Voice of the Candidate
Constitution of the Parliamentary Candidates Association
Constitution of the Parliamentary Candidates Association
Agreed, Special General Meeting 2006
Article 1: Name
1.1 The name of the association shall be the Liberal Democrats Parliamentary Candidates Association (to be shortened to
Parliamentary Candidates Association within the Liberal Democrats) and hereafter referred to as the ‘PCA’.
Article 2: Objectives
2.1 The purpose of the PCA is:
‘To be the voice of the candidates and to attract, encourage and sustain a talented team of parliamentary and assembly candidates: election-ready and fit for government.’
2.2 The PCA acts as the Specified Associated Organisation of the Liberal Democrats for all parliamentary and assembly
candidates within the Liberal Democrats.
2.3 The PCA works to:
• Elect Liberal Democrats to the UK Parliament, the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, the Greater London Authority and English Regional Assemblies (when formed),
• Promote the interests and objectives of candidates,
• Promote the interchange of views and information between members,
• Publicise Liberal Democrats policies and candidates,
• Promote proper selection, training and support services for candidates.
Article 3: Membership
3.1 Membership shall be open to all current members of the Liberal Democrats who accept the above Objectives.
Membership Categories
3.2 Members may join the PCA in one of the following categories:
• Full Membership,
• Honorary Membership, and
• Corporate Membership.
3.3 Full Membership of the PCA shall be open to:
• Those elected members of any of the aforementioned Parliaments or Assemblies,
• Those prospective candidates for any of the aforementioned Parliaments or Assemblies,
• Those on the Liberal Democrats’ approved list of candidates for any of the aforementioned Parliaments or Assemblies,
• Those elected members of the Liberal Democrats’ Peers List, and
• Those who have been a candidate at either of the two most recent previous elections to any of the aforementioned Parliaments or Assemblies, or
• Those with a special interest in parliamentary affairs.
3.4 Honorary Membership of the PCA shall be awarded at the discretion of the Executive to those members of the Liberal Democrats who wish to wish to promote the Objectives of the PCA set out in Article 2 above.
3.6 Corporate Membership of the PCA shall be open to all formally established associations, business firms or limited liability companies that wish to promote the Objectives of the PCA set out in Article 2 above.
3.7 All applications for membership are subject to the approval of the Executive. Honorary Membership shall be awarded for a maximum period of twelve (12) months, but may be extended further at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
3.8 The Executive Committee of the PCA shall, subject to a two-thirds majority of those present and excluding the President, have the power to withdraw membership from any person whose activities are, or have been, in its opinion inconsistent with support of the Objectives of the PCA or whose actions have been in any other way seriously injurious to the PCA.
3.9 Any refusal or withdrawal of membership shall be subject to appeal to the President whose decision shall be final. Any withdrawal of membership does not confer any rights to any full or partial refund of subscriptions.
Subscriptions and Voting Rights
3.10 Full Members shall be available to those who fulfil the membership criteria set down in Article 3.1 above, who pay the subscription fee set annually at the Annual General Meeting and who have no outstanding subscriptions arrears.
3.11 Full Members shall be the only category of Members who can:
• Vote in PCA elections
• Stand as a candidate in PCA elections, or
• Nominate candidates for election within the PCA.
3.12 Honorary Members shall not be required to pay an annual subscription fee.
3.13 Corporate Members shall pay four (4) times the Full Members annual subscription fee.
Article 4: Officers and Executive Committee
4.1 Honorary Officers of the PCA shall comprise a President, a Patron and five Vice Presidents. Honorary Officers may, if they wish, attend Executive meetings as a non-voting member.
4.2 The President of the PCA shall be the current leader of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party at Westminster, unless otherwise agreed by the Executive.
4.3 Officers of the PCA shall comprise a Chair, Deputy Chair, two Vice-chairs, Organising Secretary, Treasurer and Membership Secretary. The Chairman and Deputy Chair shall have the standing of Honorary Officers during their terms of office.
4.4 The Executive Committee (the ‘Executive’) of the PCA shall comprise of the Officers and any other Officers elected from time to time plus up to twelve ordinary elected members, which shall include at least one representative of members of the PCA
from the Scottish and Welsh State parties and each of the regions of the English State party.
4.5 The Executive shall have the power to fill any casual vacancies among the Honorary Officers, Officers or Executive by co-option until the next AGM. The Executive may also co-opt up to four other members to fulfil specific roles or provide specific areas of expertise. Candidates for co-option must consent, in writing, prior to the relevant Executive Committee meeting. Co-opted members of the Executive have equivalent voting rights on the Executive to elected members.
4.6 Honorary Officers and Officers of the PCA may in each post serve for up to five years consecutively, subject to annual re-election, but shall not be eligible for re-election for a year thereafter.
Powers, Duties and Responsibilities
4.7 The quorum for any meeting of the Executive shall be four (4) of which at least two must be Officers.
4.8 The Chair shall have responsibility for ensuring the organisation and work of the PCA, with the help of fellow Officers and the Executive.
4.9 The Officers and Executive shall be empowered to transact any financial and administrative business of the PCA, subject to any directions which may be given to it by the Annual General Meeting.
4.10 The Executive shall be empowered to draft and agree policies for and on behalf of the PCA in support of its Objectives, finance and administration. This shall include, but not be limited to, policy statements regarding the reimbursement of expenses for
Officers and Executive members engaged upon PCA business.
4.11 The Executive shall have the authority to appoint from time to time, an official to carry out duties as prescribed by the Executive. The Executive shall have the power to determine the remuneration and responsibilities of the said official.
4.12 Sub-committees of the Executive may be established, subject to the approval of the Executive.
4.13 The PCA shall encourage the formation of sub-groupings of its members in Scotland, Wales and the English regions. These groupings shall be subject to the constitution and rules of the PCA in force from time to time.
Article 5: Conduct of Business
5.1 All notices to or among members, Officers or the Executive, excluding PCA election ballot papers but including and not limited to calling notices, general meeting agendas, consultations, constitutional documents, social event and training course details
shall by default be distributed electronically and, once sent, shall be deemed to have been delivered, except where the recipient has specifically requested in writing to the Organising Secretary that notifications be delivered by ordinary postal mail.
5.2 Officers of the PCA are empowered to communicate on behalf of the PCA and on the PCA’s headed notepaper in the exercise of their respective functions and may specifically delegate particular tasks to other members of the Executive.
5.3 Any written, spoken or electronic communication purporting to be made by anyone other than the Chair, Organising Secretary or Treasurer on behalf of the PCA, or attributed by association with the PCA shall be circulated for approval before distribution
to the Executive, or, in urgent circumstances, the Chair.
5.4 When any such draft communication intended to be sent on behalf of the PCA is circulated to the Executive, committee members will have forty eight (48) hours to respond, except in cases of exceptional urgency.
5.5 In the event of a dispute as to the approval or drafting of any document, the final decision will be made by the Chair in line with the accepted PCA policy and in this exercise the Chair’s decision will be final.
Article 6: Representation on Other Liberal Democrat Bodies
6.1 Where invited, the PCA shall be represented on the States’ Candidates Committee by the current Chair, unless otherwise agreed by the Executive.
6.2 Where any other body invites PCA representation, the Executive will appoint a representative at the first Executive meeting thereafter, for the duration of that Executive.
6.3 PCA representatives to other bodies will submit regular written reports to the Executive, at a frequency to be determined by the Executive.
Article 7: Finances and Subscriptions
7.1 The financial year of the PCA shall run from 1st January to 31st December. The accounts of the PCA shall be held by the Treasurer and shall be available for inspection by any member of the Executive.
7.2 Subscriptions for Full Members shall be due annually on the first day of the month in which the member joined the PCA.
7.3 The Executive may after each Annual General Meeting agree a reduced subscription fee for Full Members, available to:
• Those aged under the age of twenty five (25) years,
• Those not in receipt of a wage,
• Those in full-time education.
7.4 Any Full Member whose subscription is more than three months in arrears shall be deemed to have resigned from the PCA and their name shall be removed from the PCA membership register, subject to any exceptions agreed by the Executive.
Article 8: Elections
8.1 The following Honorary Officers shall be elected annually by all Full Members:
• Patron
• Up to five (5) Vice Presidents
• An Organising Secretary
• A Treasurer, and
• A Membership Secretary.
8.2 Elections for members of the Executive shall also take place annually.
8.3 All candidates for elected office must be Full Members of the PCA. Each candidate shall be nominated by at least two Full Members of the PCA. Candidates may be nominated for more than one office, and also be nominated as a member of the
Executive.
8.4 At its first meeting after the annual elections, the Executive shall elect a Chair and Deputy Chair from amongst its own members, who both shall have previously served at least one full year on the Executive Committee.
8.5 All contested PCA elections shall be conducted by single transferable vote and by secret postal ballot.
8.6 The rules governing the conduct of elections shall be the same as those used in the party’s Federal Election, as determined from time to time, except that personal canvassing by telephone and e-mail by each candidate will be permitted.
8.7 The count for any contested PCA election will be done in the order: Patron, Vice Presidents, Organising Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, any other Officers as from time to time may be agreed by the Executive, and finally ordinary Executive
members. Once elected, any votes obtained for further office or membership of the executive shall be redistributed.
8.8 The conduct of contested elections shall be determined by the Returning Officer. As and when required, the Returning Officer
shall be nominated by the Executive and appointed by the PCA President. Any appeals pertaining to the nomination of candidates or conduct of the PCA election shall be heard by the Returning Officer, whose decision shall be final
Article 9: Meetings
Executive Meetings
9.1 Executive meetings of the PCA shall be held at a frequency to be determined by the Chair and Organising Secretary. An annual schedule of Executive meetings is to be agreed in principle at the first Executive meeting in each calendar year. The annual schedule of Executive meeting dates will seek to avoid, where possible, diary clashes with meetings of Liberal Democrat Federal committees.
9.2 Any elected or co-opted member who fails to attend three successive Executive meetings without reasonable explanation will have deemed to have resigned.
Annual General Meetings
9.3 The Annual General Meeting (‘AGM’) of the PCA shall be held annually and no more than sixteen (16) months after the last AGM.
9.4 The PCA AGM shall be open to all PCA members.
9.5 The quorum at a PCA AGM shall be twenty (20) Full Members.
9.6 At least twenty eight (28) days notice shall be given to PCA members of an AGM.
9.7 Subscription fees shall be of such a sum as determined annually by the PCA at each AGM.
9.8 An Auditor shall be appointed by the AGM. The Treasurer shall present to the AGM an audited statement of the PCA Accounts for the previous financial year for approval.
9.9 Nominations for Officers or for the Executive must be received by the Organising Secretary not less than twenty one (21) days before the AGM. The consent of nominees must first be obtained and submitted together with their nomination.
9.10 In the event of a contested election, ballot papers must be sent out not less than fourteen (14) days before the AGM, together with such biographical details as the candidate may have submitted with their consent to nomination, up to a maximum of
seventy five (75) words. Ballot papers must be returned not less than seven (7) days before the AGM.
9.11 Written notice of any resolution which a member or members intends to move at the AGM must reach the Organising Secretary not less than seven (14) days before the AGM and be signed by at least twenty (20) Full Members. The Chair, as
Chairman of the AGM, will exercise discretion over which resolutions, if any, will be debated and in what order.
Special General Meetings
9.12 Special General Meeting (‘SGM’) (i.e. a General Meeting other than the AGM) may be called by one of:
• the Executive Committee, or
• the Officers, or
• the Organising Secretary
within 28 days of receiving a request signed by not less than twenty (20) Full Members.
9.13 An SGM may be held on the same day as an Executive Committee meeting of the PCA. The quorum for a PCA SGM shall be twenty (20) Full Members. No business may be transacted at a SGM, except the business specified on the calling notice.
9.14 At least fourteen (14) days notice shall be given to PCA members of a SGM.
Article 10: The Constitution
10.1 This Constitution of the PCA is as amended by the 1997 Annual General Meeting and the Special General Meeting held at the Harrogate Conference Centre 5th March 2006.
10.2 The Constitution of the PCA may be altered by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting at an Annual or Special General Meeting called for the purpose in accordance with the procedure and requirements set out above. The text of any proposed amendment(s) shall be communicated to all members not later than fourteen (14) days before the AGM or SGM.
10.3 For the avoidance of doubt, interpretations of the PCA Constitution are at the sole discretion of the PCA President and all decisions made by the President in this regard are binding and without further recourse.