NAME, PURPOSE, OBJECTIVE AND VALUES

This is the Constitutionn of a political party which shall be known as "THE MP3 PARTY" (referred to in this Constitution as "the MP3 Party" or "the Party").

Its purpose is to sustain and promote within the Nation the ojectivs and value of the "mp3-generation".

The name shall be the "MP3 Party", hereinafter referred to as the "MP3 Party".

FUNCTION

To start and maintain a MP3 Party presence in the UK.

To carry out activities to promote MP3 Party in the UK.

To discuss and expand "MP3" philosophy, ideas and thinking.

To promote freedom of speech and electronic communications at all times.

MEMBERSHIP

The Party is a political Party for the Nation, open to all who share its objectives and values and who undertake to be bound by this Constitution. The Party shall consist of its Members.

Party Members:
1. shall each agree to be bound by this Constitution; and
2. shall work to sustain and promote the objectives and value of the MP3 Party; and
3. shall pay such subscriptions as shall be determined from time to time by the Board having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Membership.

Any person shall if they so desire, be a member of the MP3 Party, providing that they are not members of any other UK political party.

All members of the MP3 Party shall be bound by these rules.

The Central Committee shall maintain up-to-date list of all the names and addresses of members of the MP3 Party.

The names of Members shall be entered on the Part's National Membership List which shall be kept, administered and up-dated from day to day by the Committee on Membership of the Board. Inclusion in the National Membership List shall be conclusive to the membership of the Party.

CONSTITUTION

MP3 Party shall have power to raise funds but at all times the funds raised shall belong to the MP3 Party.

All certified MP3 Party accounts shall be submitted to the Party's AGM every year.

The MP3 Party shall appoint not less than 3 signatories for Party's accounts of whom any 2 shall be required to sign any necessary documents.

Upon request The MP3 Party shall produce any information relating to the affairs of the Party including information relating to finance and membership.

Any monies which are subject to the Party shall be governed by the Party, and shall be subject to the Party's Finance Manual and the Party Constitution.

OFFICERS OF THE MP3 PARTY

17 The MP3 PARTY's leadership shall consist of the following officers:
Party Leader
Party Treasurer
Party Chairman
General Secretary
Campaigns Officer
Nominating Officer
Publicity Officer
Events co-ordinator
Website co-ordinator
3 x Ordinary Officers
etc.

Honorary President and Vice-Presidents who are considered ex-officio.

The Officers shall be elected annually at the AGM.

Officers shall cease to hold office upon death or resignation or a vote of no confidence being passed.

If any Officer ceases to hold office, the MP3 Party shall elect a successor at the first available opportunity.

MP3 PARTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE

The Central Committee shall consist of the Officers as defined in paragraph above.

The Leader of the MP3 Party shall be the Chairman of the Committee.

Meetings, Notices & Business:
The Chairman shall have power to instruct the Secretary to convene a Committee meeting at any time, of which not less than 2 days notice shall be given via e-mail, specifying the business to be dealt with at which the Officers shall give reports.
The Committee shall have power to appoint sub-committees and the Officers shall be ex-officio members of such sub-committees.
The activities of sub-committees including their structure shall be determined by the Committee.
Any Officer who is absent for 4 consecutive Committee meetings without reason accepted by those present at a Committee meeting shall have forfeited their position on the Committee and shall cease to hold office.
The quorum of the Committee shall be 50% +1 of the actual membership - unfilled offices shall not be considered for determining quoracy.

DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Leader:
Shall Chair all meetings unless a motion is carried to the effect that the Leader should not Chair a particular meeting.
Shall be held responsible for all MP3 PARTY activities and shall delegate responsibilities to the other Officers under the broad descriptions of the duties listed for each officer here.
Shall be the main spokesman for the MP3 PARTY and shall be treated as such in press releases and other external liaison
Shall be chiefly responsible for increasing the profile of the MP3 PARTY in the UK and worldwide.
Should be required to stand for re-election.

External Vice-Chairman:
Shall work closely with the Leader to ensure the smooth running of the Party
Shall be responsible for arranging guest speakers.

Internal Vice-Chairman:
Shall work closely with the Chairman to ensure the smooth running of the Association
Shall be chiefly responsible for membership recruitment.
Shall co-ordinate liaison with the media

Treasurer:
Shall be responsible for the maintenance of sound financial practice and for the keeping of the accounts to the standard required for annual auditing and for such financial information as shall be required by UK Electoral Commission.
Shall advise on the financial aspects of policies and actions.
Shall be responsible for the raising of funds by such means as may be devised.
Shall be responsible for money-related matters at Party's events.
Shall be a cheque signatory.

Secretary:
Shall produce minutes and agendas of meetings required by the Chairman to be recorded.
Shall produce other such documentation as shall be required by, or result from, decisions of Party meetings.
Shall be a cheque signatory.

Publicity Officer:
Shall be responsible for publicising the activities of the MP3 Party such as meetings, speakers, events etc...

Events Co-Ordinator:
Shall co-ordinate Party's events.

Website Co-Ordinator
Shall be responsible for maintaining the Party web-site in consultation with the rest of the Central Committee.

Ordinary Officers:
Shall generally aid and assist other Officers in their work.
May carry out a specific responsibility which may be assigned by the AGM or the committee with the consent of the officer.

All Officers shall carry out other responsibilities stated by or agreed to in accordance with this Constitution.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the MP3 PARTY must be held by week 10 of the Autumn term, or no longer than a year after the previous AGM, or may be called by the Leader or a majority of the Central Committee at any time, for the following purposes:
To receive and adopt the certified accounts of the previous year.
To receive and adopt the reports of the Central Committee of the previous year.
To elect the Officers of the Party for the coming year who take office with effect from the close of the meeting along the following guidelines:
In 2 way contests, the candidate with the most votes will be declared the winner.
In 3 or more way contests, the bottom candidate shall be disqualified and a second vote shall be held. Should this still not produce a 50%+1 vote for any candidate the process will continue and so on.
Candidates must be able to hold office for a year from the date of the AGM; if this is discovered not to be the case after an officer is elected, the committee may vote to deem the election invalid.
To elect the Honorary President and Vice-Presidents for the coming year.
To re-ratify and amend this Constitution.
To outline the programme for the forthcoming year.
To transact such other business as may be brought before it.

EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETINGS

An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association may be summoned at any time by the Chairman or by at least 1/3 of the membership signing a petition asking for such a meeting (upon such a request, the EGM must be held within 2 term weeks of receipt of the written and signed request).

The business of the EGM shall be stated in the notice convening it.

In the event of the Chairman ceasing to hold office, an EGM may be called simply by one member submitting a written request for such a meeting to the Secretary.

GENERAL MEETINGS

Notice of all general meetings shall be given to all members not less than 2 days prior to the meeting.

All members have the right to attend such meetings and participate when invited to do so by the chairman of the meeting.

QUORUM AT GENERAL MEETINGS

For all general meetings the quorum shall be not less than 10, 5 of whom must be members of the Central Committee.

VOTING AT GENERAL MEETINGS

The vote of a general meeting is never superior to that of an EGM or AGM, including elections for Party Officers.

The Chairman decides whether the vote should be by show of hands or secret ballot, however, should 1/4 of the members present request a secret ballot, a secret ballot will be held.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Options of no-confidence and censure are available to members should it be felt that an Officer should be held to account (and no alternatives are deemed suitable to the members).

An Officer may be censured or no-confidenced by any quorate general meeting providing the vote is in secret and the accused and the accuser are given the opportunity to state their cases. The appropriate vote must be publicised via e-mail to all members at least 2 days in advance of the meeting following the Secretary's receipt of a written request for a vote. The motion is carried should more people vote for than against, and the motion takes effect as of the close of the meeting.

SUSPENSION OF THE MP3 PARTY

The Party shall only be considered to be suspended should an EGM or AGM pass a resolution to that effect.

ELECTIONS

The MP3 Party shall encourage its members to take an active part in local and national election campaigns.

"Official" Party's backing can and will only be given to candidates who have the support of the membership at a general meeting.

INTERPRETATION

The Central Committee shall have the power to deal with any matter not provided for in this document.

In the event of a dispute over this constitution, the Central Committee shall the Honorary Vice-Presidents for an assessment and for them to make the decision.

ALTERATION OF THIS CONSTITUTION

Only an EGM or an AGM may amend this document. A proposed amendment must be carried by at least 2/3 of members present to take effect.

This is the accepted Constitution of the MP3 Party.
END