The Stockport Model Branch Motion

Written by, Jordan on October 14, 2025

motionsstockportyour-party

Ahead of the upcoming Greater Manchester YP Branches inaugural meeting, I created a motion to help other branches organise themselves in a way that is very effective for us in Stockport. Not everything here needs to be implemented, but I feel it is a good jumping-off-point for every branch to consider, so that we can bolster and reinforce the grassroots in Your Party.

The Stockport Model Branch Motion

This Branch notes:

The essential role of local branches as the foundation of ‘Your Party’. The necessity of a democratic and inclusive structure that actively encourages member participation and debate. The desire among members for transparency, accountability, and a decisive break from unaccountable central control. This Branch therefore resolves to implement the following organisational structure and principles as proposed by Stockport Socialists For Your Party:

I. Building and Connecting the Membership

  1. Digital and Community Outreach: We will establish an inclusive digital platform, such as a WhatsApp group or similar messaging structure, for accessible communication with the public. While we recognise the need for basic vetting to protect the group, we will avoid creating excessive barriers to entry. We must remain vigilant against individuals whose primary intent is to disrupt the group or encourage illegal activities (e.g., crime or sabotage) while operating on the assumption of good faith toward incoming members.

  2. Regular Branch Meetings: We will hold meetings on a bi-weekly or monthly basis in a physical location to foster genuine connection and debate. A clear agenda will be distributed before the meeting, in both digital and physical formats where possible. The branch will elect or accept a self-appointed Chair for each meeting. To ensure efficiency, if attendance exceeds 10 members, the Chair may use their discretion to implement a 3-minute speaking limit per contribution.

II. Decision-Making and Accountability

  1. Forming a Steering Committee (SC): We will establish a Steering Committee responsible for making high-level decisions and issuing public statements on behalf of the branch. The SC may make urgent, high-level decisions in extenuating circumstances relating to current affairs. However, all SC decisions must be scrutinised by the wider branch membership at the earliest opportunity. These decisions can be overturned by a majority vote of the branch. The SC must publish its decisions to the branch membership, including, where possible, the rationales and arguments used to reach them.

  2. Establishing Working Groups for Action: We will create and sustain long-running Working Groups (WGs), where resources and interest allow, with concrete or general tasks:

    • Equalities Working Group: To ensure that the needs and protection of under-represented groups, including LGBTQI+ and BAME members, are actively met and promoted.
    • Organising Working Group: To handle the practicalities of local organisation, electoral outreach, and strategy.
    • Trade Union Working Group: To organise solidarity and support for strikes and trade union activities.
    • Anti-Racism Working Group: To organise and support actions against fascist and racist behaviour within the branch’s locality.
    • Publicity Working Group: To develop and publish materials for public consumption via social media and other platforms.

  3. Temporary Political Statement Group: We will form a working group to develop a branch political statement or adopt the statement as proposed by Stockport Socialists For Your Party (SSFYP). The main branch meeting will seek and vote on any amendments. Once the statement is formally accepted, this group will be disbanded.

III. Regional and Party Structure

  1. Regional Coordination (Greater Manchester Focus): i) For Greater Manchester Branches: We will actively participate in the Greater Manchester ‘Your Party’ group. We commit to selecting delegates to attend its meetings, deliberate on its structure, and form part of its decision-making processes. This branch explicitly retains all rights to discuss, debate, and amend the proposed regional structure and return these amendments to the Greater Manchester group. ii) For Branches Outside Greater Manchester: Once our branch has established the structures above, we commit to searching out existing regional structures. Failing that, we will join with other branches to form one, or failing that, lend our support to the formation of such structures.

IV. Branch Principles

  1. Rejecting Centralist Structures: We oppose the implementation of random sortition as a means of appointing leadership, as it risks enabling unelected, established party groups to fracture grassroots power, making branches merely the organs of unaccountable central forces rather than the true holders of power. We believe in a peaceful and correct transfer of power into the hands of the branches.

  2. Commitment to Grassroots Autonomy: We are committed to protecting and strengthening the party and reject any effort to shift from one unaccountable leadership to another. We reject the formation of external “networks” or “affinity groups” that operate on the assumption that some external leftist group will take control and dictate terms to the branches. We will only support a structure that is made of, by, and for the branches as they currently exist.

  3. Honouring Left-Wing Contributions: We confirm that we are not opposed to Jeremy Corbyn or Zara Sultana, nor do we seek to undermine the validity of their work or the depth of their contributions to the left-wing movement. Our sole objective is to ensure that the grassroots membership is democratically in charge of the party’s direction.