Minutes of the 61st meeting

Minutes of the 61st meeting of the Kent & Sussex Regional branch of The Socialist Party of Great Britain held on 11th December 2016 The meeting started at 2.08pm and was held at the Muggleton Inn, High Street, Maidstone, KentPresent: Dave Chesham (Secretary), Marie Chesham, Rob Cox (Treasurer), Sam WicksApologies for absence: Mandy Bruce, Hannah Dutton, Dan Fabian1. Election of ChairMotion 1. D.Chesham & M.Chesham “That Cox be Chair” AGREED 2. Minutes of the 60th Meeting held on 13th November 2016 were before the meeting Motion 2. M.Chesham & Cox “That the minutes be adopted” AGREED 3. Matters arising from previous minutes i) Membership matters The questionnaire on the future of the branch which Rob and Dan had produced was discussed and would be sent to all branch members by post and then followed up two weeks later with an electronic version.ii) Further call for nominations for Socialist Standard layout membersNOTEDiii) Further call for nominations for 2017 Party Officers and EC membersThe branch nominated the following members to serve on the 2017 Executive Committee.Dick Field, Julian Vein, Darren Williams4. Call for nominations for 2017 sub-committeesIt was AGREED to nominate the following members for these respective sub-committees.Audio-Visual – Jessica Harrison, Tim Kilgallon, Vincent Maratty Campaigns – Eddie Craggs, Mike Foster Head Officer Organiser – Mike Kelly Publications – Mandy Bruce 5. Conference 2017 – Motions and Amendments to Rule While considering this item a lengthy discussion took place on the party’s organisational structure. As a result the following motion was proposed and seconded.Motion 3. (to the EC) M.Chesham & R.Cox "This branch is of the opinion that the Party needs to undertake an urgent review of the sustainability of its organisational structure and its ability to effectively engage its members and supporters to achieve its objectives and operate in the 21st Century.We call upon the Executive Committee to organise a consultation of the entire membership on:1. Their views on the current and future organisational structure of the Party.2. The views of members on the priorities of the Party.3. How best individual party members, supporters and sympathisers can be enabled to participate in achieving the object of the Party.”AGREED 4-0-0 (four members present)It was AGREED to defer other matters to the next branch meeting.6. Forms 'A' & 'F'The acting General Secretary informed the branch that Jessica Harrison, who currently lives in Brighton, had been accepted into membership of the party via the Membership Application Committee and had been allocated to K&S. The Secretary agreed to send Jessica a welcoming email.7. Branch membership transfersSam Wicks, who was present at the meeting, requested his membership be transferred from Manchester Branch to Kent & Sussex now that he is living in Maidstone once again. Sam was welcomed back into the branch of which he had been a member before. The Secretary would make the necessary transfer arrangements.The branch membership currently stands at 20.8. EC minutes – November meeting – 5-11-16                              December meeting – 3-12-16 NOTED9. Future propaganda activitiesNONE other than those already mentioned10. Any other businessi) T-ShirtsRob reported that he had 8 T-Shirts left. This had been a private venture and not that of the branch. Dave agreed to take over the advertising and dispatch of these remaining items although more may need to be ordered to accommodate requests for particular designs and sizes.It was AGREED to return to the subject at our next meeting.Meeting adjourned at 6.35pmCollection taken: £15.00Literature sales: £5.00