AGM & Annual Conference 2022

I am pleased to confirm details of arrangements for two of this year’s key Co-operative Party national events – our AGM and Annual Conference. For the first time, the AGM will be held at a separate time and date to Conference, so please read this email in full to find out more about how each event will take place.

To note: The Party took the decision to separate the Annual Conference and AGM in to two separate events in 2019.  This was due to be implemented in 2020 until the necessary changes to the Party’s planning bought about by the restrictions of the pandemic.

AGM

The Annual General Meeting of Co-operative Party Ltd will take place on Zoom on Saturday 25 June from 9.30am to 12pm.

Each Party Council and Society/Affiliate is entitled to register delegates. There is no delegate fee for the AGM and no maximum number of delegates you may register, although a minimum of two should attend to ensure that your local Party or organisation is represented should someone be unavailable on the day.  One of your AGM delegates should be identified as the lead delegate – they will receive the link to cast your Party unit or organisation’s vote after the meeting.

Party Councils and Subscribing Societies are requested to send a minimum of two delegates – Party Secretaries can do this by following the link to our AGM Delegate Registration Form here.

Please advise us of your delegates by Friday 3rd June at the latest. When appointing your delegates, one should be nominated as the lead delegate who will receive the votes on behalf of your organisation.  There is no maximum number of delegates you may appoint to attend the AGM and no delegate fee.
As the AGM and Annual Conference are now separate events – with the AGM being online in June and Annual Conference in Leeds in October – you are not required to register the same delegates to both, although for ease you may do so.

Please note: the AGM is open to all members, who may ask questions, but only delegates appointed by Party Councils or subscribing Societies and Affiliates may vote.

If you have any questions about the AGM, please contact Karen Wilkie, Board Secretary at board@party.coop. The formal notice for the AGM, together with the agenda and papers, will be circulated in June.

Annual Conference

We are pleased that we will once again have the chance to come together in-person for our Annual Conference which will be held on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th October at the Queens Hotel in Leeds. This year the event will be held across two days (with online events taking place ahead and just after the weekend), allowing us to have the same packed agenda while reducing the costs of accommodation for party councils.

Dates and times

• Annual Conference Day 1, 8th October, 11am-11pm: Showcasing Co-operative Politics – including keynote speeches, fringe events and conference marketplace.  Followed by evening networking and awards event.
• Annual Conference Day 2, 9th October, 9:30am-1pm:  Policy debates and votes on organisational motions, membership subscription & CAC election

Delegates and Delegate Fees
All Party Councils and Subscribing Societies are required to send delegates, in the case of the Party Councils based on the size of your organisation – you will be advised in your grant letter of how many this will be. Delegates should represent the diverse nature of our Party, including a 50% gender balance.  Delegates to Conference do not have to be the same as those attending the AGM.

To register your delegates, download our conference registration form here, fill it in and return by email to e.foody@party.coop. The deadline for the ‘early-bird’ discount has now passed and delegate fees are as follows:

• Weekend Standard – £195 – Late Booking
• Weekend Youth – £145 – Late Booking

Accommodation
A number of bedrooms have been reserved on a first-come, first-served basis at the Queen’s Hotel for the Saturday night – at the rate of £188 for bed and breakfast.  Please indicate on the delegate registration form the required number of rooms.  The hotel is fully accessible, however if you have any specific accessibility requirements and require an accessible room, please advise.

Policy submissions
Our annual conference is the culmination of our annual policy process. To find out more about how to get involved, visit: party.coop/policy/2022

Organisational and emergency motions
If you have an organisational motion, please email it to Issy Oozeerally at events@party.coop. No motion concerning a general policy or principle that Conference has voted on shall be considered for a period of two years from that Conference (i.e. not before the third Annual Conference following the resolution) unless this, in the opinion of the NEC, is of vital importance and urgency. The deadline for any emergency motions to be submitted is 6pm on Saturday 8 October. Please refer to the Rule Book for more information.

Conference Arrangements Committee (CAC)
CAC governs the procedure of the business of Conference.  The CAC is composed of five persons: two elected by ballot at each Annual Conference (one to serve for 3 years and one to serve for 1 year) and a fifth member from the NEC. These are currently Peter Smith – chair. Lis Telcs, Jackie Jones, Theresa Vaughan and Abigail Marshall-Katung (NEC representative). Lis Telcs and Peter Smith’s terms of office end in 2022.

Please contact Issy Oozeerally, Events Co-ordinator at events@party.coop if you require a CAC candidate nomination form. Nominations should be received no later than 2 September. No more than one representative can be elected from any one region, so members in Wales or Yorkshire and Humber will not be eligible to stand this year.

Achievement awards
Our Recognition Awards are a small way that we can say thank you to those members who have played a big part in helping developing the Co-operative Party. The Awards are open to all members, recognising those who have made a lifetime of contribution to the movement, as well as those who may have joined more recently but have made a big impact already. You can nominate any member, officer, councillor or elected representative.  Please click here to nominate.

Networks Conference

This year to expand on the amazing work of our member-led Equality Networks, we are hosting our first Networks Conference online on Saturday 10 September. Further information will follow in due course.

Deadlines and dates for your diary

June

• Friday 3rd: AGM – Deadline for registration of delegates.
• Sunday 19th: Conference – Deadline for submission of organisational motions & policy submissions. AGM – deadline to amend or substitute delegates.
• Sat 25th: Co-operative Party Ltd AGM (online)

July

• W/C Monday 4th: Conference – preliminary Conference agenda published (i.e. organisational motions, membership subscriptions and rule changes)

September

• Friday 2nd: Conference – deadline for responses to Rule Changes; Organisational motion amendments; CAC candidate nominations and award nominations
• Friday 9th: Deadline for registration of Conference Delegates
• Saturday 10th: Co-operative Party Networks Conference (online)

October

• Saturday 8th: Annual Conference Day 1 (Queens Hotel Leeds) – 11am to late
• Sunday 9th: Annual Conference Day 2 (Queens Hotel, Leeds) – 9.30am to 1pm

Issy Oozeerally 
Events Co-ordinator