Minutes of the 7th Meeting of
Minutes of the 7th Meeting of the Kent & Sussex Regional branch of The SocialistParty of Great Britain held on 6th May 2012The meeting started at 3.00pm and was held at the Muggleton Inn, High Street,Maidstone, KentPresent: Dave Chesham (Literature Secretary), Rob Cox (Treasurer), Ed Mann (Chair)Apologies: Marie Chesham, Hannah Dutton, Paul Hope, Glenn Morris, Andy Thomas,1. Emigration of branch secretary Motion 1. Cox & Mann “That D.Chesham be appointed branch secretary.”AGREED 2. Minutes of the 6th Meeting dated 15th April 2012 were before the meeting Motion 2. D.Chesham & Mann “That the minutes be adopted”AGREED3. Matters arising from the previous meeting i) Future of Branch The branch was informed that someone in Eastbourne had joined the party and was likely to be allocated to Kent and Sussex. The secretary would contact this member when an email and/or postal address was to hand.NOTEDii) Canterbury Stall Rob Cox reported that he had made a reconnaissance of suitable areas in Canterbury where a literature stall may be sited and recommended that the Parade (between High Street and St.George’s Street) would be a suitable location. It was suggested that a tentative initial date for this venture be Saturday, 19 May from 12 noon but that a final decision be made a few days before when more information concerning likely weather conditions would probably be available.AGREEDiii) Possible debate with SPEW Ed Mann reported that he had made attempts to contact the local branch of SPEW and had left a voicemail message but no response had been received so far. The Secretary said he would email the SPEW member we had met in Gillingham and who had first mooted the possibility of a debate.AGREEDEd reported that he had also sent an email to the Anarchist Federation but had yet to receive a reply.NOTEDRob Cox had made enquiries at the University of Kent in Canterbury about room hire and was awaiting details of the charges.NOTED4. EC minutes – none to hand5. Head Office propaganda meetingsFor your information the following meetings will take place at The Socialist Party of Great Britain’s premises at 52 Clapham High Street, London SW4 7UN over the next couple of months.Sunday 13 May, 3.00pmMARXISM, PHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHYSpeaker: Mike FosterSunday 27 May, 3.00pmBRITISH TROTSKYISM: SONS OF THE PROPHETSpeaker: Keith ScholeySunday 10 June, 3.00pmWAR: ITS CAUSE AND CURESpeaker: Gwynn ThomasSunday 24 June, 3.00pmTHE SECRETS OF THE INCAS: HOW THEY RELATE TO TODAY’SPROBLEMSSpeaker: Bill MartinPlease note the day and earlier starting time for the May and June meetings6. Summer SchoolIt was reported that four branch members and one supporter had booked for the Summer School in Birmingham this year; the theme being ‘Protest’. A fifth branch member would be giving one of the talks.NOTED7. Workshop weekendIt was reported that Lancaster branch was organising a residential workshop for the weekend of September 7th/9th, for members only, to explore ways of using video to advance the socialist case.NOTED8. Conference report and subsequent ballotIn accordance with the requirement under rule to have a meeting prior to the ballot on Conference items for discussion and amendment to rule those present then spent a lengthy period talking about the various issues.Arising from the discussion of one such item the following motion to the EC was moved and seconded: Motion 3. D.Chesham & Cox “Regardless of the outcome of the vote on Motion 6 on the Conference agenda, Kent & Sussex Regional branch urges the EC to schedule a workshop at the 2012 ADM for the purpose of exploring strategies to exploit the current dissatisfaction with capitalism.”AGREED 9. Any other businessNotice of Business for July meeting ”Consideration of possible items for discussion for submission to the 2012 ADM”Meeting adjourned at 5.00pm