14 members of the "Your Party" CEC have met, following the CEC officers' decision to suspend three critical-minded CEC members. This statement came out of the meeting:
"A special meeting of the CEC was held this evening [12 July] under Clause 5.2 of the Standing Orders, which provides that special meetings of the CEC may be convened 'at the request of 50% of all CEC or Officers’ Group members, as applicable'.
"The meeting was attended by 14 CEC members at its peak, including three members of the Officers’ Group. [The CEC was elected with 24 members in total; one has resigned, so there are now 23].
"14 members voted to suspend Clause 4 to allow votes of no confidence in Officers to be heard outside an AGM, in accordance with Section 17 of the Standing Orders.
"Following debate and discussion:
• 13 members voted no confidence in Jenn Forbes as Chair.
• 12 members voted no confidence in Dawn Aspinall as Secretary.
• 11 members voted no confidence in Cassi Bellingham as Membership Officer.
"It is our collective hope that the leadership of the party acts on the outcome of this constitutional meeting, so that we can work together to build the party our members hoped for — and that this country deserves. Further minutes will follow".
That seems to be a clear majority of the whole CEC (despite its "The Many" majority) for no confidence in the chair (at least). Andrew Jordan, the "Nominating Officer" of YP, has put out a claim that the 12 July meeting was invalid.
Mel Mullings, a left-wing member of "Your Party" CEC, and a well-known union activist on the London Underground, wrote on 5 July:
Comrades, I am sending this from Jamaica to let you know that the Party Chair and Secretary are attempting to target my position on the Central Executive Committee (CEC).
The Allegations
They are accusing me of acting against the best interests of the Party and failing in my responsibilities as a CEC member.
This is based entirely on the fact that I gave a brief, 5-minute solidarity address to the online Socialist Federation conference.
They claim that because promotional material for that conference contained commentary critical of the Party leadership and its governance, my mere presence there is a breach of trust.
The Reality
Guilt by Association: They are trying to hold me responsible for the independent views of an entire conference, simply because I showed up to offer solidarity to fellow comrades and members.
No Due Diligence: The entire session was recorded. I spent 7 minutes total online, didn't use a script, and spoke positively as an activist, trade unionist, and reparations campaigner. I did not disparage the Party once.
Calculated Timing
They have slapped me with an "interim suspension" to block me from attending this Sunday's [5 July] crucial CEC meeting, scheduling a "hearing" for the Monday right after it.
This is a groundless witch-hunt, and frankly, a clear case of discrimination and victimisation against one of the only two Black women on the CEC. I have spent my life fighting for our rights, and I am not going to tolerate this.
I have referred the matter back to them and demanded they do ACTUAL due diligence before trying to haul me into a baseless meeting. I will keep you all updated.
As we understand it, "Your Party" then postponed its CEC meeting planned for 5 July. YP officers also suspended two other CEC members, Solma Ahmed and Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi. As we understand it, those suspensions have now been dropped.
The SF describes itself as follows: "The Socialist Federation brings together Your Party members with ex-members who have left in frustration at the leadership’s inactivity, its ban on certain socialist groups, and its failure to support the large and active proto-branches over the last 12 months. Its aim is to support branches and members working to realise the promise we all rallied to last year: a mass, working class, socialist party". The best-known figure in it is Richard Gerrard, a prominent former member of Workers' Power.
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