Structure

Preamble

We note that:

Activists across hundreds of grassroots groups were brought together by the promise of Your Party.

The UK organised left is fragmented and isolated.

Your Party has hemorrhaged support, its members disenfranchised and expelled, and the bureaucracy maintains a tight grip on its infrastructure.

Fascism, climate and ecological collapse, economic crisis, poverty and insecurity, and authoritarianism are growing rapidly.

We believe that:

The world will not wait for us, so we must not wait.

Our circumstances require joint action, education and defence, and an active radical organisation led by the grassroots.

A network alone can connect people, but it cannot carry political responsibility – connection is not the same as coordination.

Without structure, decisions cannot be held, accountability weakens, and momentum fragments.

We require a unitary, mass, working class, socialist party to transform society.

In spite of urgency, such a party cannot be born, or achieve its aim, without a coherent programme.

This programme must be democratically and collectively formed by the working class in struggle.

To build it, we should aim to unite all socialist tendencies and organisations within a Socialist Federation.

Once the programme and structure of the unitary party is formed, the party may be launched by a decision of the membership.

Urgency is a correct instinct – we cannot miss the opportunity for socialism when it arrives.

Caution is a correct instinct – a vehicle without a sturdy chassis will crumble upon impact.

The majority of recent attempts to build a new mass workers party have collapsed along the same fault line: the accumulation of unelected power and the erosion of democracy, preventing the class from acquiring the experience to liberate itself.

Strict democratic safeguards are required precisely because they are the tools we must learn to wield in a socialist transition and future society.

This is not only a problem caused by individuals, but also by structural deficiencies – and these must be addressed from the outset.

Our movement must continue regardless of any individual or office. Therefore our practices must be structural and written, not reliant on goodwill or trust.

The only defence our class has against the tyranny of capital is our capacity to organise in great numbers, not in the following of great leaders.

To achieve this, we must root ourselves in working class community organising, listening and electoral agitation, with links to pre-existing class organisations such as unions, campaigns & the organised left.

Nevertheless, we must honestly acknowledge the democratic and political failures of these organisations, and raise the bar to empower our class to unite behind a socialist programme.

These failures have systematically broken trust, which must be rebuilt through practice, not promises, through radical honesty, transparency and action.

We must attempt to prefigure classlessness within our own institutions, ensuring elected delegates or officers are instantly recallable and never shielded from those whose interests they serve.

We must acknowledge that our class is suffering and depoliticised, struggling to make ends meet, meaning each of us has a material barrier that must be acknowledged and collectively mitigated.

This means we must provide mutual aid, defence, and solidarity; but also culture, events and projects – both “bread and roses”.

Community life has been broken by decades of neoliberalism and the regression to the capitalist normality of rampant inequality and consolidation of wealth.

Only through the combination of radical democracy and mutual aid will we reinvigorate working class socialist politics - we must prove our class solidarity, not merely profess it.

Resolution

We resolve to found the Socialist Federation according to the following provisions.

I. Form

1. A federation of organisations / association of members registered with the electoral commission.

2. Its binding documents will be: Political Statement, Constitution, Rules.

3. The Political Statement will be formulated from the initial platform proposals adopted at this conference.

4. Model Documentation will be provided for constituent organisations and meetings prior to the founding congress.

5. The Constitution, Rules & Model Documentation will be provided for constituent organisations and meetings, based on principles and provisions in this proposal.

6. No document in the Federation can contradict the binding documents.

III. Purpose

1. To maintain the disregarded grassroots connections and networks built around the founding of Your Party.

2. To share information and material resources between our members and organisations.

3. To facilitate joint action, education and defence to combat the far-right, climate breakdown and the capitalist state.

4. To be an active campaigning body, including electoral & non-electoral work.

5. To hear, empower and organise our class nationally and internationally, to inform our policies and electoral strategies.

6. To reinvigorate grassroots democracy in discourse and practice.

7. To welcome all socialist tendencies, to constructively debate and respectfully disagree, to build real unity in action without the false unity of silence.

8. To provide a safeguarded democratic arena, for deciding joint action & designing the structure and programme of a future mass working class unitary party for a socialist transformation of society.

IV. Membership

1. Open to any socialist individual or group who accepts the Federation’s Statements, respects its Articles, and abides by its Rules.

2. Dual membership is explicitly permitted for organisations aligned with the Federation’s Statements.

3. Membership is obtained by individual application or group affiliation, with membership numbers allocated immediately, and cards as soon as possible.

4. Membership grants full participation rights, consisting of voting & speaking rights, nomination for any position & submission of business to any Federal body by the appropriate routes.

V. Branches

1. Branches are geographically based autonomous groups organised around residency or occupation.

2. They can be self-organised and registered by Federation members, or integrated by successful application to affiliate. Examples include: grassroots groups including proto-branches, student societies, workplace groups; and branches of unions, parties and campaign groups.

3. Joining a Branch is an active decision of each member, and Branch membership will not be allocated in any circumstance except through integration by affiliation.

4. Members may be in multiple Branches, provided this is transparently reported, and they do not stand in multiple Branch delegate elections, or hold positions in multiple Branches simultaneously.

VI. Associations

1. Branches may jointly form and register Associations, which are themselves Federations in miniature – fully autonomous and self-governing.

2. The Federation itself is the single highest Association. A Branch is an Association of Members. They operate similarly by design, to ensure participation at any level is not contingent or arbitrary.

3. Associations may form higher Associations with other Branches and/or Associations. The constituent Branches and Associations making up a higher Association are referred to as its “Units”.

4. Whilst part of an Association, its Units and Members are expected not to obstruct collective decisions made by the Association.

5. A Branch / Association can only be part of one Association at a time, but may form networks with any number of others. Leaving an Association does not require permission. Joining one is by application.

6. Together, these provisions allow the Federation to launch now, and build its internal structure voluntarily and autonomously as it grows.

7. Each Association will maintain a proxy “At-Large” branch for members in no Branch, to obtain delegates and submit business.

VII. Assemblies

1. Each Association maintains a Delegate Assembly, of delegates apportioned to its units in proportion to their membership, transparently accounting for overlaps by appropriate reduction if required.

2. The Federation’s Delegate Assembly is the Federal Congress. The Delegate Assembly of a Branch is a Branch Meeting.

3. An Association’s Delegate Assembly is its sovereign body, only subordinate to higher Association’s Delegate Assemblies. It is sovereign over its own business, binding documentation, and offices.

4. Units of an Association do not directly elect delegations and submit nominations / business to higher Delegate Assemblies, but via their Delegate Assembly.

5. Every Delegate Assembly has a fixed term, after which all delegations and positions are re-elected. A maximum number of delegates will be set each term, with a fixed member-to-delegate ratio. Units under the ratio may form temporary Associations with other Units to obtain a joint delegation.

VIII. Offices

1. Every Association maintains the same Separation of Powers in three Offices: Executive, Secretariat and Judiciary. They are simultaneously and separately elected by and subordinate to its Assembly, with the same term length. For Branches an Office can be a single Officer, for Associations they are Committees.

2. They are each subordinate to their Assembly, but hold no power over each other. They may meet together or separately by mutual consent. They may not overlap. The Standing Orders of each Office are the property of the Assembly, not the Office.

3. The Executive holds the powers of the Assembly, less those assigned to the other 2 Offices. It may not amend or repeal any Association’s binding documents, or overturn any Delegate Assembly’s decisions. It is the political leadership of the Association, responsible for finances, education, media, and coordination.

4. The Secretariat manages the credentials and business of the Delegate Assembly, including solicitation, publication and compositing. It also acts as a membership and affiliation office. The agenda is the property of the Assembly, but it may categorise and rate business by plurality, popularity, (ecological) necessity and (future) impact when publishing submissions ahead of a session.

5. The Judiciary acts as a mediation, complaints, appeals, and safeguarding office for the Association. It appoints a returning officer to oversee Assembly elections, and a named safeguarding contact. It may audit the Executive and Secretariat.

6. A Delegate Assembly may establish a Commission, a temporary and goal-oriented Office elected by, mandated by, and subordinate to the Assembly that established it. In a Branch they are typically known as Working Groups.

IX. Councils

1. An Association’s Units’ Offices of a given type jointly form an Officers’ Council.

2. It may meet informally to communicate, or formally to act in emergencies. A quorum is established if the combined mandate of the Officers present represents a majority of the Association’s members.

3. A quorate Council meeting may resolve to send emergency business via an advocate (an observer who can argue for that business without a vote) to its corresponding Higher Office, or in extreme cases temporarily suspend and elect an interim replacement for an Officer in that Higher Office, which will be upheld or repealed only by the Association’s Delegate Assembly.

4. Council members may observe non-confidential portions of Higher Office meetings, and may invite observers from Higher Offices.

X. Caucuses

1. Members of an Association may organise themselves into a Caucus, which may maintain its own structure, networks, publications, membership and discipline. It may represent a minority political platform, oppressed group, or shared interest.

2. An existing organisation may apply to affiliate and integrate as a Caucus, granting membership in the same way as Branch integration.

3. It may operate informally, but it (or one of its sub-divisions) may apply to formally register with an Association’s Secretariat. Registration criteria include verifying geographical distribution, majority Association membership and minority status.

4. Registration invokes regular dues, and membership list submission when needed; and grants the right to submit business to & observe the Association’s Delegate Assembly via an advocate, be listed / linked in the Federation’s directory, submit nominations for Office or Commission positions, and be listed on ballot papers.

5. To submit business via an advocate, the Caucus must demonstrate upon submission they have enough members that they would be apportioned a delegate were they a unit. Caucuses may form temporary Associations to jointly submit and elect an advocate / observer if desired or needed.

XII. Policy

1. An Association’s Policy is only ever adopted by a resolution of a Delegate Assembly. Business (motions, amendments) is submitted in the first instance either by Members to a Branch / Caucus which submits it higher, or by an Office or Commission of the Association.

2. Members may use asynchronous online tools as well as meetings to develop proposals for submission in this democratic process.

3. Composites only go forward with the unanimous consent of all proposers comprising the composited motion or amendment. Compositing meeting minutes are published identically to Officer meetings.

4. Branches will be encouraged and empowered to hold regular (minimum quarterly, maximum annually): 4.1 Community forums, bringing together groups including grassroots organisers, mutual aid networks, youth representatives, trade unionists, faith communities, cultural groups and disability organisations. Contributions and feedback are transparently collated and published.

4.2 “Health-Checks” of its members, with its findings published. It will query governance efficacy, representational adequacy, power concentration, desired changes and safeguarding concerns. Proposed actions are recorded and revisited at the subsequent health-check meeting.

5. Associations are empowered to aggregate community forum and health-check findings to publish an annual report identifying patterns or persistent concerns.

XIII. Finances

1. Dues are paid by a member to the Branches they are a member of. Branches pay dues and levies to Associations, and so on upwards towards the Federation, ensuring a bottom-up resourcing model.

2. Associations are mandated to redistribute dues by adjusting dues and levies towards the Federation’s average income once per term, reported in a financial report and resolved by the Assembly.

3. Branches will retain no less than 50% of their income (dues, donations). This percentage can only be amended by the Federal Congress.

4. The Federation will bound but not prescribe dues across its Branches, Associations and Caucuses. A Solidarity rate set at £1 per month initially will be mandated.

5. Corporate donations are prohibited by the constitution. Donations above a certain amount must be transparently recorded and auditable by members.

6. Once per term an Assembly will adopt a budget, apportioning funds to Offices and Commissions democratically.

7. An Office or Commission may enlist volunteers or staff if permitted by their mandate. No allocated wage or rate in the Federation may exceed the average worker’s wage in the relevant area.

XIV. Data

1. Branches hold their own membership lists and are only required to submit them to Associations for delegate apportionment. Likewise for Association submission to higher Associations.

2. The Rules’ Data Policy will describe 3 data categories: public, internal and sensitive.

2.1 Public data is accessible publicly, including a directory of Branches, Caucuses and Associations, and application / affiliation details.

2.2 Internal data is accessible by all Federation members, including all Assembly, Office and Commission minutes, Officer identities / contact details, and delegate / officer voting records.

2.3 Sensitive data is accessible on a case-by-case basis defined by the Federation’s rules, including membership information, unredacted minutes, safeguarding records, etc.

6. In return for Unit dues and membership lists, Associations reciprocate by providing platforms for networking and publications. This is a constitutional right to prevent arbitrary deplatforming.

XV. Safeguards

1. The minimum rules for all meetings, whose adoption is part of statutory alignment, will include provisions for the meeting to remove and challenge its chair, agenda and rules, with reasonable guardrails to prevent abuse.

1.1 A general principle will be that meeting decisions should always follow debate. Consensus may be sought, but objections must always prompt speeches and votes both in favour and against.

2. An Association’s Delegates, Officers and Commission positions are all instantly recallable, in the first instance by the Assembly that granted their mandate, but also by a petition whose collective signatures (members, groups) represent a collective decision of the Association.

3. All Assembly, Office and Commission minutes must be published within a week, redacted only where data protection or safeguarding requires it. Defeated minority positions (20%) must be recorded.

4. Any non-Branch Delegate Assembly must accept Alternates at a fixed delegate-to-alternate ratio, who attend as observers ready to be empowered by the Assembly to substitute for a delegate if absent.

5. A Secretariat Officer may not facilitate compositing or judgement of their own submissions to their Assembly. Likewise a returning officer may not be a candidate in the election they facilitate.

6. The Rules’ Accessibility Policy will require documentation to be in plain language where possible, and accompanied by an explainer if not. It will also include accessibility as a right, not a priority.

7. An Association’s Secretariat may apply “levelling tests” to any business that materially changes its direction, affects who can participate, or commits substantial shared resources, asking whether it raises or lowers barriers, how it affects ease of participation, and whether it is expressed in plain language. It may publish their findings alongside the published business, for delegates to consider.

8. The Rules’ Safeguarding Policy will guarantee concerns are acknowledged in a given timeframe, and all parties are informed of the timeline and process. Safeguarding training will be centrally provided.

XVI. Initial Strategy

1. The Founding Congress will: 1.1 Establish the Founding Members, Branches, Associations and Caucuses of the Federation, together with elections for any initial sitting bodies (Offices & Commissions).

1.2 Debate, amend and adopt the binding documents of the Federation.

1.3 Establish (either there or within a defined timeframe by electing an interim steering group), separate National Associations for Scotland, Wales, England, and if desired, Ireland, independently organised by comrade members from each Nation.

1.4 Establish a Federal Development Commission, tasked with providing materials, resources, training and assistance to Members to found and formalise their Branches / Caucuses / Associations, and achieve statutory alignment in a given timescale. It may establish an Empowerment Fund to empower members to overcome material challenges.

1.5 Establish a Federal Commons Commission mandated to found and subsequently liaise with the Civic Body to maintain a close relationship. The Commission will operate as interim stewards, and facilitate an election for its stewards, which are coordinators, not political leaders.

1.6 Establish a Federal Listening Commission, mandated to coordinate listening campaigns within the Federation and Civic Body, collating and publishing the results transparently, and formulating policy proposals based on them to take to the Federal Congress.

2. The pace of building is set by what is actually built, not by any external deadlines. No unit will be required to move faster than its members are ready to unless required by this resolution, and similarly, no unit requires permission to begin building.