business. The rights of such Associate Members shall be set out in the constitution of the Local Party, and those rights shall not extend beyond involvement in the Local Party. Local Associate Members shall not be considered to be members of the Green Party beyond the geographic boundaries of their Local Party, and they shall not be involved in decision making of the Party at a regional or national level, nor shall they be eligible to either contest, vote in, or nominate candidates for regional or national internal selection procedures. In the absence of any explicit provision in a local party constitution regarding the rights of Associate members to vote or be involved in the decision-making process or selection procedures of a local party, they shall be assumed not to have any such rights.

vi) GPEW will carry out equalities monitoring of members, candidates, officers and office holders. The aggregated anonymised data will be presented to the AGM as part of the Equality and Diversity coordinator’s report. This section of the report will include national, regional and local actions to address issues of underrepresentation.

vii) No member of the Party may be a candidate for any other party in an election for any level of government and no member of another party may be a candidate for The Green Party in any such election except in cases of joint candidacies. No member of the Party may stand as an independent candidate against properly selected Green Party candidate(s). No member may campaign for any candidate standing against a properly selected Green Party candidate.

viii) The Green Party Regional Council (hereinafter referred to as the Regional Council) shall have the power to expel or suspend any person from membership and/or refuse membership to any person for a specified period if in its opinion it is in the Party’s interest to do so. Where necessary to avoid or reduce the likelihood of further harm to the Party, a member under investigation may be suspended temporarily by decision of the Regional Council or those members of it empowered to act on its behalf while that takes place, but no member may be expelled without proper consideration. The Local Party shall not offer Associate Membership to any person who has been expelled from or refused membership of the Green Party.

ix) As Green Party members we are committed to attempting, wherever possible, to resolve disagreement through mutual respect and discussion. In line with nationally acknowledged good practice in complaints management, wherever possible all participants in the complaints and disciplinary process at all levels of the party recognise, and are alert to, the value and priority of reaching a fair and early resolution to the case rather than an assumed future hearing. Expelling members of an organisation is painful and should be avoided wherever possible. A diversity of opinions is likely to exist within any organisation, and political difference should not automatically be the basis for expulsion of a party member. Any previous attempts at mediation should be taken into consideration before the decision to expel a member is taken.

x) There shall be a Disciplinary Committee, responsible for handling all complaints of a disciplinary nature which have not been or cannot be resolved at a Local, Regional or Wales Green Party level, or by another Party body formally recognised by the Green Party Regional Council, and where mediation has been declined or been unsuccessful. The committee will comprise 22 members, two members from each region, two from the Wales Green Party elected in accordance with their respective constitutions, and two members elected biennially at the Autumn or Spring Conferences. The term of office will be two years.

xi)    Complaints will be considered on the following grounds:
a)    that a member has contravened the Constitution of the Party as interpreted by Standing Orders Committee (SOC)
b)    that a member has made a breach of one or more of the number of Standards in the Party’s Code of Conduct.

xii) There shall be a Disputes and Complaints Referral Group which will consider whether a complaint has been brought on one of the grounds specified in 4 (xi) and decide on this basis whether it should be referred to Disciplinary Committee, to another appropriate body or be dismissed.

xiii)    Members have the right to appeal to the Green Party’s Regional Council’s Appeals Subcommittee against decisions of the Disciplinary Committee on the following grounds:
a)    That on the information before the Disciplinary Committee it was unreasonable for the Disciplinary Committee to find the ground of the complaint to be established.
b)    that there is relevant, reliable, and significant information that was not before the Disciplinary Committee that would have been likely to cause the Disciplinary Committee to find that the Ground of the complaint was not established.
c)    That the Disciplinary Committee’s consideration of the complaint was procedurally unfair to the member.
d)    That from the information presented before the Committee it was unreasonable for the Committee to award the sanction or sanctions it has imposed.

xiv) The Disciplinary Committee and all appeals against it considered by the GPRC Appeals Subcommittee shall be governed by Standing Orders for Party Discipline, which can only be amended by a simple majority conference.

xv) A member giving written notice of resignation shall cease to be a member of the Green Party. A member for whom the national proportion of their membership subscription is more than two months in arrears shall be issued a reminder via the appropriate local party and, if they do not respond within a further four months from the date of the reminder, shall be deemed to have left the Green Party.

5. Organisation

i) Local Parties may be formed by groups of members of The Green Party who shall determine their own constitution, in accordance with bye-laws to be approved from time to time by the Annual Conference.
The general practice of the Party shall be to encourage the greatest possible autonomy of each Local Party in its pursuit of the Object of the Party.

ii) Regional Parties: for the purpose of representation on Regional Council, The Green Party shall comprise national and regional Green Parties, hereinafter referred to as Regional Parties. The areas covered by these Regional Parties shall be as specified in Appendix A of this constitution. Each Regional Party shall determine its own constitution in accordance with bye-laws to be approved from time to time by the Annual Conference.

iii)    Wales Green Party:
a)    Wales Green Party shall have such rights and responsibilities and be governed by such rules as are laid down in Appendix B of this Constitution.
b)    The assumption of Autonomous Region status by Wales Green Party shall not affect the rights of members within that Region as provided in this Constitution and in Standing Orders, nor shall it affect the rights of any Local Party within that Region.

iv)    All Local and Regional Parties must register the following officers with Party Office:
a)    One or more Nominating Officers, with the task of accepting authorisations from the National Agent to nominate candidates in the local/regional party area for elections to any level of government. This person is commonly, but need not be, the Election Agent for some or all elections in the local/regional party’s area.
b)    A Treasurer who has the legal obligation under the PPERA to maintain proper accounts for the local/regional party. They must record all donations received and submit to The Green Party Treasurer quarterly reports of donations, copies of annual accounts and any other information required to comply with government legislation.
c)    A coordinator or contact person to receive general information from the national party.
d)    An enquiry recipient whose telephone number can be given to members of the public.
e)    These people must all be members of The Green Party but need not be members of the local/regional party of which they are officials. For example adjacent local parties may share some officers, or regional party officers may do some of the jobs for a local party.

v) These appointments should normally be made or confirmed at the local or regional party’s AGM. Party Office should be informed of them promptly.

vi) When an officer leaves their post for any reason Party Office should be informed and a replacement appointed within twenty-eight days, to enable compliance with the PPERA.

vii) The constitution of each local party should include a provision for winding up the local party. If a local party has not elected the officers outlined in iv above at a meeting held in the previous 18 months then that local party may be deemed to have ceased functioning and wound up. Any decision to wind up the local party will be taken by the GPEX local party support coordinator subject to the consent of the appropriate regional party, after consulting with all members in that local party area and with officers in adjacent local parties.

viii) In case a Local Party is so wound up, efforts should be made by the regional co-ordinator or others to arrange a merger with a geographically adjacent local party. In that case any funds from the defunct party should be transferred to the newly merged one; otherwise such funds should be transferred to the regional party. Capitations will also be paid to either the newly merged party or to the regional party, as appropriate.

ix) Each local party shall define its boundaries unambiguously and in a fashion that is determinable from a postal address, either by parliamentary constituency or by local authority boundary; and inform Party Office thereof. Local party areas so defined may cover more than one Parliamentary Constituency or local authority area but shall not overlap, nor shall a ward be split between two local parties.

x) When a new local party is proposed within the area of one or more existing local parties, or an existing party wishes to split, it/they shall be deemed to be brought into existence when Party Office is so informed by the coordinator/contact people of the existing local parties and the regional coordinator as well as by the registration of the new party’s or parties’ officers.

xi) In the case of a dispute of any issue relating to sections (ix) and (x) above within its region the regional party should in the first instance attempt to resolve it, involving GPRC and/or DRC as appropriate.

xii) Members with interests in common may form a group subject to bye-laws approved from time to time by Conference. Members temporarily resident at an educational institution may also form a group. Such groups may be accorded some or all of the rights of a Local Party by mutual agreement with the Regional Council, subject to reference to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee in the event of any unresolved dispute.

xiii) Co-operation between Local Parties may take any form. In particular, Local Parties may federate for any appropriate purpose provided that such federations are named as in Clause 1(ii). Regional Parties may be one such federation, but federations may be formed at any other level either within or across Region boundaries.

xiv) Joint PR lists involving regional or national lists of candidates that include both Green Party and non-Green Party members are permitted unless prohibited by GPEx, from whom permission must be sought. The selection of Green Party candidates on those lists shall be conducted under bye-laws prepared by GPEx and agreed jointly with the relevant region in the case of a regional list.

xv) Joint candidacies between Green Parties and other parties are permitted unless prohibited by GPEx from whom permission must be sought. If GPEx prohibit joint lists or joint candidacies, then local parties or regional parties can appeal to GPRC.

xvi) The business of the Regional Council shall be governed by Standing Orders.

xvii) Campaigns for regional and national elections where there are single member constituencies shall be conducted by Local Parties in accordance with bye-laws approved from time to time by Annual Conference

xviii) The elections and equality and diversity coordinators on the Green Party Executive will be tasked with working with local and regional parties to promote the training and conditions within the Green Party to enable it to work towards the proportion of female candidates reaching at least 50% in candidate lists in PR elections and at least 50% of General election candidates. Taking into account the need to put forward effective candidates, they will work with local/regional parties to try to ensure that female candidates will comprise at least 50% of those selected to stand for winnable seats. A report on the gender balance of candidates and elected members will be included in the Election Coordinator’s element of the GPEx report to the AGM and may also be reported to the Spring conference if it falls after a relevant election

xix) The Party shall register and maintain registration as a political party in accordance with the relevant government legislation. It shall follow bye-laws approved from time to time by Conference.

xx) No member may be elected to the same post or sit on the same body for more than 5 terms consecutively, nor be a member of the Green Party Regional Council for more than 3 terms consecutively.

xxi) Selection for nomination to the House of Lords shall be conducted in accordance with byelaws approved from time to time by Annual Conference

xxii) The Green Party are committed to providing an open and inclusive environment for activism. As such all bodies shall follow the safe space policy.

6. Green Party Regional Council

i) There shall be a Green Party Regional Council which shall provide a forum for dialogue between Regions, responsible for keeping under review the general well-being of the Party and for supporting and advising the Green Party Executive, particularly on matters of political strategy.

ii) The Regional Council shall have overall responsibility for policy statements between Conferences.

iii) The Regional Council shall have overall responsibility for agreed democratic procedures within the Party.

iv) The Regional Council shall consist of two members elected by postal ballot (as specified in Appendix C) by and from each constituted Region. Each term of membership of Regional Council shall be for two years commencing from the date of election by the individual Region. Such election shall be notified, in writing, to the Secretary of the Regional Council giving the date of election and confirmed by the Region’s Electoral Returning Officer. Such notice is to be given not less than two weeks prior to the next meeting of the Regional Council.

v) Any casual vacancy on the Regional Council may be filled by the appropriate Region according to its constitution.

vi) The Regional Council shall meet at least four times a year.

vii) A quorum of the Regional Council shall comprise one third of its membership eligible to vote.

viii) The Regional Council shall elect by secret ballot from within its number two Co-chairpersons who have different gender identities, and shall appoint a secretary.

ix) By a two-thirds majority of its voting membership the Regional Council may suspend from office any member of the Regional Council, if there is evidence of sustained conduct which in the opinion of the Regional Council is against the interests of the Party, subject to the right of such a member to appeal.

x) By a two-thirds majority of its voting membership the Regional Council may recall the GPEx Chair or a Co-ordinator post holder, who shall be under suspension until a new ballot has been held for that post at a date to be determined by the Regional Council.

xi) By a two-thirds majority of its voting membership the Regional Council may recall the Leader or Deputy Leader(s) or Co-Leaders, who shall be under suspension until a new ballot has been held for both posts at a date to be determined by the Regional Council.

xii) In the event of the Green Party Executive suspending one of its members under Clause 6(xi), the Regional Council may decide whether to remove or reinstate that member, subject to the right of such a member to appeal against removal.

xiii) The Regional Council may request with reasonable notice any member of the Green Party Executive to attend one of its meetings to report on their area of responsibility.

xiv) The Regional Council shall keep records of its business, which it shall provide to the Green Party Executive and make available to the membership of the Party, and shall present a written report to the AGM and Spring Conference.

7. Green Party Executive

i) There shall be a Green Party Executive (hereinafter referred to as the Party Executive) which shall be responsible for the overall and day-to-day direction of the Party. Certain duties and responsibilities are reserved to other Party bodies specified in this Constitution, in particular Conference, Standing Orders Committee, Green Party Regional Council, Disciplinary Committee and Appeals Committee. The authority of the Executive does not extend over those reserved duties and responsibilities.

ii)    The Party Executive shall consist of Leader plus Deputy Leader(s) or Co-Leaders, Wales Green Party Leader and additional members to the following functional positions, elected to serve for two years:
    (a) Chair;
    (b) Campaigns Co-ordinator;
    (c) Elections Co-ordinator;
    (d) External Communications Co-ordinator;
    (e) Finance Co-ordinator;
    (f) Management Co-ordinator;
    (g) International Co-ordinator;
    (h) Local Party Support Co-ordinator;
    (i) Policy Development Co-ordinator;
    (j) Publications Co-ordinator;
    (k) Internal Communications Co-ordinator
    (l) Equality and Diversity Co-ordinator
    (m) The co-chairs of the Young Greens as a job share
    (n) Trade Union Liaison Officer

iii)    Elections for the GPEx Chair and Co-ordinator posts shall be by a postal ballot of all members of the party with voting included within the Annual Ballot. Half of these posts shall be elected in one year and half in the next, so that their two year terms are staggered.
The posts below will be elected in one group in the annual ballot, with all other GPEx posts up for election as a group during the alternate years.
    Chair;
    Campaigns Co-ordinator;
    Elections Co-ordinator;
    External Communications Co-ordinator;
    Management Co-ordinator;
    International Co-ordinator;
    Trade Union Liaison Officer.

iv) Subject to the collective responsibility of the Executive set out in 7 i), 7 xvi) and elsewhere in section 7, each member of the Party Executive shall ensure that the needs of the Party are being met in their particular area of responsibility. Within that area of responsibility set out in 7ii), the member shall be individually responsible for all decisions except those which have been made collectively by the Party Executive.

v) Procedures for the election of Leader and Deputy Leader(s) or Co-Leaders of the Green Party and their duties and responsibilities are outlined in Section 8 of this Constitution.

vi) Candidates for the GPEx Chair and Co-ordinator posts shall have been a member of the Party for the two complete years preceding the date of close of nominations, and shall be required to complete a standard application form. Nominations of candidates must be supported by the signatures of a minimum of ten members of the Green Party of England and Wales. Or, if they have been a member for a minimum of one complete year preceding the date of close of nominations, their nomination must be supported by a majority of GPRC members in attendance at a quorate official meeting of that body.

vii) Members of the Party may be nominated for no more than one GPEx Chair and Co-ordinator post at any one time, and no member may hold more than one post on the Party Executive at any one time. Members of the Party Executive may not hold any other elected office in the Party at national level. Members of the Party may be nominated for both Leader and Deputy Leader(s).

viii) The Party Executive shall meet as necessary and a minimum of six times a year, at least once every nine weeks.

ix) A quorum of the Party Executive shall comprise a majority of its membership eligible to vote.

x) The Party Executive may from time to time create such Committees as it considers necessary for the efficient conduct of its business and shall determine their terms of reference, powers, duration and composition, retaining responsibility for the conduct of such Committees and accounting for the conduct of those Committees to the Annual Conference. Any such Committee shall include at least one member of the Regional Council.

xi) The Party Executive shall appoint the following posts:
(a) a National Election Agent;
(b) a Treasurer, whose appointment shall be subject to ratification by the Regional Council;
(c) a Panel of Speakers, who shall each be responsible for covering a designated area of policy. In addition the Party Executive may create such posts as it considers necessary.

xii) The Executive shall elect from among its elected members a deputy chair, to assist the chair in their duties, and to act in the role of the chair at any time when the chair is unable to do so. Such elections are to take place at least annually.

xiii) By a two-thirds majority of its membership eligible to vote the Party Executive may suspend from office any member of the Party Executive, if there is evidence of sustained conduct which in the opinion of the Party Executive is against the interests of the Party, subject to any decision of the Regional Council under Clause 6(xii) and subject to the right of such a member to appeal.

xiv) In the event of twenty per cent of constituted Local Parties petitioning the Regional Council to recall the GPEx Chair or a Co-ordinator post holder, such a member shall be under suspension until a new ballot has been held for that post at a date to be determined by the Regional Council.

xv) In the event of casual vacancy for a GPEx Chair or a Co-ordinator post a replacement shall be appointed in an acting and non-voting capacity by the Party Executive until the next ballot is held.

xvi) The responsibilities of the Party Executive shall include the following at the national level:
(a) to implement the decisions of the Annual Conference;
(b) to ensure the proper expenditure, administration, and raising of the funds of the Party;
(c) to act as the Green Party’s employer of Green Party staff.
(d) to keep records of its business, which it shall provide to the Regional Council and make available to the membership of the Party;
(e) to present a full written report on its activities and on the financial state of the Party to the AGM.

xvii) The Chair, and other Executive members that the Regional Council may from time to time invite shall attend every meeting of the Regional Council to report on the work of the Party Executive, without prejudice to Clause 6(xiii).

8. Party Leader and Deputy Leader

i) There shall be a leader and two deputy leaders of the party. The leader shall be a voting member of the Executive and the deputy leaders be treated as a job-share.

ii) The Leader and Deputy or Co-Leaders will be the primary public faces of the party, responsible for presenting Green Party policy and promoting its electoral activity and campaigns to the public on a daily basis.

iii) Candidates for Leader and Deputy Leader(s) or Co-Leader shall have been a member of the Party for the three complete years preceding the date of close of nominations, and shall be required to complete a standard application form. Nominations of candidates must be supported by the signatures of a minimum of twenty members of the Party.

iv) The post of deputy leader will be held as a job share with two individuals of a different gender, noting that gender is self-determined.
Two members of a different gender may together stand for the office of Leader in order to hold the post as a jobshare in which case they shall be known as ‘Co-Leaders’. In this case a single Deputy, the individual who polls the highest vote, regardless of gender, will be elected. Members standing to be Co-Leaders may not simultaneously be candidates as individuals for either Leader or Deputy Leader.

v) The Leader and Deputy Leader(s) or Co-Leaders shall be elected every two years. The election shall be by a postal ballot of all members of the Party.

vi) Elections for the Leader and Deputy Leader(s) will include the opportunity for each candidate to address members through specific mailings, a party membership newsletter and web based communications. Regional parties will be encouraged to hold hustings.

vii) The Leader and Deputy Leader(s) will be accountable to party committees in the same way as other members of the Executive and will be expected to outline their future plans and work to the Executive and GPRC.

viii) The Leader and Deputy Leader(s) in exercising their duties will at all times abide by Party policy, the PSS and Philosophical Basis.

ix) In the event of ten per cent of the membership petitioning the Regional Council to recall the Leader or either or both of two Co-Leaders, a new election for both posts of Leader and Deputy Leader(s) shall be held in which the current postholders shall be eligible to stand. In the event of a similar petition to recall the Deputy Leader(s), a new election for that post only will be held, in which the current postholder and other members of the same sex as the current postholder shall be eligible to stand, subject to clause 8 (iii) above. The current postholders will retain their -post until the result of that election.

x) The Leader and Deputy Leader(s) or Co- Leaders will present an Annual Report to the AGM and Spring Conference.

xi) If there are Co-leaders and one of the Co-Leaders resigns, there will be a byelection for both Co-Leaders. If there are two deputy leaders, should one of the deputy leaders resign, there will be a byelection for both deputy leaders. If the by-election process is started (i.e. the call for nominations goes out) such that it can be completed (i.e. the result declared) on or before the 1st of May in the second year of the current two-year term, the person or persons elected shall serve until the scheduled end of that term: if the process cannot be completed on or before that date, no by-election shall take place and clause 8(xii) shall apply until the result of the next scheduled Annual Ballot. Any by-election for the position of Leader or Co-Leaders will not impact the term of the current Deputy Leader(s), except that nobody may be both Leader/Co-Leader and Deputy Leader simultaneously. In the event of a by-election under this clause, there may temporarily be only one Deputy Leader alongside a single Leader where a single Leader succeeds Co-Leaders, or two Deputy Leaders alongside Co-Leaders where Co-Leaders succeed a single Leader. This will only occur until the next regularly scheduled election.

xii) ln the event of the suspension or resignation of the Leader, the Deputy Leader(s) shall have the position of Acting Leader until a new election has taken place. In the event of the suspension or resignation of one of two Co-Leaders, the other Co-Leader shall have the position of Acting Leader until a new election has taken place. In the event of the suspension or resignation of both the Leader and Deputy Leader(s), or of both of two Co-Leaders, the Chair of GPEx shall have the position of Acting Leader until a new election has taken place.

9. Annual Ballot

i) There shall be held a nationally organised Annual Ballot that will include the election of the following posts as they fall due for election:
(a) Leader and Deputy Leader(s) or Co-Leaders;
(b) GPEx Chair and Co-Ordinators;
(c) Any casual vacancies occuring for any of these posts that are notified to the ERO before the opening of nominations;
(d) Any two-year terms posts that have been subjected to the members’ nominated re-election requirement as defined in 9 (v) and 9 (vii) below.

ii) All elections held as part of the Annual Ballot shall be subject to a set of Standing Orders drawn up by the ERO and agreed by SOC.

iii) The nominations for all posts included in an Annual Ballot shall open at 10.00 on the first week-day in June and close at noon on the last week-day in June. Voting shall close on receipt of the last post on the last week-day of August or five week-days before the start of the Autumn conference, whichever is the sooner.

iv) If 5% of paid up national members of GPEW petition the ERO concerning any particular GPEx member (including Leader and Deputy Leader(s) or Co-Leaders) that post must be subject to election for its second year of the term and will be included within the next Annual Ballot. Existing post holders can be nominated. Whomsoever is elected in this circumstance shall serve the remaining year of the term.

v) In the event of a GPEx casual vacancy coming in existence, whether or not filled by co-option, in the first year of its term and before the opening of nominations for the Annual Ballot, that post shall be included within the Annual Ballot and any person so elected in this circumstance shall serve the remaining year of the term.

vi) If 5% of paid up national members within a Region petition their Regional ERO concerning any particular Regional Council representative for their Region that representative position must be subject to election for its second year of the term and will be included within the next Annual Ballot. Existing post holders can be nominated. Whomsoever is elected in this circumstance shall serve the remaining year of the term.

10. Conferences

i) The Party shall hold an Annual Conference each Autumn and will usually hold an additional Conference each spring; Conference shall be the supreme forum of the Party. The procedure of the Conference shall be governed by Standing Orders. All paid up members of the Green Party shall be eligible to attend and vote at Conference.

ii) Where the Party holds a Spring Conference it must finish at least 5 weeks before the local government elections unless the preceding Autumn Conference decides otherwise. The Spring Conference shall be governed by the same Standing Orders and have the same powers as the Autumn Conference, except that:
a) it shall be required to receive reports only from the leadership team (as per clause 8 (vii) of the constitution, the Leader or Co-leaders and the Deputy Leader (s) will report alongside the Wales Leader); Standing Orders Committee, Green Party Regional Council, Policy Development Committee, Disciplinary Committee and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee; This listing will be updated as and when constitutional changes lead to a change in the governance of the party so that reporting requirements will be carried over to any replacement or additional bodies that fulfil similar functions; these will be interim reports covering the period since the last Conference, and a dedicated online forum may be established to augment the Conference discussion;
b) it shall hold elections only for vacant posts, not those still filled by members elected by the preceding Autumn Conference;
c) its powers may be limited and its priorities may be specified by a resolution of the preceding Autumn Conference;
d) a total amount of time equivalent to one full day of the Conference, and always offering a choice of other activities, will be devoted to training workshops on local party organisation, campaigns, media, policy, electoral activism and other spheres of Green Party activity. GPEx members will be responsible for co-ordinating events in their respective areas of responsibility as appropriate.

iii) Standing Orders Committee. Conference shall elect a Standing Orders Committee (SOC) which shall be the final authority for the interpretation of the Constitution and Standing Orders, and be responsible for the order in which resolutions are taken during the conference, subject to the approval of Conference.

iv) The SOC shall consist of not more than five members elected by Annual Conference (not more than two of whom shall be members of the Regional Council).

v) Standing Orders Committee will be responsible for compiling and maintaining a Record of Organisational Statements to include instructions made by conference to bodies within the party.

vi) The SOC shall also carry out such duties as are provided for in Standing Orders.

vii) Conference may by a two-thirds majority grant Regional Council exceptional powers in defined areas of policy, campaign strategy or administration for a specified period of time.

viii) Any Annual Conference may decide to convene a Conference which will take place earlier than the next Annual Conference and which shall have those powers delegated to it by the convening Annual Conference. Such a Conference shall be called an Extraordinary Party Conference and shall be governed by the same Standing Orders as an Annual Conference. Any or all of the powers of an Annual Conference may be so delegated, including the power to amend this Constitution, but the resolution convening such a Conference must specify which powers are being delegated.
Conferences Committee

ix) There shall be a Conferences Committee, responsible for Party Conferences and for assisting in the organisation of other conferences to be held by the party.

x) The aim of the Conferences Committee shall be to provide Autumn and Spring Conferences which meet a wide range of needs for the party and members, offer a wide range of activities, and attract a wide range of members. This encourages participation and empowers members to make decisions for the Party. In general, the Committee shall hold successive Conferences at different locations to facilitate attendance from the range of Regions.

xi) The Conferences Committee shall comprise:

xii)
(a) five members elected at the Annual Party Conference to serve until the end of the following Annual Conference, with vacancies to be filled by election, or by co-options by the Committee to be ratified, at an intervening Conference. To be eligible for nomination for election, such members shall have attended at least two Party Conferences, including one in the current year. These may include the Conference at which they are nominated.
(b) one member of the local party covering the location of the next Conference, nominated by the local party, to serve until the end of that Conference.
(c) any additional members co-opted by the Committee for particular purposes. Additional members shall not vote at meetings of the Committee.

xiii) The role and organisation of the Conferences Committee shall be set out in the Conferences Committee Standing Orders, which shall be prepared by the Committee and subject to the approval of Conference.

xiv) The Conferences Committee shall be entitled to send a representative to meetings of the Executive, who shall be accorded the right to speak and make proposals, but not to vote.

xv) The Conferences Committee shall provide a report to each AGM and Spring Conference and also any extraordinary conference.

11. Annual General Meeting

i) The Party shall hold an Annual General Meeting, ordinarily this will be held in conjunction with Autumn Conference but no more than 18 months after the previous Annual General Meeting.

ii) The procedure for the Annual General Meeting shall be governed by Standing Orders. All paid up members of the Green Party shall be eligible to attend and vote at the Annual General Meeting.

iii) In the interests of openness and accountability, the Annual General Meeting shall be open to all members of the Party and – in principle – be free to attend though it is acknowledged that financial constraints may not always permit this.

iv)    The Annual General Meeting shall receive reports from:
a)    The leadership team. As per clause 8 (vii) of the constitution, The Leader or Co-leaders and The Deputy Leader (s) will report alongside the Wales Leader.
b)    All elected committees in the Party. This will include:

Green Party Executive and subcommittees
Green Party Regional Council
Standing Orders Committee
Policy Development Committee
Disciplinary Committee (report to include statistics from the entire disciplinary process, based on an overview from the Complaints Manager)
Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
International Committee
Green World Editorial Board
Equalities and Diversity Committee
Campaigns Committee
Conferences Committee

This listing will be updated as and when constitutional changes lead to a change in the governance of the party so that reporting requirements will be carried over to any replacement or additional bodies that fulfil similar functions.
c) All recognised internal groups. Groups of members in common as set out in clause 5 (xii) of the constitution and recognised via the process defined in bye-law 3 referred to in clause 5 (xii) of the constitution will report. These reports shall be made available to all members of the Party.
These reports shall be made available to all members of the Party.

v) The order of business for the Annual General Meeting shall be decided by Standing Orders Committee in consultation with Conferences Committee, taking account of legal requirements and any other relevant factors.

vi) The agenda for the Annual Meeting shall be compiled and published by Standing Orders Committee but it shall not form part of their report to the Annual General Meeting which will appear as a separate report in the agenda.
a) The Standing Orders Committee report to the Annual General Meeting shall include matters of record and recommendation that do not directly pertain to arrangements for Conference (such as the Final Agenda and ordering of motions) and shall note all rulings requested and made since the previous Annual General Meeting. It is expected that rulings will be published to members as they occur, and that the Standing Orders Committee report to the Annual General Meeting will draw together the formal record of these rulings.

vii) Where the Annual General Meeting is held in conjunction with the Annual Conference, business of the Annual General Meeting will be timetabled separately from other conference business.

viii) No speeches are expected either for or against the AGM reports, other than to formally move the motion to accept the report and any amendments which have been properly submitted by the published deadline.

ix) Questions may be taken on each report at the discretion of the Chair, and a dedicated online forum may be established where the author of the report is unable to attend the AGM and/or where volume of questions exceeds the time available for full discussion: the relevant party officer will be expected to answer questions posed in that forum.

12. Elected Representatives

i) Green politicians work hard to further the cause of Green politics and the Party should offer practical assistance and support wherever possible.

ii) Green Party members who are elected or otherwise appointed to public office have responsibilities to the public, to the body on which they serve and to the Green Party. Whilst they must fulfil public duties, they also remain accountable to the Party.

iii) Elected members and other representatives should seek to further the Object and Aims of the Green Party (as set out in section 3). Their accountability in fulfilling this is to the appropriate Green party/parties corresponding to the Authority they have been elected to.

iv) Elected members and other representatives have a responsibility to promote the policies of the national and local green parties, as expressed in the PSS and national, regional and local manifestos. Where they do not agree with Party policy and publicly state their own position, they should at the same time state and explain the position of the Green Party.

v) When entering into agreements with other political parties, politicians and groups, elected members and other representatives must take into consideration the long-term best interests of the Party. Such decisions should be made after consultation with the relevant local or regional party/parties. In the case of MPs and MEPs, both the Chair of GPEx and the Co-Chairs of GPRC must be consulted in the first instance. Where the arrangement could have the effect of Green MPs entering into a national coalition or supporting another party or parties to form or continue a government, GPEx shall be consulted at every stage of the negotiations and, once an arrangement has been proposed, the arrangement must be supported by GPEx and put to GPRC for agreement on behalf of the Party. GPRC shall assess what level and methods of further consultation of party membership are practical, given the timescales involved and resources available, and ensure that the maximum practical consultation shall occur.

vi) Green parties and their elected representatives should establish and use appropriate structures and channels for communicating both with the Party and with the electorate, such as liaison groups, meetings and publications.

vii) There will be an Association of Green Councillors, responsible for the dissemination of information and best practice between all principal authority and parish councillors in England and Wales. It will appoint a Chair, a Secretary and a Treasurer, and will employ such staff as deemed necessary to accomplish its goals. It will hold at least one meeting per year (the Annual General Meeting) at which officers will be elected. Membership will be open to all elected representatives of the Green Party of England and Wales who will be encouraged to contribute to its funds, and all other full GPEW members on payment of an AGC subscription fee.

13. Decision-Making – Openness, Accountability and Confidentiality

i) Every effort shall be made to reach decisions at Conference, in Regional Council, within Local Parties and elsewhere by consensus. In the absence of consensus decisions shall be made by a simple majority vote unless otherwise provided.

ii) The Green Party is committed to open and accountable decision-making. The party also recognises that confidentiality is required in certain, limited circumstances.

iii) All decision-making meetings of elected and appointed Green Party bodies at national level shall be minuted, and reported to the appropriate body. It is the responsibility of each body to inform Party members of their decisions which affect them, and to answer queries about decisions promptly and without obstruction. Common requests which are not urgent may be deferred until there can be broad dissemination of the information. Records of past decisions shall be kept so long as the decisions continue to be relevant.

iv) Decisions made by procedures used between meetings of a body covered by (iii) shall be fully reported to its next meeting, which shall be deemed a meeting covered by (iii).

v) All meetings of Green Party bodies covered by (iii) shall be open to members as observers. Nonetheless, a party member may be excluded from observing all or part of such a meeting for any of the following reasons which apply generally or to a member or some members in particular:
(a) the business in question is covered by a general agreement, adopted by and available from the appropriate body of the party, which provides for confidentiality in defined cases, such as under the conditions of service of staff and procedures for competitive tendering;
(b) the business in question is covered by a specific undertaking given by the responsible body of the party providing for confidentiality in this particular case, such as a commercial contract with a confidentiality clause;
(c) if the party member has not given the body reasonable notice of their wish to observe its meeting, and there is not room to accommodate them at the venue;
(d) the member’s current continuous period of membership of the party has lasted for less than a year.

vi) A decision to exclude a party member or members from observing all or part of a meeting of a body under (v) shall require the assent of not less than two-thirds of the members of the body present, except that a decision to exclude those designated and notified by the Regional Council as its observer(s) from an Executive meeting shall require the unanimous assent of the Executive members present.

vii) Where and when an agreement or undertaking which provides for confidentiality under (v)(a-b) is entered into, this shall be minuted and reported as part of the decision to adopt that agreement or give that undertaking.

viii) Business from which observers have been excluded to ensure confidentiality shall nonetheless be fully minuted. The published minutes shall indicate the decisions taken, but the extent of information in those minutes may be restricted where required by the general agreement or specific undertaking of confidentiality concerned.

14. Policy Making

i) There shall be a Green Party Policy Development Committee (hereinafter referred to as the PDC) which shall be convened by the Policy Development Co-ordinator and which shall be responsible for providing for consideration by the Party the best available policy options consistent with the Philosophical Basis. The Policy Development Committee shall include five members elected for a term of 2 years by ballot of the entire membership, usually at the same time as the ballot for the membership of the Executive is held. Up to an additional five non-voting members may be co-opted by the elected Committee. This co-option shall take place after an annual skills audit carried out immediately following the election of the elected members, and will take account of:
•    the views of Equality and Diversity Committee
•    the views of relevant special interest groups within the party
•    views of the Association of Green Councillors,
•    and should ensure that at least two members of the Committee have direct experience of serving as a principal authority councillor.
This Committee shall be responsible for enabling, co-ordinating and promoting policy formulation for the Green party. The PDC shall submit a written report to each AGM and Spring Conference.

ii) The Philosophical Basis of the Party may be changed only by a two-thirds majority at Conference or by a two thirds majority vote of the membership through a party-wide ballot. Such a ballot will be initiated by a Conference in a resolution explicitly delegating this power. Such a resolution may only be proposed in advance of a Conference through the normal First Agenda process. A simple majority at Conference will be required to pass the motion to initiate the ballot.

iii) Proposed alterations to the policies of the Green Party to be approved by Conference must have passed through the process of consultation specified in Standing Orders for the Conduct of Conference. In this process, every effort shall be made to achieve effective consultation with appropriate bodies both within and outwith the party, with a view to achieving consensus within the party, or where that is unattainable the widest attainable agreement. When such alterations to policies are approved they shall be published in the Party’s policy book, Policies for a Sustainable Society.

iv) Policy Development Committee is empowered to make minor changes to Policies for a Sustainable Society between AGMs and conferences, such as updating out-of-date terminology (for instance, mention of organisations which no longer exist) and ensuring that Acts of Parliament referred to are current. All such changes will be reported to Conference through the Policy Development Committee report, so that an opportunity is provided to challenge each change and, if the AGM or Conference so decides, reverse it.

v) Major elaborations of policy shall be considered as Policy Statements by Green Party Regional Council in accordance with its Standing Orders. When such policy statements are approved they shall be published in the Party’s ‘Record of Policy Statements’ (RoPS).

vi) The contents of manifestos for Westminster elections shall be considered as Policy Statements by Regional Council. The final editing and presentation of such manifestos shall be the responsibility of the Elections Co-ordinator.

vii) Conference may make elaborations of previously agreed policy as Topical Motions and Emergency Motions.

viii)    Interim Policy Positions.
Political Committee are enabled to propose Interim Policy Positions on a specific issue provided:
a)    Policy Development Committee agree that there is no relevant policy in Policies for a Sustainable Society on this issue;
b)    The Regional Council agree that there is urgency to provide clarity on the Green Party’s position on this issue.
An Interim Policy Position can clarify or expand upon existing policy, or can be completely new policy, but it cannot contradict existing policy in Policies for a Sustainable Society or Records of Policy Statements.
Proposed text is sent to the Regional Council for interim ratification as urgent business through the provisions of the Rapid Policy Approvals Process. The text of all Interim Policy Positions will be published on the members’ website in a dedicated Interim Policy Positions forum. This will have the same effect as raising a topic in the pre-agenda forum as a necessary prelude to proposing a policy motion to the next Conference.
The motion put to Conference will be to ratify the text in the form of an Interim Policy Statement, open to amendments as per a policy motion in the standard policy process, with the exception that an amendment cannot be ruled out of order for tending to negate the original text.
Policy Development Committee will be expected to ensure that the outcome of the debate on the Interim Policy Statement leads to a motion to update Policies for a Sustainable Society in accordance with the Conference decision; that motion will be raised through the standard policy process and will be subject to amendments as usual.

ix) Policies included in RoPS may be amended or deleted by the approval of a motion to Conference. In addition, all policies in RoPS should be reviewed by Policy Development Committee two years after their adoption and at regular intervals thereafter. If the Committee considers that all or part of any of the policies therein are now outdated they can propose their amendment, archiving to a dedicated area of the members’ website or deletion by a subsequent meeting of Regional Council. Archived RoPS entries will remain in force as policy statements, but will not be actively promoted through the public policy website. All decisions to alter, archive and/or delete RoPS entries will be reported to the AGM or Spring Conference through the Policy Development Committee report.

x) A complete record of all decisions on policy by Conference shall be held and made available on request by the Standing Orders Committee, and a similar record of decisions on policy by the Regional Council shall be held and made available on request by the Regional Council.

15. Campaigning

i) There shall be a Green Party Campaigns Committee (hereafter called the Campaigns Committee) which shall be convened by the Campaigns Co-ordinator, and shall be responsible for organising campaigning, consistent with the Objects and Aims set out in part 3.

ii) The Campaigns Committee shall include 5 members elected by the Annual Conference, with vacancies to be filled by election, or by co-option to be ratified at an intervening conference.

iii) The Campaigns Committee shall submit a written report to each AGM.

iv) The role and organisation of the Campaigns Committee is set out in the Extra Electoral Strategy Paper as agreed at Annual Conference 1995.

16. International Committee

i) There shall be a Green Party International Committee (hereafter called the International Committee) which shall be convened by the International Co-ordinator.

ii) The International Committee shall include 5 members elected by Annual Conference with vacancies filled by election or by co-option to be ratified at an intervening conference.

iii) The International Committee shall be elected by and at conference, be answerable to the executive and shall be a committee of the executive.

iv) The role of the International Committee shall be to support the work of the co-ordinator and together with the co-ordinator organise the International work of the party . This includes, inter alia, having responsibility, along with the international co-ordinator, for the selection of delegates and / or representatives to meetings of fellow Green parties and groupings of Green parties worldwide.

v) The role and organisation of the International Committee shall be set out in the International Committee Standing Orders, which shall be prepared by the Committee and subject to the approval of the Executive. The International Committee shall be required to report to each AGM.

17. Green World

i) The Party shall publish Green World at least four times a year to all its members without additional charge

ii) Green World shall be designed to be suitable for circulation outside the Party.

iii) The aim of Green World shall be to assist the Party to fulfil its constitutional aims through the retention of members.

iv) There shall be an editorial board, consisting of: a. Five voting members to be elected at the Annual Conference b. The following non-voting members:

An editor or editorial team
A regional councillor, nominated by GPRC, whose function on the board shall be to represent GPRC in order to ensure maximum cohesion between the operations of Green World and of Regional Council
A member of the Party Executive, nominated by GPEx, whose function on the board shall be to represent GPEx in order to ensure maximum cohesion between the operations of Green World and of the Party Executive
Any other members, whom the elected members of the board may co-opt in order to assist the board’s work. The appointment of an editor or editorial team shall continue until the appointee(s) or the board wish to end the appointment. In either case three months notice in writing shall be given prior to the date on which the appointment shall end.

v) The role of the editorial board shall be to ensure that Green World fulfils its aim, in accordance with the Standing Orders for the editorial board. The editorial board shall be required to report to each AGM.

vi) The elected members of the board shall appoint an editor or editorial team, by advertising throughout the Party and arranging appropriate appointing procedures. If an editorial team is appointed, the board shall nominate one of the team to be executive editor, who shall be the chief point of contact between the editorial team and the editorial board.

vii) The editor, or the editorial team under the direction of the executive editor, shall be responsible for executing the production of Green World and shall be accountable to the Party through the editorial board. The board and the editor/editorial team shall jointly strive to ensure that the contents of Green World is at all times legal, decent and honest. viii)The newspaper shall be financed by the Party Executive and such income as may be raised from sales and advertising.

18. Elections

i) All elections in the Green Party shall be conducted by the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representation.

ii) In all elections for SOC, Policy Development Committee, Campaigns Committee, International Committee, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, Equalities & Diversity Committee, the Regional Council, and the Party Executive there will be an election, even when there are no more candidates than positions to be filled. In all elections and candidate selections at national, local and regional levels within the Party provision will be made for negative voting, by the inclusion in the ballot of the option of Re-Open Nominations (RON), such that if any candidate receives more negative than positive votes such candidate shall not be elected. RON shall remain a live option throughout the count and shall not be eliminated at any stage.

iii) The SOC shall appoint a Returning Officer (RO) and Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) each year. The RO shall conduct elections for office in the Party at national level which take place by postal or Conference ballot. The DRO shall assist the RO and deputise for the RO at the RO’s request.

iv) The RO shall prepare election regulations for the conduct of such elections. Such regulations shall be subject to the approval of SOC, and shall be published to candidates. SOC shall be the final authority for the interpretation of the regulations, and within that interpretation the decision of the RO shall be final.

19. Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee

i) There shall be a Committee called the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee to serve the needs of Green Party members in resolving disputes arising in any matter relating to the membership and activities of The Green Party, Regional Parties and Local Parties.

ii) The Committee shall consist of seven members elected for a two year term of office, for a maximum consecutive term of six years, at each Annual Party Conference, with vacancies to be filled by election, or by co-options to be ratified, at an intervening Conference. No member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee shall be a member of any other body of The Green Party elected by the whole membership or by Conference, nor employees, nor Officers of The Green Party.

iii) The role and organisation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee shall be set out in the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee Standing Orders agreed from time to time by Conference. The Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee shall be required to report to each AGM and Spring Conference.

20. Equalities and Diversity Committee

i) There shall be a Green Party Equalities & Diversity Committee (hereafter called the Equalities & Diversity Committee) which shall be convened by the Equalities & Diversity Co-ordinator.

ii) The Equalities & Diversity Committee shall include 5 members elected by Annual Conference with vacancies filled by election or by co- option to be ratified at an intervening conference.

iii) The Equalities & Diversity Committee shall also include a representative of each group that is recognised as a Members Working Group by the Equalities & Diversity Committee.

iv) The Equalities & Diversity Committee shall provide a report to each AGM.

v) The role of the Equalities & Diversity Committee shall be to support the work of the co-ordinator and seek to improve Equalities & Diversity within the Green Party.

21. Revision of the Constitution

i) The Constitution may be revised by a two thirds majority vote, at an Annual Conference or an Extraordinary Party Conference called by an Annual Conference in a resolution explicitly delegating this power.

ii) The Constitution may also be revised by a two thirds majority vote of the membership through a party-wide ballot. Such a ballot will be initiated by an Annual Conference in a resolution explicitly delegating this power. Such a resolution may only proposed in advance of an Annual Conference through the normal First Agenda process. A simple majority at Conference will be required to pass the motion to initiate the ballot.

iii) No amendment to the Constitution shall be retrospective in nature/effect.

iv) Changes to this constitution take effect at the close of the Conference in which they were agreed. Or for changes that come about via a members’ ballot when the result of that ballot is agreed.

v) Where errors arise within the numbering, lettering and references within The Constitution, Standing Orders Committee are permitted to correct and republish them without recourse to conference for prior approval. All corrections made by Standing Orders Committee outside of conference will be reported to the next AGM or Spring Conference as part of the Standing Orders Committee report.

Bylaws

referred to in Clause 5(i):

1. All Local Party constitutions shall include a statement that the Local Party is a constituent part of The Green Party and shall lay down a democratic procedure for the selection of candidates to all levels of government.

referred to in Clause 5(ii):

1. All Regional Party constitutions shall include a statement that the Regional Party is a constituent party of The Green Party and shall lay down a democratic procedure for the election of representatives to the Regional Council.

referred to in clause 5(xii)

1. Members may form groups concerned with specific issues in order to develop policy and pursue campaigns within the structure and strategy of the Green Party.

2. Members may also opt to be members of the Young Greens. The age and eligibility of Young Greens shall be as outlined in the Young Greens’ constitution.

3. Conditional upon the membership of the group being open to all Green Party members only, and on the officers of the group being annually elected, the group may be recognised by the Policy Development Committee, Campaigns Committee or the Equalities and Diversity Committee as a Members Working Group

referred to in Clause 5(xvii): Selection of Candidates for the House of Commons

1. GPEW will set targets for the proportion of candidates and proportion of target candidates in respect to self-identified gender, race, disability, socio-economic status, age, and sexual orientation based on their respective proportion of the England and Wales population. The Elections Coordinator will report on this to the AGM and may also report to the Spring conference if it falls after a relevant election. If targets are not met, the Elections Coordinator will present actions to meet them as part of their report to the AGM or Spring conference.

2. Any Green Party member wishing to stand as a candidate for the Green Party in a Parliamentary election in a constituency where there is no Local Party must have the written consent of the Regional Council.

3. In the event of a dispute concerning the selection of a prospective candidate the Regional Council may be called in to arbitrate.

4.    Where one or more local Green Parties cover a constituency the procedure for selection of a candidate must ensure the following:
a.    that the prospective candidate is democratically selected by all Green Party members resident in the constituency except that the relevant Local Party/ies may take a formal decision to ballot their whole membership(s). If agreement cannot be reached between all the Local Parties concerned on who should be balloted then the default position shall be to ballot members in the constituency only.
b.    that there is provision for postal voting;
c.    that there shall be at least one hustings meeting at which members may ask questions of nominees. At least one notice will be sent in reasonable time to each member eligible to vote in the selection ballot. giving the timetable for the selection process; details of the hustings meeting(s); the procedure for nomination; and the procedure for voting.
d.    that the voting procedure used is the Single Transferable Vote and that there is provision for negative voting (Re-open nominations).
e.    If, following the first close of nominations, there is not at least one female nominee, there must be a second call for nominations.

5. The relevant Local Party/ies shall appoint an Electoral Returning Officer (ERO) who shall be responsible for ensuring that the selection of the candidate is conducted democratically and in accordance with the procedure in Clause 4 above. In conducting the selection, the ERO may use any recommended guidelines for the practical conduct of the selection procedure as may be published by the Elections Co-ordinator and the Party Executive from time to time.

6. Exceptionally, in the event of a Parliamentary election being called at short notice and the procedure being declared operative by the Regional Council Co-chairs, where no Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) is in place, the relevant Local Party/ies may adopt a candidate by vote at a meeting called for that purpose, of which all Green Party members of those local parties have been notified in advance in writing.

7. Nominees may not campaign for votes other than through written statements and an official hustings process managed by the ERO, except where other means have been specifically authorised by the relevant Local Party/ies.

8. Each nominee must have two nominators who must be fully paid up members of the GPEW. Nominators must be members of the relevant constituency except that, where the Local Party/ies concerned have agreed to ballot their entire membership(s) under 3). above, they may be members from anywhere in the Local Party’s/ies’ territory/ies.

9. Each nominee must have been a member of the GPEW for at least one year by the last possible date for the election and must hold continuous membership up to the date of the election. However, an exemption from this requirement may be granted by GPRC if at least ten nominating signatures are obtained from fully paid up members resident in the area which the Local Party has agreed as the area from which selection will take place. This could be the constituency or the territory covered by the Local Party (see 3a).

10. Nominees must expect to be legally qualified, and not disqualified, from being a candidate at the time of the election.

11. Nominees shall be asked to declare anything which they consider likely, or that may in law be prejudicial to their position as a (prospective) candidate or as a MP or would bring the Party into disrepute.

12.    De-selection of candidates
a.    A ballot on whether to de-select a Parliamentary candidate will be held if a petition demanding one is supported by at least 20% of the Party members in the territory originally balloted.
b.    A person seeking to initiate such a petition shall inform in writing the ERO or, if none is in post, the relevant Local Party Election Agent(s) of the name of the candidate and the reason or reasons why they should be deselected. The officer receiving such notification shall be responsible for drawing up a form of petition and for notifying the candidate in writing that they are doing so and of the charges against them.
c.    The candidate targeted for de-selection shall have the right to reply to the charges at the time they are first circulated to the wider membership and will therefore be given eight working days to provide to the relevant officer up to 300 words in their defence which shall appear on the form of petition.
d.    The petition will state a reason or reasons why the candidate is considered unfit to represent the Party and will be delivered to the ERO for the constituency. If none is in post it will be delivered to the relevant Election Agent(s), The officer(s) receiving the petition will be responsible for (1) checking that the petition is valid, (2) informing the National Election Agent and the candidate whose de-selection is sought of the action taken and (3) the conduct of the ballot.
e.    The question put shall take the form “[Name of candidate] be de-selected as the Green Party’s candidate for the [name of constituency]’
f.    The ballot will be accompanied by statements from the candidate and those seeking deselection if those persons so wish. Such statements shall not exceed 300 words. There will also be a meeting to discuss the matter of which all members resident in the territory originally balloted will be given reasonable notification and will be entitled to attend and at which the candidate and those seeking deselection may present their cases and be questioned.
g.    Notification of the arrangements for the ballot will be issued to members within two weeks of the delivery of the petition. The ballot will close and the result be declared not more than four weeks after members have been notified of its arrangements.
h.    The result shall be decided by a simple majority of votes cast. If a majority vote to retain the candidate then no further attempt at de-selection may be made unless (1) twelve months have elapsed since the declaration of the result of the de-selection ballot or (2) in the opinion of the GPEW body charged with considering selection disputes there is significant new evidence that the candidate is unsuitable to represent the Party.
i.    If, in the opinion of a majority of members in the territory originally balloted taking part in a meeting called to discuss the issue, there are sufficient grounds for the removal of a candidate but inadequate time in which to produce a petition, hold a meeting to hear the case and complete a ballot to decide the matter, then the meeting shall remit a decision on de-selection to the GPEW body charged with considering selection disputes. The candidate and those seeking de-selection shall have the right to present their cases to that body.

13. Entitlement to vote in a selection and deselection ballot will be limited to members of the GPEW at the time of the opening of nominations for the relevant constituency or, if so agreed under 3). above, such members in the whole of the Local Party’s/ies’ territory/ies.

referred to in clause 5(xxi) Party Registration

1. For the purposes of Registration the elected Leader or one of the two job sharing at their discretion (or by drawing of straws) as outlined in Section 8 shall be registered as the Leader.

2. For the purposes of Registration the National Election Agent shall be regarded as the “nominating officer”.

3. The Party may register such names and emblems for the Party as seem appropriate. The Party Executive shall have final responsibility for determining these.

4. For the purposes of enabling verification of bona fide Green Party candidates under the legislation each Local Party, Regional Party, or group of Local Parties planning to stand candidates in elections at any level of government shall notify in writing the National Election Agent of the name and address of their Election Agent by 3lst January of the year in which the election is to be held. The notification shall also include details of the electoral territory covered by the Local Party, Regional Party, or group of parties. Any Green Party member who is not a member of a Local Party and intends to stand as a candidate for the Green Party in any election should notify the National Election Agent of their intention by 3lst January of the year in which the election is to be held. In the case of by-elections notification shall be accepted up to 4 weeks before the close of nominations.

5. The Nominating Officer will only issue authorities to certify Green Party candidates to Election Agents and/or some other person agreed by the relevant Local or Regional Party.

6. The Nominating Officer will only provide direct certification to any candidate:
i) if the Election Agent or otherwise authorised person of the relevant Local or Regional Party agrees to them doing so or
ii) if such a person cannot be contacted in time, then the candidate, or other person making the request for a certificate on their behalf, furnishes sufficient evidence that they were selected according to the required democratic procedures or
iii) if in the absence of a formally constituted Local Party, an appropriate Regional Party Officer gives their consent to them doing so.

Referred to in clause 5 (xxiii): Selection for nomination to the House of Lords

The Green Parties of the United Kingdom shall select one or more people to be its nominee(s), should they be invited by the government to make nomination(s) to the House of Lords. Nominee(s) shall be selected even in advance of an invitation. Throughout this procedure, “members” refers to members of the Green Party in England and Wales, the Scottish Green Party (SGP) and the Green Party in Northern Ireland (GPNI). Other UK Green Parties may be added with the agreements of the executives of all those parties included in this procedure at the time.

1. SELECTION COMMITTEE

Whilst there are some seats in the House of Lords offered by appointment, a House of Lords Selection Committee shall be convened, consisting of up to three members appointed by GPRC, up to one appointed by SGP and up to one appointed by GPNI.
The Selection Committee shall be responsible for:

(i) Initiating each selection

(ii) Deciding on the number of nominees to be selected

(iii) Appointing the ERO

(iv) Agreeing the timetable and supplementary selection rules with the ERO – these shall be set before nominations are opened

(v) Organising the ballot mailing with the ERO

(vi) Making arrangements for national hustings (at conferences and/or through online means)

(vii) Ruling on disputes outside the remit of the ERO consensus decision making will be preferred but a majority of three members of the Committee including representatives of two parties will be sufficient. Committee members will be expected to consult their parties before making decisions.

2 STARTING THE SELECTION PROCESS

(i) This selection process shall chose nominee(s) for a period of 5 years. If no nomination is made within that period then a new selection process shall be undertaken.

(ii) Subsequent selection processes shall be started either a reasonable time before the end of the term specified in (i) or when the Green Parties make nomination(s).

3 MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS

The selection committee will decide on the number of nominees to be selected, with advice from the chairs of GPEx, SGP and GPNI. This decision will be made before nominations open. The count will be as for an ordered list. Once any nominations are made from the top of the list, a new selection process shall be started.

4 NOMINATION

(i) The ERO shall arrange for the start of the selection process to be publicised to all members to invite nominations with a copy of these rules. The timetable for the ballot and count shall be advertised at such time. There may be no subsequent variation to the timetable without the consent of the candidates in the ballot.

(ii) Nominations shall be supported by at least twenty signatures of members. No member may sign more nomination papers than there are nominees to be selected In the event of a member signing more than their allowed number of nomination papers, the signatures will be considered in the order in which the nominations were received and opened by the ERO. Excess signatures by the member shall be considered invalid.

(iii) All nominations must be sent separately from each other. (to make (ii) work!)

(iv) Nomination may be supported by up to 350 words from the candidate and shall include details of their experience in the Green Party and length of time of membership.

v) Nominees shall be asked to declare anything which they consider likely, or that may in law be prejudicial to their position as a Green peer or would bring the Party into disrepute.

5 SELECTION

The nominee(s) shall be chosen by all national members.

(i) GPEx, GPRC and the Association of Green Councillors shall each appoint one person to an interviewing panel. A fourth person may be appointed by majority decision of the MEPs, MPs, Lords and Assembly members of GPEW. SGP and GPNI shall each be invited to appoint one member to the interviewing panel. This panel shall select a chair from among their number.
This panel of six people shall select a chair from among their number. If the panel is deadlocked then the chair shall be selected from among the contenders by lot.

(ii) If there are more than six candidates, the interviewing panel may exclude some from consideration and the ballot on a paper sift. In any event they shall interview at least three candidates (if available). If multiple nominations are to be made, they shall interview at least twice as many candidates as there are nominees to be selected.

(iii) The panel shall interview the candidates and write a report for which will be circulated with the ballot papers and the candidates’ statements to the members. On receipt of the report, the voters shall vote on the STV system with provision for negative voting (Reopen Nominations). Balloting of the voters may be timed to coincide with a due mailing of the membership and to allow hustings at conferences.

6. For a single nomination ballot, the ballot papers shall be recounted with the winning candidate excluded to give a reserve nomination, should the selected nominee become unavailable (through resignation or otherwise).

7. POST-SELECTION MANAGEMENT

Following the nomination of a Green Party Peer, all the UK Green Parties ruling bodies will develop a mechanism for input and management of the Peer’s workplan, campaigns and public position on issues to ensure consistency of messages on a UK wide basis.

Appendices

APPENDIX A: Regional Parties

The Regional Parties referred to in Clause 5(ii) of the Constitution shall cover the following national and regional areas: Wales; Greater London (All London Boroughs); South East (Wokingham, Windsor & Maidenhead, Bracknell Forest, Slough, Reading, West Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, East & West Sussex, Brighton and Hove, Medway, Southampton, Portsmouth); South West (Unitary Authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire and the Counties: Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset (including the Unitary Authorities of Bournemouth and Poole), Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire (including the Unitary Authority of Swindon)); Eastern (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Peterborough, Thurrock, Southend, Luton); East Midlands (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincs, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Leicester City, Nottingham City, Derby City); West Midlands (Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton and the Counties of Hereford and Worcester, Shropshire (including The Wrekin), Staffordshire (including Stoke-on- Trent) and Warwickshire); North West (Cheshire, Lancashire, Wigan, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Trafford, Manchester, Tameside, Salford, Stockport, Rochdale, Sefton, Wirral, Liverpool, St Helens, Halton, Blackpool, Blackburn, Cumbria); North East (Durham, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, Hartlepool, Middlesborough, Redcar & Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington); Yorks & Humberside (East Riding, Kingston upon Hull, North Lincs, North East Lincs, Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, Calderdale, Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield, Kirklees, North Yorkshire, York);
Clause I of this Appendix may be amended at any time by mutual agreement between Regions. Such an agreement shall be notified to the Regional Council and to the Convenor of SOC by the appropriate Regional officers in the form of resolutions by properly constituted Regional meetings or postal ballots of all the Regions concerned in any change. Such changes shall be deemed to come into force immediately upon the fulfilment of this procedure, provided that they do not entail or imply any change in the total number of Regional Parties requiring representation on the Regional Council. 3. This Appendix may also be amended by means of a resolution passed by a simple majority vote of a party Conference.

APPENDIX B: Wales Green Party

Wales Green Party shall be responsible for its own membership administration, including the maintenance of membership records and provision of services to members except for items introduced by the 2010 membership database.
Wales Green Party shall, when so requested by SOC, provide SOC with a membership list or other appropriate means of verifying the entitlement of members within that Region to attend and vote at or to propose or second motions or amendments to each UK Green Party Conference. Wales Green Party shall, when so requested by the Conference Coordinator, provide the Conference Coordinator with a list of Local Parties within that Region and the number of members in each Local Party, or other agreed means of determining the entitlements of Local Parties to representation at Conferences of The Green Party.
Wales Green Party shall receive the whole of the Green Party and Regional Party portions of each membership subscription payable within its Region, and shall pay an amount to the Green Party determined by agreement between the Wales Green Party and the Regional Council. This amount shall include a basic component calculated having regard to the number of members in the Region in each membership category. In addition to this basic component, the amount payable may also include components in respect of specific services supplied to the Regional Party by the Green Party.
In the event of a dispute between and Wales Green Party and the Regional Council concerning the amount payable to the Green Party under clause 3 above, either party may refer the dispute to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee for resolution.
If, after investigation of complaints received, the Regional Council believes that Wales Green Party is failing to fulfil its obligations under the Constitution or this Appendix, it may, by a two-thirds majority of its members present and voting at a Regional Council meeting, suspend the Autonomous Region status of Wales Green Party pending a fresh postal ballot of the membership in that Region. This postal ballot shall be carried out within three months of the suspension decision, and shall be paid for by the Green Party, and shall be conducted by the Party’s Electoral Returning Officer on the basis of the most recent membership list of the Region available to SOC. The ballot shall be on the question of whether the Autonomous Region Status should be revoked: the ballot mailing shall include a statement by Regional Council of its reasons for seeking the ballot, and the officers of the Regional Party shall be given an equal opportunity to reply. The result of this ballot shall be determined by a simple majority of those voting, and shall be effective immediately.
If Regional Council votes to suspend the Autonomous Region status of Wales Green Party under clause 5 above, but no postal ballot is conducted within the period required, the suspension will lapse at the end of that period and may not be reimposed by Regional Council before the expiry of a further period of six months.

APPENDIX C: Defintions

Postal Ballot.

The term Postal Ballot wherever used within this Constitution or any Standing Orders of any GPEW body shall mean either:

(a) all the ballot papers are sent out and all the votes are cast by post or ;

(b) all the ballot papers are sent out by post and the votes are cast, at the discretion of the voting member, either by post or by such electronic means that has been approved by the ERO supervising that particular election or;

(c) Subject to the agreement of the ERO, ballot information can be sent electronically to members who have provided an e-mail address, and by post to those who have no e-mail address or have expressed a preference for postal ballot information. Votes may be cast, at the discretion of the voting member, either by post or by such electronic means that has been approved by the ERO supervising that particular election.

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