Minutes of the 59th meeting
Minutes of the 59th meeting of the Kent & Sussex Regional branch of The Socialist Party of Great Britain held on 2nd October 2016 The meeting started at 2.15pm and was held at the Muggleton Inn, High Street, Maidstone, KentPresent: Mandy Bruce, Dave Chesham (Secretary), Rob Cox (Treasurer), Dan FabianApologies for absence: Marie Chesham, Hannah Dutton1. Election of ChairMotion 1. Chesham & Fabian “That Bruce be Chair” AGREED 2. Minutes of the 58th Meeting held on 11th September 2016 were before the meetingMotion 2. Fabian & Cox “That the minutes be adopted”AGREED 3. Matters arising from previous minutes i) Street Stalls Report of Canterbury street stall – 17 September The three members present thought about cancelling this stall, as the BBC weather forecast had flipped to rain for most of the afternoon. However the forecast gradually improved and by 11am was forecasting no rain between 12 and 5. There were no other stalls in the area, so we had the best spot. Unfortunately it started spitting rain as soon as we set up, and slowly got worse until nearly 3pm when it got very heavy and we had to pack up. Not surprisingly we had very little interest, selling only two Standards (but for £2 each). Karl and Mandy gave out a lot of leaflets, mainly the ‘Tories’ one.Last stall in Canterbury this season will on Saturday, 8 October from 12noon.ii) Brighton Group meetingReport of public meeting by Anton P. – 13 September – "Post Capitalism: What Now?"“Publicity for the event was through a print run of 1000 leaflets designed by Elena B-G and distributed by mail and in local cafes, etc. On the evening posters were outside the pub. Social media was used as much as possible.Very disappointing turnout (9) that began the discussion which lead on quickly to whether indeed we have ‘post-capitalism’ (we don’t!) and what in the face of misunderstanding & apathy, we can do. Co-operatives were discussed at length & largely dismissed though this lead to the idea of spreading ‘consciousness’ and expanded to encompass the Corbyn debate. Incidentally, there was a large support Corbyn benefit gig in Brighton that evening, unknown to us when we booked the date. It was also unseasonably warm & being inside was not attractive!The conclusion was that we need to engage specific interest groups. Indeed, leafleting at the mentioned gig would have had a much larger impact than our tiny meeting. I know from my own experience that we like to have these cosy meetings rather than cold leafleting so need to kick that habit! Also we would really welcome suggestions for which existing leaflets or new leaflet content and although it is our area, also suggestions for events to attend.The Universities were mentioned several times and it was decided this is where we need to concentrate. Theo & Aiyana offered to look into it.The new people contributed towards the end & were very interested in the cause with both saying they came from on-line engagement. Mike L saw it on the party’s ‘Meetup’ group; he follows the party from time to time whereas Jess B saw it on Facebook from a friend of a friend. They were impressed and will come again.”It was AGREED that the Secretary write a letter or email congratulating the group and encouraging them to continue with their activities.iii) Gay Pride events in Canterbury & Margate Nothing to report; there being no plans for further activities this year.iv) Membership matters Following correspondence from a prominent branch member announcing withdrawal from branch activity, the recent resignation from the party of a second member and the inability of the branch to get a quorum on the very first occasion since its formation, some time was spent discussing various options for the future including online meetings, change of venue and/or day of our meetings, transfer of at least three members to other branches in order to reduce the required quorum, and dissolution of the branch.It was AGREED that Rob prepare a suitable questionnanire, assisted by Dan, which would be sent to all branch members, and to submit this for consideration at our next meeting.v) Call for nominations for Socialist Standard layout membersFollowing a discussion about technical aspects of the layout work it was AGREED that Mandy contact Neil W. of the SSPC to request clarification about templates and Adobe trial downloads.vi) Call for nominations for 2017 Party Officers and EC members The branch nominated the following additional members:Executive Committee members: Dave Chesham, Carla Dee AGREED vii) Snap General Election possibility It was likely that the branch would once again contest the Canterbury Parliamentary constituency in the event of a snap general election.4. Autumn Delegate Meeting Members discussed the agenda and delegates appointed.5. Forms 'A' & 'F' NONE 6. Branch membership transfers NONE 7. EC minutes NONE to hand8. Future propaganda activities NONE other than those already mentioned9. Any other businessNONE Meeting adjourned at 6.51pm Collection taken: £8.50