Vote on how we should transform Labour

This vote included 15 questions, covering 11 unique proposals, formed from contributions by Momentum’s National Coordinating Group (NCG), the Members’ Council, individual members on My Momentum, and allied groups such as the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD).

Voting ran from Thursday 1st March to midnight Monday 12th March, and all proposals that gained over 50% support have become Momentum’s campaigning position.

A) Membership Participation and Involvement

Charter of Members’ Rights

SUMMARY: Labour should adopt a Charter of Members’ Rights to support and expand members’ rights by focusing on transparency, accountability, participation, capacity building, and disciplinary justice as set out in the Chakrabarti Report.

Full proposal | Source: Momentum’s National Coordinating Group (NCG), Chakrabarti Report, the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD), and Liz Davies (Momentum Hackney).

Question 1 of 15 - Should Momentum campaign for the Charter of Members’ Rights?
3471 voted Yes (92%)77 voted No (2%)187 voted Abstain (5%)

Code of Ethics

SUMMARY: Labour should adopt a Code of Ethics, for all members of the Labour Party to adhere to. This includes a commitment for party staff to be impartial and accountable to elected representatives, and for all party actors to avoid actions which are detrimental to the party.

Full proposal | Source: Momentum NCG, the CLPD, and Liz Davies (Momentum Hackney).

Question 2 of 15 - Should Momentum campaign for the Code of Ethics?
3307 voted Yes (88%)153 voted No (4%)278 voted Abstain (7%)

Labour Party Ombudsperson

SUMMARY: Labour should have an Ombudsperson, who would be in charge of ensuring the implementation of the Charter of Members’ Rights and Code of Ethics. The Ombudsperson would be independent and impartial, and would report to the NEC on the pattern of complaints received.

Full proposal | Source: Momentum NCG, the CLPD, and Liz Davies (Momentum Hackney).

Question 3 of 15 - Should Momentum campaign for the Labour Party to have an Ombudsperson?
3064 voted Yes (82%)214 voted No (5%)448 voted Abstain (12%)

Membership of Other Organisations

SUMMARY: Labour’s Rulebook says membership of organisations other than the Labour Party can make people ineligible for membership, but the wording is imprecise. It should be clarified that this applies only to organisations whose objectives or methods are clearly incompatible with Labour’s.

Full proposal | Source: Momentum NCG, based on proposals and representations made by members through My Momentum.

Question 4 of 15 - Should Momentum campaign for this rule change to clarify the eligibility for membership of people who support organisations other than the Labour Party?
3165 voted Yes (84%)305 voted No (8%)293 voted Abstain (7%)

Parliamentary Selections

We have also received a number of representations from members that parliamentary selections are a key area that needs to be addressed to improve accountability. On this basis, we would like members to give us their views on the following key questions:

Question 5 of 15 - Do you think party members should have the option of voting online for parliamentary selections?
3142 voted Yes (83%)361 voted No (9%)277 voted Abstain (7%)

Question 6 of 15 - Do you think there should be a meaningful process allowing all party members to consider different candidates to be their CLP’s elected representatives in each term of Parliament?
3248 voted Yes (86%)170 voted No (4%)347 voted Abstain (9%)

Question 7 of 15 - Do you think that the existing trigger ballot system provides adequate accountability between elected representatives and party members in seats with sitting Labour MPs?
366 voted Yes (9%)2186 voted No (58%)1194 voted Abstain (31%)

Question 8 of 15 - Do you think MPs should be required to demonstrate clear majority support from both party members and from affiliated branches in order to get automatically selected again?
3110 voted Yes (82%)226 voted No (5%)433 voted Abstain (11%)

A Democratic Selection Process for the 21st Century

SUMMARY: The Labour Party should reform the way sitting MPs are reselected. Key points include:

• New candidates should be able to seek out nominations as well as the sitting MP.
• Sitting MPs should be required to receive nominations from branches representing over two thirds of the membership as well as over two thirds of affiliate branches in order to get reselected automatically.

Full proposal | Source: A proposal by Dan, as well as a rule change passed by Brighton Hove, Worthing West and Bristol West CLPs, which is due to be debated at this year’s Labour Party Conference.

Question 9 of 15 - Should Momentum campaign for this proposal to reform the way sitting MPs are reselected?
3098 voted Yes (82%)220 voted No (5%)443 voted Abstain (11%)

B) Socialist Societies

SUMMARY: In order to affiliate to the Labour Party, Socialist Societies should have to be transparent and democratic.

Full proposal | Source: This is largely based on a proposal by Jody.

Question 10 of 15 - Should Momentum campaign for this proposal?
3213 voted Yes (85%)122 voted No (3%)431 voted Abstain (11%)

C) Disability Labour and the Representation of Disabled Members

Please only answer this question if you are disabled.

SUMMARY: Labour should support reforms to Disability Labour and make additional reforms to improve the representation of disabled people in the party. Key points include:

• Automatic membership of Disability Labour for all disabled party members.
• Scrapping of the registration fee for joining Disability Labour.
• Election of the Disability Labour Executive by One Member One Vote.
• The Labour Party to provide Disability Labour with regularly updated data regarding its membership.
• One staff member accountable to Disability Labour and responsible for promoting accessibility through the party.

Full proposal | Source: It is based partly on proposals by Caroline, Fran, Adrie, Mick, and Ian.

Question 11 of 15 - Do you think Momentum should campaign for this proposal to reform Disability Labour and improve representation for disabled party members?
2376 voted Yes (78%)87 voted No (2%)577 voted Abstain (18%)

D) Constituency Labour Party Governance

SUMMARY: Labour should reform the governance of Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs). Key points include:

• CLP Executives to always include an Online Communications Officer, a Political Education and Training Officer and a Trade Union Liaison Officer (TULO), with full voting rights.
• CLP Executives to always include representatives of BAME, LGBTQ and disabled people, with full voting rights, or a combined equalities officer if that isn’t possible.
• CLP Executives to allow job shares for positions.
• The Labour Party to increase funding to CLPs.

Full proposal | Source: This is based in part on proposals by the Members' Council, Caroline, Lydia, Andy, Ian, Jessica, as well as Heather on behalf of the CLPD.

Question 12 of 15 - Should Momentum adopt this proposal to improve the way Constituency Labour Parties (CLP) function?
2943 voted Yes (78%)247 voted No (6%)554 voted Abstain (14%)

E) Recruitment of Members

SUMMARY: The Labour Party should support reforms to ensure high levels of recruitment of members in the future. Key points include:

• Maintain the category of registered supporters and their right to vote in leadership campaigns.
• Late freeze dates during leadership campaigns to allow newly enthused members of the public the chance to sign up and vote.
• Consultation with BAME Labour, LGBT Labour, and Disability Labour in the development of recruitment strategies.

Full proposal | Source: This proposal is partly based on contributions from Lee, Joshua and A Porter.

Question 13 of 15 - Should Momentum campaign for this proposal to improve recruitment of new members?
3196 voted Yes (85%)214 voted No (5%)341 voted Abstain (9%)

F) Gender Representation

SUMMARY: The Labour Party should support reforms to improve the representation of women in the party. Key points include:

• All CLPs shall be required to form Women’s Forums when there is demand from female members.
• A standalone Women’s Conference to be held in Spring, to which each CLP shall be eligible to send at least one woman delegate.
• Annual Women’s Conference to elect a Women’s Committee, which shall be the institutional representative of female party members.

Full proposal | Source: The proposal is based on contributions by Labour Women Leading, the CLPD, Jean and Jody.

Question 14 of 15 - Should Momentum campaign for this proposal to improve the representation of women in the party?
2757 voted Yes (73%)384 voted No (10%)617 voted Abstain (16%)

G) Social Media

SUMMARY: The Labour Party should support efforts to improve the party’s social media operation. Key points include:

• Clearer guidelines for branch and CLP social media forums and pages.
• The renovation of Membersnet to convert it into an interactive hub.

Full proposal | Source: The proposal is based on contributions by Andrew, Jamie and Edward.

Question 15 of 15 - Should Momentum campaign for this proposal to improve the Labour Party’s social media operation?
3362 voted Yes (89%)72 voted No (1%)334 voted Abstain (8%)