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Documents:

LABOUR STUDENTS NATIONAL CONSTITUTION

1. NAME

Labour Students.

2. OBJECTS

(a) To secure support for the Labour Party in the various institutions of higher and further education.

(b) To advise the Labour Party National Executive Committee on Labour Student organisation on educational matters and student opinion on matters of concern to the Labour Party.

c) To assist in the formation and development of student Labour Clubs and to encourage their liaison with the Labour Party Young Socialists and Constituency Labour Parties.

d) To co-operate with the Labour Party Young Socialists in winning young people to democratic socialism and the Labour Party.

(e) To propagate democratic socialist views and the cause of the Labour Party in national organisations and elsewhere.

(f) To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be accessible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service.

3. MEMBERSHIP

a) Membership shall be open to Labour Student organisations in institutions of higher and further education, which shall, in the cases of Clubs in the regions of Scotland and Wales as defined by the National Union of Students (UK), entitle them to membership of the Regional Associations provided for in Clause 8.

(b) To be eligible for membership of National Labour Students a Labour Student Organisation must undertake to accept and conform to the Constitution and Rules of Labour Students and the Model Rules for Labour Student Organisations.

(C) Only one organisation within any one institution of higher or further education shall be entitled to membership of Labour Students.

least ten members, which shall be the minimum basis for affiliation.

(e) The Labour Students National committee is charged with powers of admitting Labour Student Organisations into membership of National Labour Students.

(f) Membership shall be open to Sabbatical Officers of recognised Students' Unions, NUS Area Convenors who have Sabbatical status and Labour Student NUS NEC Members. These last two categories shall be members of the Labour Organisation at the institution at which they last studied.

(g) Individual membership may be granted at the discretion of the National Committee from time to time. There shall be no representational rights extended to an individual member. Representational rights are only recognised through individual Labour Student Organisations.

For the purpose of this Constitution, a recognised registered student shall be defined as:

(a) A person following a course of study at an institution of higher or further education as defined by the DES ,who is either a full time student as defined by NUS.

(b) A sandwich' student on industrial placement.

(d) A student on "block release'.

(e) A student on day release" .

Students on "block' or 'day' release shall only have membership rights within Labour Students during the period of study.

4. NATIONAL CONFERENCE

(a) The work of the organisation shall be under the discretion of the National Conference which shall itself be subject to the Constitution and the Standing orders of the Organisation. The National Conference shall meet regularly once every year. The National Committee ma,,, ;-n exceptional circumstances, convene a special National Conference.

(b) The National Conference shall be constituted as follows:

Delegates are appointed by each member organisation on the basis of one delegate for each thirty or part thereof of its members who are affiliated to Labour Students Nationally.

Where member organisations are entitled to two or more delegates, at least a half must be women. Where member organisations are entitled to one, or an odd number of delegates thereafter, the 50% quota for women delegates will operate on an alternate year basis - if one year one is a male delegate then year two must be a female delegate.

(iii) Members of the National Committee shall be ex-officio members of the Conference without voting powers unless they are also duly appointed delegates.

Annual Conference. Each member organisation shall have the right to put forward two resolutions and two amendments to the Annual Conference.

(d) The National Committee shall lay down a timetable in agreement with the National Executive Committee for the submission of resolutions and amendments,

Constitutional amendments, affiliations and re-affiliations 0 41 member organisations and the appointment of delegates to Annual Conference.

(e) That the policies passed by Labour Students National Committee shall be deemed current for a period of three years unless other policy is passed by Conference on the same subject which is contradictory rather than complementary to the previous policy. At the end of the three year period policies passed by the National Committee will be deemed to have lapsed, unless renewed in an agenda item provided for this discussion on the basis of objections to the lapse of policy which may be raised by members of Conference or the National Committee in accordance with the timetable laid down by the Standing Orders Committee.

ii National Committee members and Labour Student organisation secretaries shall be sent copies agreed by the National Committee.

(f) The National Committee shall report to Conference in writing on its activities over the previous year and this report shall be taken by Conference an a fixed item on the agenda. The report will be circulated to Labour Clubs to ensure that those Clubs not represented at Conference receive a report on the activities of the National Committee.

(g) The National Committee shall serve from the beginning of July following the Conference at which she or he is elected. The National Committee shall hold office for one calendar year following their assumption of office.

(h) When all motions have been received for Labour Students Conference, the National Committee shall send three copies to all Labour Clubs and each Labour Club shall then vote at a general meeting which debates it

wishes to see given priority. These results shall then be collated and the subjects which come top of the ballot shall then be debated at Conference.

5. QUALIFICATION OF DELEGATES

(a) Every delegate must be an individual member of the Labour Party.

(b) Delegates must be bona fide members of the organisation appointing them.

6. LABOUR STUDENTS CONFERENCE STANDING ORDERS ORDER PAPER

I Standing Orders Committee shall propose a conference timetable at the start of Conference which shall be approved by Conference by a simple majority.

ii Challenges to the adopted Order Paper shall require a 2/3 majority.

PROCEDURAL .M0TIONS

(a) Unless the Chairperson considers it is an infringement of reasonable debate, a member may move a procedural motion as a point of order.

(b) The following procedural notions may be moved, in the following descending order of precedence:

(I) That the question be taken in parts;

(ii) That the question be now put;

(iii) Conference shall move immediately to next business;

(iv) The debate shall be closed;

(v) The question shall not be put;

( v i The Standing Order Book shall be suspended for a specified time;

( v i The question shall be referred back to a specified body;

(viii) A ruling from the Chair shall be made;

(ix) A challenge to the Chair.

(viii) and (ix) require a simple majority, procedural motion (vi) requires a 2/3 majority.

DEBATE

(a) The following limits shall apply on debates:

Four minutes for a proposing speech;

Three minutes for all other speeches;

Two minutes will be allocated for a National Committee response.

COMPOSITING

The Standing Orders committee shall be responsible for designating those topics requiring composting and the procedure to be adopted. The Committee will also be responsible for ruling on motions which take no part in the composting process.

VOTING

(a) All votes shall normally be on a show of hands, except in policy debates where 50 delegates call for a roll call vote.

(b) In elections voting shall be by secret ballot with the number of votes which each delegate has equalling the number of places open to election, except where the ballot is for one post only in which case the ballot shall be conducted under the alternative voting system.

QUORUM

The quorum In half the accredited delegates plus one.

THE CHAIR

(a) Conference shall be chaired by the Chairperson of Labour Students or his/her appointed deputy.

(b) The Chairperson shall have a casting vote only.

DELEGATES

(a) Only delegates accredited by the Conference Credentials Committee may vote at the Conference.

(b) Credentials shall only be issued to holders of Student Union, Labour Students and Labour Party cards valid at the Conference.

CONFERENCE

(a) Conference shall at all times proceed according to the Constitution and Standing Orders of Labour Students Nationally as approved by the NEC of the Labour Party.

6. OFFICERS COMMITTEE

(a) The Officers shall be Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, National Secretary, National Treasurer Publications officer, Membership and Campaigns Officer, Anti-Racism Officer and Women's Officer of which at-least 40% must be women. In addition the Labour Party Student organiser who shall be an ex-officio Officer without a vote shall be the Permanent Secretary.

(b) The National Committee shall consist of the Officers as above, plus seven Ordinary National Committee members of which at least 40% must be women, a' representative of Scottish Labour Students and a representative of Welsh Labour Students.

(c) Separate ballots shall be held by the delegates to National Conference for the posts of Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, National Secretary, National Treasurer, Publications Officer, Membership and Campaigns officer, and Anti-Racism Officer.

A separate ballot shall be held by the delegates to National Conference for the post of Women's Officer which shall be open to women only.

A single ballot shall be held by the delegates to the National Conference for the posts of the seven ordinary National Committee members.

Separate ballot shall be held amongst the delegates to National Conference for the Labour Students delegate to Labour Party Conference and the Labour Students delegate to Labour Party Women's Conference. The latter post will be open to women only.

(d) The National Committee shall establish a committee the function of which shall be to oversee the work of Labour students in regard to the National Union of Students (NUS). This committee shall convene and present a report of its activities to the National Committee and the Annual Labour Students Council. This report will contain a summary of the activities of Labour Students elected to the National Executive of NUS.

(e) Officers and members of the National Committee must be members of Labour Students Nationally and individual members of the Labour Party.

(f) The Youth Representative on the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Labour Party's Youth Section and all members of the Labour Party NEC who sit in the committee responsible for youth activities may attend meetings of the National Committee as non-voting observers.

(g) The National Committee shall meet at least once each term, and urgent business arising in between meetings shall be dealt with by the Officers who shall report at all meetings of the National Committee. A voting record of all present shall be kept which shall be made available to Labour Students Council and to Annual Conference.

(h) In the event of the resignation of a Labour Students Officer or National Committee member elected by Labour Students Conference, their responsibilities shall be taken over by another member of the Labour Students National Committee.

7. AREA CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEES

(a) Area Co-ordinating Committees way be established among existing Labour Clubs in the geographical area of any one of the Areas of the National Union of Students.

(b) All members of the Area Co-ordinating Committee must be individual members of the Labour Party.

8. REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

(a) There shall be established in the Areas of Scotland and Wales as defined by the National Union of Students (UK), Regional Associations of Labour Student

Organisations in institutions of Higher and Further Education.

All people appointed by member organisations to serve as representatives to a Regional Organisation must be individual members of the Labour Party.

Regional Associations shall operate under the Regional Rules as agreed by the Labour Students National Conference.

9. FINANCE

(a) The National Committee shall recommend to the Annual Conference the level of affiliation fee to be paid by individual full time and part time members for the forthcoming year.

(b) All monies raised by, or on behalf of, this Organisation shall be dealt with as determined by the .Rational Committee in compliance with the policy of National Conference, and the Constitution of Labour Students.

(c) An annual balance sheet, record of accounts and draft estimates shall be submitted by the National Committee to the National Conference.

10. MEMBER ORGANISATIONS

(a) Each member organisation must accept and conform to these Rules.

(b) Membership of a member organisation shall be open to all recognised registered students who are in general agreement with the objects of the National Organisation of Labour Students.

(c) Only persons who are individual members of the Labour Party shall be eligible to be Officers of a member organisation.

(d) The Student Organiser of the Labour Party in association with the Labour Party National Executive Committee shall have the power to decide that paragraph (b) and (c) of this Clause be waived in cases where the organisations in question have political conditions on their membership imposed by the governing educational authorities or students' unions concerned.

11. LABOUR PARTY MEMBERSHIP

For the purpose of this Constitution a person shall not be deemed to be an individual member of the Labour Party unless he or she possesses a membership card for the current year issued by the Constituency Labour Party of which she or he is a member.

12. INDIVIDUAL ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP

(a) The following are eligible to be admitted to individual associate membership of the National Organisation of Labour Students:

All members of the Labour Students National Committee.

(ii) Elected members of the student union executives, who are individual members of the Labour Party.

Elected Officers of other organisations to which Labour Students is affiliated who are at the time of their election full members of Labour Students or members of the Labour Students National Committee.

(iv) Recognised registered students in colleges without Labour Clubs.

(b) Those included under 12 (a) (ii), 12 (a) (iii) and 12 (a) (iv) must be individual members of the Labour Party and may be admitted to associate membership of Labour Students after a written application is made to the Labour Students National Committee.

(c) Associate members shall have no right to vote or stand for election to any office within Labour Students, except where otherwise specific in this Constitution.

14. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

The existing Constitution or any part thereof may be amended, rescinded, altered or additions made thereto only at a National Conference, subject to agreement by the Labour Party National Executive Committee.