- Conference
- 2015 National LGBT Conference
- Date
- 21 July 2015
- Decision
- Carried
Conference welcomes the decision of national delegate conference 2014 to amend rule D.6.8 to let the national retired members’ organisation send two representatives of relevant retired members to each national self organised group (SOG) conference.
Conference congratulates the national retired members’ committee (NRMC) on its speed to implement this so that, as a result of decisions it took on 6th August 2014, representatives of relevant retired members have attended SOG conferences from October 2014.
However, conference notes that:
1. NRMC adopted a procedure for election without consulting SOGs or relevant retired members;
2. The procedure means relevant retired members do not elect their own representatives to SOG conferences, rather NRMC elects them;
3. Initially, NRMC adopted this procedure only for 2014-5 intending to review it but, at its meeting on 21st January 2015 upon advice from the national executive council (NEC), it confirmed the existing procedure still without consulting SOGs or relevant members.
Conference instructs the national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) committee to co-operate with NRMC to seek the views of LGBT retired members with a view to making representations to the NEC on:
A. Whether direct election by and from among LGBT retired members would be a more appropriate way to elect delegates to this conference, whether this would be practical and to whom and how representatives elected thus should be accountable;
Or, if the present indirect procedure remains, how to make it more transparent so that:
B. LGBT retired members are told there’s an election and can make or seek nomination;
C. They know who is standing and can indicate who they support; and
D. Candidates know who each other are so that any who wishes to do so can withdraw in another’s favour;
And in either case:
E. Whether the LGBT caucus at retired members’ conference has a role.
Conference further instructs the committee to raise the issues at (A.)-(E.) above with the other SOG national committees and to seek to adopt a common position.