The name of the local party shall be Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Green Party, hereafter referred to as BCPGP.

BCPGP is a constituent part of The Green Party of England & Wales (hereafter referred to as GPEW) and is subject to its rules and constitution.

The geographical area of BCPGP is Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole, with the boundaries of the Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council area.

BCPGP is also part of the Southwest Green Party, hereafter referred to as SWGP.

The object of BCPGP is to promote the aims of The Green Party as stated in its Constitution:

To collaborate on community projects that promote resilience and sustainability.

The membership consists of all national Green Party members resident within the geographical area of BCPGP.

Members may not be a member of another political party (other than Green Parties abroad) at the same time. Should a member join another political party then they immediately cease to be a member of BCPGP.

Disputes

BCPGP will seek to resolve any disputes between members through discussion and conciliation. However, BCPGP has the right and responsibility to take disciplinary action (including suspension or expulsion from the party, from any of its groups, or temporary or permanent removal of eligibility to be nominated for all or certain positions) against any local member who has acted against the aims and agreed policies of the group or brought it into disrepute, or breached the GPEW Code of Conduct.

An initial decision, and action if deemed necessary, on a dispute should be made where possible by a specially convened BCPGP Disputes Resolution Panel. The matter may be referred to the GPEW Dispute Resolution Committee if considered appropriate. Decisions may be referred for final resolution at a properly constituted, in-quorum BCPGP General Meeting where advance notice of the matter has been given. The national disciplinary procedures shall be used for national members.

BCPGP shall elect its Officers at the AGM. These must include a Local Party Contact/Secretary, a Chair, a Treasurer, and a Nominating Officer, hereafter referred to as senior officers. Other officers may be appointed as specified in the Southwest Region Green Party (SWGP) job descriptions.

Nominations shall be proposed and seconded and won by a simple majority vote. Any member can ask for a secret ballot.

From 2021, officer nominations shall only be valid if the individual(s) nominated has attended a total of at least three meetings of BCPGP which are directly relevant to the officer role.

The AGM has the discretion not to fill posts other than the four named above if no suitable nominations are forthcoming, or to propose the merging of posts or the creation of other posts with the agreement of a simple majority.

Should any officers fail to attend three consecutive meetings without good reason or apology, BCPGP may co-opt another person to act in their place.

In the event of a vacancy, an officer may be co-opted at the next members’ meeting.

Officers may be de-selected at an AGM or EGM.

Brief job descriptions are to be scripted for the key posts outlining responsibilities and powers.

The sovereign decision-making mechanism on proposals for BCPGP to adopt, significantly amend or scrap substantive external policies shall be all-member referendums. These shall be carried by a simple majority of valid votes cast.

The returning officer for referendums shall be the Chair or if the Chair is unavailable any senior officer (e.g., secretary or treasurer). The returning officer may schedule periodic dates when referendum votes are to take place, with non-urgent policy proposals received in each period grouped into one combined voting exercise.

The referendum procedure shall be as follows:

Referendums need not be held on proposals which are (in a BCPGP membership context) objectively of markedly narrow interest or highly technocratic. Such proposals could be combined where appropriate into any wider or more engaging forthcoming policy proposals, or else referred to the next available General Meeting.

Except where otherwise specified in this constitution or by binding GPEW rules, ultimate decision-making authority in BCPGP shall reside with General Meetings open to all members and invited guests. General Meetings shall have general power of call-in over decisions made by groups as specified in sections 10–15. The Chair should be advised 48 hours in advance of guests attending a General Meeting, but in any case reserves the right to decide which parts of the meeting are appropriate for the guest to attend.

Motions should be proposed and seconded and will be carried by a simple majority vote of members present.

Members should be notified of any motions relating to policy at least one week before the meeting to discuss the issue.

Only members of BCPGP will be entitled to vote. Those unable to attend may make their views known to the meeting, either in writing or through representation by another member, but only those in attendance will be entitled to vote. At the Chair’s discretion, proxy votes may be acceptable for specific items if notice is given in advance to this effect. Members may NOT vote on motions of direct personal or financial interest to themselves.

The members’ business meeting will be deemed to be in quorum if there are five or more paid-up members in attendance.

Attendance and business conducted at meetings shall be recorded in minutes to be approved by the next meeting.

A draft agenda will be circulated to all members at least one week in advance of each meeting, together with the minutes of the previous meeting. Anyone can suggest additional items for the agenda in advance of or at the start of the meeting.

An item will be included early on every agenda of a meeting of the BCPGP – “Declarations of Interest”.

In the event of any member having a pecuniary interest in a matter to be discussed at a meeting of the Group, that member shall leave the room during the discussion and any voting on the matter unless those present resolve that such interest is ‘insignificant’.

Every September an AGM shall be held for the purposes of:

The Chair shall be taken by a nominated person as agreed by members attending the members’ business meeting prior to the AGM.

All members of BCPGP who are present have one vote each, and resolutions must have the support of a simple majority. Proxy votes can only be cast if a letter from an absent member is produced.

Notice of the AGM shall be given at least one month prior to the meeting and any motions for consideration shall be submitted in writing to the Secretary at least two weeks prior to the meeting.

The Agenda will be circulated in advance at least one week prior to the meeting.

The Chair has the right to rule on the admissibility of any emergency motions put forward.

The quorum of an AGM shall be five members including officers or 25% of members of BCPGP (whichever is the smaller).

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on a particular agenda may be called on the request of the members’ meeting or at least five members of BCPGP.

Minutes of AGMs and members’ meetings shall be maintained in an archive. The same general rules apply to EGMs as to AGMs.

BCPGP shall hold members’ meetings additional to the AGM and any EGMs. There shall be at least one members’ meeting every third month (except that any meeting thus due in August or December may be held over to the following month). These additional meetings may be facilitated. The requirement may be met instead by a full round of local group meetings if these meetings will between them cover the entirety of BCP and every contactable BCPGP member will thus be invited to a functioning meeting.

Meetings will be considered facilitated when there is a designated officer presiding over the meeting, and when related decisions can be reported back to the monthly business meeting. Open space meetings such as monthly socials shall not be considered formal meetings with decision-making powers.

Live online hybrid participation by members (e.g. Zoom) shall be permitted and facilitated in all meetings and ballots provided for by this constitution, on an equal basis to any in-person participation offered.

Any officer may bring constitutional proposals on the ongoing place of online participation in all-member BCPGP meetings to the AGM or to an earlier General Meeting.

Groups as defined in sections 10–15 may choose to transact their business by digital means accessible to all members of that group and shall provide records of decisions and/or reports and details of their next meeting on the intranet.

Groups shall generally be open for all BCPGP members (or all members in a group’s local area) to attend, subject to exclusion procedures specified in this constitution.

Members may form a local group covering one town, one council ward, or (by mutual consent) a “neighbourhood” grouping of wards within the geographical area, or one Parliamentary constituency for which BCPGP holds responsibility or lead responsibility.

Members of BCPGP resident in the area covered by a local group may vote in that group. For a constituency group extending into the geographical area of Dorset Green Party, members of the latter resident in the constituency may also vote.

Meeting notices and minutes of local groups shall be circulated to BCPGP members resident in the local group’s area.

The quorum for town and constituency group meetings shall be five members, for neighbourhood meetings four members, and for ward meetings three members.

Local groups may formally adopt their own rules, subject to approval by the next BCPGP General Meeting, and/or elect their own officers. Wherever no local alternative has been formally adopted and approved, decision-making meetings of local groups shall follow BCPGP General Meeting procedures.

Local groups shall not be obliged to follow any BCPGP whip. However, in their activities the decisions and conduct of local groups shall be subject to call-in and block by the Coordination Group or General Meetings in the event of objective concerns about unjustified negative impact on BCPGP’s reputational, legal, financial or organisational good standing.

Arrangements for the respective discussion of town business and constituency business should be scheduled and notified in a manner which does not disadvantage participation:

Where one or more towns has no local group operating, the Coordination Group and/or Facilitation Group shall attempt to provide a suitable local meeting space for that town in months designated for local group meetings in the all-member meeting schedule.

The Treasurer shall collect or arrange the collection of all money due to BCPGP and shall receive all donations to BCPGP and shall be the custodian thereof.

The Treasurer will arrange payment of any bills incurred by BCPGP and will notify the group if it is in danger of becoming overdrawn.

All money over £200 drawn from BCPGP’s bank account shall be authorised by two of the senior officers.

Wherever possible, funds will be held by a banking organisation with a policy of ethical investment and general policies within the ethos of the Green Party, and acceptable to the membership.

General Meetings shall agree and revise as required a budget for BCPGP, including a breakdown of funding allocations to different local groups, plus any allocations to working groups, steering groups or topic groups.

Local groups and working groups may incur expenditure on behalf of the party up to the budget they have been allocated.

Members may incur expenditure on behalf of the party provided prior approval is obtained from senior officers when budgeted funds are available, or else by a General Meeting, or this expenditure may be subject to certification by the Treasurer that there are sufficient funds to cover it. Where expenditure is for material which is legally required to bear an imprint, the named promoter must also have approved it for publication. (Promoter approval is also required for material requiring an imprint which incurs no cost.)

The Treasurer may spend up to £50 without consulting the members’ meeting but may spend more in exceptional circumstances with the authority of two other officers.

Any affiliation fees to another organisation or donations to another group must have the approval of a members’ meeting.

All members must endeavour to help build up and maintain a healthy balance in the BCPGP bank account to enable the branch to function effectively.

For selection of parliamentary candidates, national rules must be followed. For each constituency’s selection, the selectorate shall be paid-up GPEW members resident in that constituency.

For local election candidates, the party will delegate the task of recruiting suitable candidates to an officer’s team chaired by the Nominating Officer. The Nominating Officer will provide a General Meeting or Elections Workshop with details of recruited candidates and wards, to be approved by the meeting. Active candidates will be invited to the meeting for an informal hustings prior to approval. Any ward where there are more candidates than seats shall require a formal hustings and secret ballot.

If any members seek selection for whom the Nominating Officer (or other officer or member fulfilling this role) has concerns regarding suitability, such members shall be invited to a meeting to be questioned as to their suitability and a secret ballot held. A discussion may be held for the deselection of a prospective candidate if three members write to the Chair or Vice Chair with grounds of grievance.

Selections for one or more specified individual wards may be brought forward to a specified earlier meeting by vote of a General Meeting or Elections Workshop.

This constitution can only be altered by an AGM or EGM of BCPGP.

Amendments to this constitution require advance notice.

In the event that it has become unviable to operate facilitated all-member meetings or local group meetings, BCPGP may temporarily declare “crisis mode”, replacing facilitated or local meetings with a BCPGP officers’ meeting as defined in section 8.1.

A General Meeting should be called to agree crisis mode operation, with advance notice given of the proposal, and reasonable efforts made for the vote to be quorate.

SWGP shall be asked to provide support and guidance in reviving BCPGP’s capacity to bring it out of crisis mode.

BCPGP may cease to exist or join with other local Green Parties only by agreement of an EGM or AGM. In the event of BCPGP being wound up, the balance of funds shall be transferred to GPEW, or to the Regional Party, or to a specified neighbouring Green Party. In the event of BCPGP becoming defunct, national rules apply.

Advance notice: Some business requires advance notice. This is written notification to the entire membership eligible to vote at the meeting. For an AGM or EGM, it shall be posted 15 days before the meeting. For a members’ meeting it shall be 8 days. Motions requiring advance notice may not be substantially amended at the meeting.

Intranet: One or more closed communications systems provided by BCPGP and/or GPEW for information sharing among local members, accessible by any BCPGP member, and as agreed by General Meeting. Where there is a practical reason for the intranet to encompass multiple separate systems, any given type of constitutionally mandated information should be posted in a consistent and agreed manner to at least one system.