Following on from the expulsion of some Socialist Workers’ Party (SWP) members from Your Party in recent days, the Your Party conference has just confirmed that its members have voted resoundingly in favour of allowing dual membership.
Regardless of the party’s reasons for expelling some SWP voices from the conference, the visible division provided an unnecessary distraction from a conference full of energy and excitement about building a socialist movement rooted in the working class and focused on community organising and engagement. And this was a way for members to show how they felt about it.
Of the full Your Party members who had verified their identities before the vote (under half of the membership of 50,000+), only 42.5% participated. But with an overwhelming majority, it was a clear statement about the need for as much unity as possible on the left. And when former MP Claudia Webbe announced the result, the room was full of applause.
The amendment stated that:
Members shall be permitted to hold membership in other national political parties where they have been approved by the CEC as aligning with the Party’s values, to include those with whom the Party cooperates electorally. The approved list shall be subject to ongoing CEC review and annual ratification by National Conference.
Your Party members also voted to break the political mould with collective leadership
At the same time, party members voted to step away from the traditional model of single party leaders. It was a much closer vote, but people opted for the “Collective Leadership” model in the end.
Option B said:
The Party shall be collectively led by ordinary members elected to the Central Executive Committee, with the Chair, Vice Chair, and Spokesperson in particular serving as the public political leadership.
Other key votes that got more overwhelming support from members were to include “socialist” and “working class” prominently in documents.
Featured image via the Canary
By The Canary
This post was originally published on Canary.