The following resolutions/motions have been submitted in accordance with the rules set out by the Young Fabian constitution. They will be voted on at the Young Fabian Annual General Meeting on 21st November.

If voted on and adopted at the AGM, the motions below that are being proposed would become incorporated into the current constitution. The constitution as it currently stands can be accessed here.

Preliminary Vote

Motion A as submitted is a composite of a number of proposed amendments to the Constitution. Motions B-F contain some but not all of the changes contained in the new constitution, and are split across multiple motions so that each amendment can be discussed and voted on separately.

At the start of business, a preliminary vote will be taken on whether to discuss and vote on Motion A (the proposed new constitution as a whole), or whether to proceed to B-F so that each amendment can be discussed and voted on separately.

If AGM votes to discuss Motion A and it subsequently fails to pass, motions B-F will be deemed to have also failed, and will not be considered.

Motion A - Proposed new Young Fabian constitution

Proposer: Luke John (LJ) Davies Seconders: Martin Edobor, Ria Bernard, Nathaneal Amos-Sansam, Jun Bo Chan, Oana Olaru, Mohammed Ahmed, Rebecca Carpenter, Amrita Rose and Ian Kugler.
(If adopted, will this motion would replace the parts of the existing constitution specified at the link below)

The Young Fabians were founded in 1960 and we have a long and rich history. However periodically our governing documents need to be renewed and modernised for a future that promises to be just as vibrant. Over the last six months we have been consulting with many members on how our constitution can be updated to better reflect how the Young Fabians now operates and to refocus it more on the member-led approach the organisation now embodies.

Background notes on the proposed constitution | Read the proposed new constitution in full 

Motion B - Gender parity on the Executive Committee

Proposer: Paulina Jakubec Seconder: Ellie Groves
(If adopted, will become a subset of current clause 5)

The Executive Committee of the Young Fabians should have gender parity. The candidate with the highest vote in the elections shall be the first elected the executive committee. The candidate of the opposite gender with the highest votes shall be second. Positions on the executive committee will then be filled by alternating between genders until all committee members are elected and half of them are female. 

No ballots shall go out to the membership until at least half of candidates needed to create a full executive committee of each gender have been nominated. 

Should a member of the executive committee resign or be removed by the membership they shall be replaced by the candidate with the next highest votes tally of the same gender. 

The Executive Committee must also ensure gender parity amongst the four most senior roles on the Committee: Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Secretary. 

Motion C - Data protection policy

Proposer: Paulina Jakubec Seconder: Ellie Groves
(If adopted, will form part of current clause 6)

The Executive Committee shall maintain and publish a data protection policy for the organisation. The Executive Committee shall nominate two Data Controllers, one of which shall be the Chair, and are responsible to the Executive Committee and Data Controller at the Fabian Society.

Motion D - Networks

Proposer: Paulina Jakubec Seconder: Ellie Groves
(If adopted, will form new clause 16)

Networks are sub-sections of the group devoted to and responsible for a specified policy area. The creation of or winding up of a network must be proposed to the Annual General Meeting which shall then vote on the matter. 

Membership of Networks shall be open to any full member of the Young Fabians who notifies the Chair and/or Secretary of the Network that they wish to be a member of the Network.

Additionally the Networks shall have discretion to recruit members from outside the Young Fabians who have experience of or a professional or personal interest in the area the network is devoted to.

Only full members of the Young Fabians may sit on or vote for the members of the network's steering committee. 

Any member of a network who is also a full member of the Young Fabians may sit on the network's steering committee. Each network must hold an AGM within three months of the Young Fabian's AGM at which they will elect a Chair, Secretary and at least two others to form the network Steering Committee. The committee may decide other roles as it deems appropriate.

Members who wish to sit on the steering committee may do so after the AGM. To do so they must notify the network's secretary in writing of their intention and attend two steering committee meetings as an ordinary member of the network. At the second meeting an election shall be held to approve of their accession to the steering committee by its existing members.

The steering committee must meet a minimum of once every three months and meetings shall be open to all members of the network. Members shall have the right to speak and propose motions at all meetings, but only the steering committee proper may vote on motions.

The time and place of all meetings must be advertised a minimum of fourteen (14) days before the meeting is held.

Networks shall be responsible for the running of events, publications, discussions, delegations and other member-led activities within the policy area to which they are devoted.

Motion E - Honorary positions

Proposer: Paulina Jakubec Seconder: Ellie Groves
(If adopted, will form new clause 17)

The organisation may choose to have an Honorary President and Honorary Vice Presidents of the Group. 

The Honorary President and Honorary Vice Presidents of the Group, if any, may be elected at an annual or extraordinary general meeting on the nomination of the Executive Committee.

Motion F - Removal of officers

Proposer: Paulina Jakubec Seconder: Ellie Groves
(If adopted, will form part of current clause 18)

Executive Committee Officers may only be removed by an Extraordinary General Meeting called in accordance with clause 10 of the current constitution or by a vote of simple majority of elected members at any General Meeting of the Group. 

On the same basis, a Vote of No Confidence in the Chair can be proposed at any General Meeting of the Group and pass with immediate effect, by a vote of simple majority of elected members.