, P Smith
(non-member), B Johnson, A Gordillo

The meeting was called to order at 13:19. Deutz and Carter gave notice
that they had to leave at 18:00.

1. Election of Chair

Agreed at previous meeting: Helps

2. Minutes of the previous meeting, business arising therefrom and the
General Secretary's rising of Notices of Motion and Business from
previous meetings
a. Amendment of the 3 November 2007 meeting minutes
Motion 1 (Miller & Chesham) That in Motion 27 of the
3 November 2007 minutes, "Agreed 8-0" be replaced with "8-0"
Agreed
Motion 2 (Chesham & Miller) That in §8(f) of the 3 November
2007 minutes, "January 2007" be replaced with "January 2008".
Agreed
b. Adoption of the 3 November 2007 meeting minutes
Motion 3 (Deutz & Chesham) That the minutes of the 3 November
2007 meeting as amended be adopted.
Carried 7-0
c. Matters arising from the 3 December 2005 meeting minutes
i. Re Motion 2.2.iii (review of Miller's visit)

Motion 4 (Deutz & Chesham) That the EC appreciates the
work being done by Cde Miller and approves his continuing
stay at Head Office, but will review the matter again in
two months.
Carried 6-0-1

The meeting considered an e-mail from P Lancaster
(22 November) objecting to the presence of Miller's ferret
at Head Office, along with a report from the Trustees
(26 November) on same.

Motion 5 (White & Chesham) That the EC note
Cde Lancaster's message, but that he be sent a copy of the
Trustees' letter for his information.
Failed 2-2-3

Motion 6 (White & Carter) That in light of the advice
from the Trustees, the EC note Cde Lancaster's message.

Amendment (Chesham & Stair) Insert "health and safety"
in front of "advice". Carried 6-0-1

Vote on motion as amended:
Carried 6-0-1

d. Matters arising from the 7 July 2007 meeting
i. Re Motion 26 of 7 July and Motion 10 of 1 September (image
credits in the Standard)

The Assistant Secretary reported that he had arranged to
meet with the layout team of the Socialist Standard
Department but that they had since agreed that this might
no longer be necessary because the Department now seemed to
be complying with image licensing requirements. The
Assistant Secretary reported that the Department was
considering subscribing to a stock or newswire photo
service and would therefore need the expense authorised. It
was agreed to defer the matter until the next EC meeting,
by which time the Assistant Secretary and Department would
have investigated the costs.

At this point the meeting agreed to suspend the normal order of
business in order to consider §3 (q. v.).

e. Matters arising from the 6 October 2007 meeting
i. Re §2(d) (Pooley Estate) and Motion 14 (Lambert's
observations on the Pooley Estate)
A. Letter from D Lambert (7 November) setting out his
recollection of the events (specifically, that Briggs's
first consultation was to be free, and that subsequent
work would incur charges) and indicating that confusion
regarding payment to Briggs had arisen because his
original report had never been minuted.

Stair said his recollection differed from Lambert's.
Miller, White, and Carter, who had dealt with the
matter on the 2006 EC, said they could not recall what
had been reported at the time. Stair, Miller, and White
said that this problem would not have arisen had the
minutes been more detailed.

Motion 7 (Deutz & Helps) That the EC thank
Cde Lambert for his report and note the information.
Carried 5-0-1

B. Resolution from South London Branch (30 November):

Regarding the J Briggs offer to review the file on
the outstanding money from the Pooley estate
without charge, that the EC take up the offer.
(6-0)

Motion 8 (Deutz & Miller) That South London Branch's
resolution be noted.
Carried 7-0

f. Matters arising from the 20 October 2007 meeting
i. Re Motion 2 (Party poll on the proposition "to revoke
Motion 9 of the meeting of August 4th EC meeting charging
Comrade Martin [confirmation of Motion 24 of the July 7th
EC meeting] and to refer the matter to West London Branch")

The Ballot Committee reported of the 339 voting papers
issued, 144 were returned. Of these, 101 were for the
proposition, 43 were against the proposition, and 1 was not
counted as it lacked a validation paper. The proposition is
therefore carried. The returns by Branch are as follows:

Branch Returns

Central 39
Central London 7
East Anglian Regional 10
Edinburgh 3
Enfield & Haringey 3
Glasgow 9
Lancaster 7
Manchester 13
North East 5
South London 10
South West Regional 5
Swansea 12
West London 15
West Midland Regional 6

Motion 9 (Miller & Stair) That the result of the poll be
noted, that the EC acknowledge that the resolution in
question has been rescinded, and that the EC refer the
matter of the charge against M Martin to West London
Branch.

For: Miller, Helps, Stair, White, Carter, Deutz.
Against: None. Abstaining: Chesham.
Carried 6-0-1

Motion 10 (Miller & Stair) That West London Branch be
asked to keep the EC apprised on their handling of the
matter of Cde M Martin.
Carried 7-0

g. Matters arising from the 3 November 2007 meeting
i. Re Motion 11 (Library Department nomination for S Wigley)

The meeting read an e-mail from P Lancaster via the Central
Branch Secretary (26 November) asking why Wigley had not
been appointed to the Library Department.

Motion 11 (Miller & White) That Cde Lancaster be informed
that the EC's decisions to appoint members to Committees is
always made in consideration of several factors, including
the candidate's ability to work with existing members of
the committee, their plans for work, their ability or
intention to turn up for work, and their past experience
and performance on Committees.
Carried 6-0-1

ii. Re Motion 24 (increasing the Branch discount for the
Standard)

The meeting read an e-mail from the Socialist Standard
Department (26 November) indicating that they had no
particular view on increasing the Branch discount for the
Standard.

Motion 12 (Stair & White) That from January 2008 the
Socialist Standard Department give branches a 331/3%
discount with no postage costs.
Carried 7-0

iii. Re §8(f) (nominations for Party Officers and Executive
Committee)

The Ballot Committee reported that the following
nominations had been received and accepted by the nominees:

General Secretary
Janet Carter
Assistant Secretary
Tristan Miller
Treasurer
Gwynn Thomas
Trustees (2 positions)
Howard Moss, Sid Wilcox
Central Organiser
Adam Buick, David Chesham
Executive Committee (10 positions)
Adam Buick, Janet Carter, David Chesham, Marie Chesham,
Pat Deutz, John Helps, Brian Johnson, Paula McEwan,
Tristan Miller, Helen Roberts, Stair, Lorna Stevens,
Gwynn Thomas, Nick White, Simon Wigley

The Committee acknowledged the 1971 Conference resolution
prohibiting candidates from participating on the Ballot
Committee and confirmed that Johnson would therefore be
recusing himself from the Ballot Committee for the duration
of the election.

Concerns were raised about the security of the ballots,
with some EC members pointing out that between the time
they were posted by the voter and the time they were placed
in the locked ballot box, they were susceptible to
interception and replacement with forged copies.

Motion 13 (Miller & Helps) That the Ballot Committee be
instructed to purchase a single stamp with a unique image
and that they stamp all ballot papers to help mark them as
genuine.
Carried 5-0-2

It was acknowledged that it was too late for this
resolution to be applied to the current EC/Party Officer
ballot.

iv. Re Motion 32 (access to Party documents)

The Assistant Secretary drew the EC's attention to a 1965
Conference Resolution expressing much the same view as
Motion 32 of the 3 November EC meeting:

This Conference reaffirms that, in keeping with our
democratic principles, members of the public have free
access to our Constitution, Rules, and records (with
the exception of membership lists) as they have to all
our meetings, and instructs the EC to act accordingly
in future.

h. Notices of Motion and Business
* None received.

3. Forms A and F
a. Form A for Lorna Stevens (East Anglia)

Motion 14 (Chesham & White) That the Form A for Lorna Stevens
be accepted.
Carried 7-0

4. Written report of the General Purposes Committee
* Committee vacant.

5. Accounts
* None received.

6. Reports of Party Officers, Party Appointees, Subcommittees, and
Departments; discussion of campaigns and The Socialist Standard
a. 2007 Autumn Delegate Meeting: Proceedings and Summary of
Discussion

The meeting noted that the delegates had adopted the reports of
the EC and its subcommittees, and that no other resolutions had
been passed which required the EC's attention.

b. Report from the Campaigns Department and discussion of
campaigns

The Campaigns Department reported that the Mental Health day
school was successful, with 20 visitors and 14 members in
attendance; that the Department would attend an 8 December
demonstration on climate change; that a new day school on
climate change is planned for after Conference; that the
Department is considering getting an artist to produce a mosaic
for Head Office; that Deutz participated in a debate; that the
Department would make a greater effort to confirm debate
formats in advance; that the Department had prepared an
approved speakers list of 23 members, 15 of whom are available
to speak; and that the Department had investigated costs
(£1300) for promotional items such as pens, mugs, and clothing.
Deutz reported on her debate and on the problems with its
format, and said that £10 in literature was sold.

Motion 15 (Miller & Stair) That the EC congratulate the
Campaigns Department and all those involved on the very
successful and well-attended Mental Health half-day school and
social.
Carried 7-0

The EC was generally sceptical of or opposed to the purchase of
promotional items. It was agreed that the Department would
present the next EC meeting with designs and written prices for
a wraparound banner and stands.

c. Discussion of the Socialist Standard
d. Oral report from Publications Department

The Department reported on proposed revisions to An
Inconvenient Question and that a sympathiser would likely print
it for free, and that it had designed a colour leaflet template
which would be used for topical leaflets provided by Steve
Szalai of the Socialist Party of Canada. The EC was apprised of
a letter from Peter Newell about his book on the history of the
Socialist Party of Canada and his attempts to find a publisher.
Miller said that he had contacted Newell in July recommending
some publishers but had not received a response; it was agreed
to defer the matter until Miller had attempted to contact
Newell again.

Motion 16 (White & Chesham) That the Publications Department
be instructed to proceed with publication of An Inconvenient
Question, with the print run to be 1000 and retail price to be
£2.

For: Carter, Deutz, Chesham, Helps, White. Against: None.
Abstaining: Stair, Miller.
Carried 5-0-2

7. Correspondence
a. Matters of urgency
b. Correspondence from or concerning Branches, the Party in
general, and members
i. Letter from South West Regional Branch (15 November) on the
formation of their Branch and expressing disappointment
that ratification of same had been delayed by the EC.

Motion 17 (Miller & White) That the EC write to South
West Regional Branch explaining and apologising for the
delay in authorising their Branch.
Carried 6-0

ii. Illegal discrimination complaint from P Lancaster

The meeting considered an e-mail from P Lancaster
(12 November) warning that any attempt to charge him under
Rules 29 or 31 may constitute illegal discrimination. The
e-mail had been referred to the Trustees, whose report on
same (17 November) was considered. Also considered was
correspondence on the matter from the Assistant Secretary
(12 and 14 November); the spopen moderator Alan Johnstone
(13 November); Easton (13 November); and Paula McEwan
(28 November), who was among those specifically named in
Lancaster's warning.

There arose a discussion on moderation of the mailing
lists, and whether to publish Lancaster's e-mail, in which
various conflicting views were presented.

Motion 18 (Stair & Carter) Next business.
Carried 5-1-1

iii. spintcom post from Melvin Tenner re Eddie Grant
(30 November)

Tenner reported that Eddie Grant of West London Branch died
on 29 November at the age of 74; that he will be cremated
at Golders Green Crematorium, Hoop Lane, London NW11 on
Thursday, 6 December at 14:00; and that members who knew
him are welcome to attend. It was agreed to note these
details in the minutes.

c. Correspondence from Companion Parties and Groups

The following correspondence was considered:
* WSPNZ minutes for October 2007
* SPC newsletter for November 2007
* WSPUS 2007 Annual Conference Report

Discussion focussed on the WSPUS's stance on religion with
regards to membership requirements, as described in §3 of their
Conference Report.

Motion 19 (Deutz & Miller) That the EC note the
correspondence from the Companion Parties.
Carried 6-0

d. All other correspondence
i. Report of the Proceeding of the Autumn School & Membership
Meeting of the World Socialist Party (India), 25-27
October 2007

The EC noted with interest the WSP(I)'s call for our Party
to reconcile with the Socialist Studies Group, and the WSP
(I)'s official resolution to work towards unification with
the WSG(I) and to reintegrate itself into the World
Socialist Movement.

It was suggested that the WSP(I) be asked to provide a
rebuttal of its diatribe against us before we could
consider re-establishing comradely relations with them. It
was agreed to ask the Central Organiser for an update on
the situation to be submitted to the next EC meeting.

8. Any other business
a. Call for nominations for Departments, Committees, and
Appointees

It was agreed to issue the call for nominations with the
deadline to be the next EC meeting.

Deutz and Carter left at this point.

b. Head Office front

Chesham asked if there was any progress on the renovations to
the Head Office shop front. It was noted that the electronic
display had caused a slight influx of visitors, but that simply
leaving the window unobstructed had resulted in an even greater
influx. Stair reported that renovation plans are underway, and
that it would help matters if the relevant committees (the
Premises Committee and the Public Access Committees) had more
active members. It was agreed to revisit the matter at the next
EC meeting.

c. Party website

Motion 20 (Chesham & Helps) That the EC notes with alarm that
on 24 November the Party's webmaster added to the Party's
website a link to class-warfare.blogspot.com, the blog of a
disgruntled ex-member which attacks the Party and brings it
into disrepute. The EC therefore instructs the Internet
Department to remove the link forthwith.
Carried 5-0

9. Nomination of Chair for the next meeting

It was agreed not to make a nomination since the membership of the
2008 EC could not be predicted.

With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at
18:37.