under my rock

At least in UKIP all members of the NEC are elected on the "one member one vote" rule. To be on Labour's NEC for example you have to hold a party office such as Party Chairman or European Labour Party Leader, you hasve to be nominated a the representaive of Young Labour or the Socialist Socities, be one of 12 Members Nomonated by Trade Unions, 6 members nominated by Constituency Party Members, one of 2 Local Authority Councilors, or one of 3 MP / MEPs.

A total of 27 members, not one of which is elected by a vote of the entire membership.

I definitel;y prefer UKIP's way of doing things!!

Petrina

UKIP`s way of voting in NEC members is very democratic as is our way of voting in MEP lists .However all the indications are that the MEP lists will not remain as democratic as they are now .

I hope that the powers that be will not try to interfer with them as frankly they willl be going against the will of the members and joining the ranks of the other parties who appoint cronies .I hope that if moves are made to re-jig them the members will make their views known .

It will be interesting to see what the New Year brings on this topic.

brian lee

Petrina wroteI believe Petrina is fundamentally wrong.

Firstly, for the most part, candidates for the NEC haven't a clue about what they are letting themselves in for.

Secondly, the system of voting is far from democratic. Allowing every member in the party to vote on what for most people is a complete mystery, is not democratic. To be truly democratic voters should know what they are voting for. 250 words on behalf of people who do not know how the NEC works accompanied by a photo is not very democratic.

Unfortunately, UKIP has never had a constitution that was suitable for purpose. The are no proper checks on the NEC, and a knowledgeable party chairman that could command the respect of the NEC and Party Leader is essential.

Since the inception of UKIP it has never got to grips with forging a good constitution and until it does it will always have serious problems.

It could not even produce a good set of rules for Regional Committees. Those issued contained several mistakes that were not corrected. This indicated that the NEC never actually read the final document. Furthermore the 2005 rules being a modified version of the 2002 rules did not include any rules for good practice concerning the protection of members money. The rules suggested two methods of electing the committee, one of which was so ludicrous it made one wonder if those who approved it had any concept at all about how committees work.

When a new regional committee was set up in the Eastern Counties that did not conform to any rules, the NEC just allowed it to continue. Most UKIP members do not even know that this committee, supported by the two MEPs was not set up in accordance with the Party rules. This is the committee that presumably will oversee the selection and possible election of the UKIP MEPs in 2009.

On numerous occasions for over 10 years I indicated serious flaws in the system and possible solutions, all to no avail. Not one person on the various NEC's was even prepared to discuss that I might have some valid points to make. Just for the record, I had intimate experience of drafting and working with constitutions of political parties, professional institutions and residents associations. Balancing efficiency with accountability and transparency is not that difficult, but so far is has eluded UKIP.











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Petrina

Brian you always wanted the NEC to be voted in on a regional basis .That has the advantage of local members knowing the candidates on a more personal level but it also has the disadvantage of "big fishes in little pools" being voted in rather than perhaps those with more far reaching appeal .

The present system is open to all ,all have to adher to the same rules re publicity etc etc .As far as I am concerned that is democratic .

It is of course inevitable that some are more equal than others ie they are better known in by party ( MEPs for instance )and therefore stand a better chance of being elected . But that`s life ,it is never going to be a completely level playing field .

As to your remarks re the Regional Committee if it was set up in contravention to the rules then clearly that is not acceptable .Perhaps now that we have a Party Secretary who is a solicitor ,and can be taken to understand these matters, a proper appeal can be made to him in his official capacity by a local member.

C_steam

I'm beginning to think this is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off the topic of wishng Ukippers a merry Christmas..................