Minutes of the 56th meeting

Minutes of the 56th meeting of the Kent & Sussex Regional branch of The Socialist Party of Great Britain held on 10th July 2016 The meeting started at 2.30pm and was held at the Muggleton Inn, High Street, Maidstone, KentPresent: Mandy Bruce, Dave Chesham (Secretary), Rob Cox (Treasurer), Dan Fabian, Jacqueline ShodekeApologies for absence: Marie Chesham, Hannah DuttonVisitor: Richard Harris (until 3.30pm)1. Election of ChairMotion 1. Shodeke & Chesham “That Cox be Chair” AGREED2. Minutes of the 55th Meeting held on 12th June 2016 were before the meetingMotion 2. Bruce & Cox “That the minutes be adopted” AGREED 3. Matters arising from previous minutes i) Party videoIn response to the branch’s motion to the Executive Committee – viz: "Members of the branch were interested to see the video entitled 'PartyIntroSPGBMay2016' which we understand was recently submitted to the EC for consideration and has since been published by the 'whatissocialism.net' site. The branch asks whether the EC has given consideration to adopting this video as an official party publication and also whether enhancements may be possible (for instance to clarify that the opening sequences are a representation of life under capitalism rather than what some less-informed viewers may see as images of world socialism)” the Secretary had heard from Vin Maratty who suggested a voice-over the ‘problematic’ part, as follows: “We now have the technological ability to produce enough for every man, woman and child on the planet, yet millions still suffer extreme poverty alongside extreme wealth.” This suggestion has been conveyed to the July EC.It was AGREED to discuss the matter further at the next branch meeting.ii) Street StallsThe stall in Folkestone on 25 June had to be cancelled due to bad weather.The next stall in Canterbury will be on 16 July. Because it was not possible to guarantee sufficient support for the 20 August stall in Canterbury it was AGREED to bring the date forward to 13 August.Dave to advise the SSPC of the change and also alter the calendar on the website and Meetup – Rob to prepare some slips for insertion in the current (July) Standard.iii) Brighton Group meeting 12-7-16The next meeting of this group will be on Tuesday, 12 July – same venue and time. Subject for discussion 'Out: real change or business as usual?'The Secretary stated that he would no longer be attending the group meetings in Brighton on a regular basis. He had advised the members there that if they wished to continue activity in the area they would need to organise it themselves. In addition the branch had been financing the bi-monthly meetings in Brighton from the group’s inception but would be unable to continue doing so beyond the July meeting. If the group needed funds then a grant from Head Office would have to be sought.iv) Folkestone Group meeting 17-7-16 The next meeting of this group will be on Sunday, 17 July – same venue at the later time of 3pm.v) 'Should the Party be more vocal about some issues?'Item deferred to next meeting pending a response from the Executive Committee.vi) ‘Socialist Principles Explained’Item deferred to next meeting pending a response from the Executive Committee.4. Quarterly Financial Report The Treasurer gave a quarterly financial report. It showed a surplus for the year ended June 2016 of income over expenditure of £27.58. The accumulated fund showed a balance of £403.10.5. Autumn Delegate Meeting 15/16-10-16 – Item for DiscussionIt was AGREED to submit the following Item for Discussion:“Is Rule 17: a) relevant to the 21st century? and b) being applied correctly?” A supporting statement will be written.There will be a further opportunity to submit Items for Discussion at the branch’s August meeting. The last date for submission of items together with supporting statements to Head Office is 8 September. 6. Forms 'A' & 'F'NONE 7. Branch membership transfersNONE 8. EC minutes – June meeting – 7-5-16NOTED 9. Future propaganda activitiesNONE other than those already mentioned.10. Any other business i) Party LogoConcern was expressed about the quality of reproduction of the new Party Logo, particularly in the Socialist Standard and on some leaflets. Speculation was offered that this may be due to a formatting issue.It was AGREED to monitor the situation.On the question of formatting the party’s Assistant Secretary had requested that the Logo be made available in a number of additional formats (i.e. vector versions – SVG, EPS & PDF) which would be necessary when using them in high-quality print media, and will also help members using them on the Web scale them to the appropriate size.Mandy, who has played a pivotal role in the design and production of the Logo, said she would provide the additional formats and upload them to the Files section of Spintcom. They are to be found in the folder: Artwork – Party Emblem & Other Items.ii) 2017 Conference dateFollowing receipt of information that the EC will be reconsidering the dates for 2017 Conference at its August meeting the following motion was submitted for consideration.Motion 3. (to the EC) Chesham & Cox “That 2017 Conference be held on the weekend of 29/30 April” AGREED 5-0-0 (five members present)Meeting adjourned at 5.40pm Collection taken: £17.00