CONSTITUTION

1. Name & Objectives

1.1 Name

1. This Party shall be known as ‘People Power’.

1.2 Core Objectives

1. This Party is founded on the principles of:

a) Economic justice - through Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), ensuring full employment, public investment, and

monetary sovereignty.

b) Democratic socialism - with wealth redistribution, public ownership of key utilities, and the right to choose the

direction of one’s life.

c) Ecological sustainability - committing to the principles of a Green New Deal with decarbonisation by 2050 at the

latest.

d) Participatory democracy - with members shaping policy through digital platforms and local assemblies.

2. Membership & Eligibility

2.1 Eligibility

1. To be eligible for membership, applicants must:

a) Support the party’s MMT-aligned economic principles, including:

1. Recognise that currency-issuing governments are not financially constrained but inflation-limited.

2. Commit to a Job Guarantee, sovereign monetary policy, and taxation for inflation control, directing

consumer behaviour, and punishing social negatives, not for raising revenue.

b) Not be members of far-right, far-left, fascist, communist, discriminatory organisations, or any other entities

opposed to the highlighted principles listed in Section 1.2.

2.2 Rights & Responsibilities

1. Members may, once the criteria specified in Section 4.1 has been achieved:

a) Vote in leadership & policy ballots.

b) Stand for internal elections.

c) Participate in policy forums.

3. Economic Policy

3.1 Core Economic Principles

1. This Party shall:

a) Advocate for public control of monetary policy, and reject austerity.

b) Implement a Job Guarantee to eliminate involuntary unemployment.

c) Use taxation to regulate inflation & inequality, not to fund spending.

d) Nationalise utilities and key industries where necessary.

e) Encourage and build worker cooperatives to enable workers to enjoy the full fruits of their labour.

4. Party Structure & Democracy

4.1 Foundational Phase (Founder-Led Governance)

1. Until the Party secures at least 10% of the national vote share in a general election or holds at least 50 elected representatives (MPs, MSPs, MSs, or councillors), the Party shall operate under a provisional governance structure designed to ensure stability and ideological coherence while preventing entryism and sabotage. This structure shall consist of:

a) Founder & Provisional Leadership Council:

1. The Founder (or a successor/substitute nominated by them) shall serve as Interim Leader with final authority

over candidate selections, policy ratification, and financial & strategic decisions.

2. A Provisional Leadership Council (PLC) of 5-10 trusted members (appointed by the Founder) shall assist in

governance.

3. The PLC may veto membership applications if entryism or ideological sabotage is suspected.

b) Restricted Membership Powers:

1. Members may debate policy but final approval rests with the Founder and PLC.

2. Leadership elections are suspended until the Party reaches the established threshold.

4.2 Transition to Full Internal Democracy

1. Once the Party meets the establishment threshold (10% vote share or 50+ elected reps), the party shall

automatically transition to a fully democratic structure, namely:

a) The Founder will step down or stand in open elections.

b) Elections shall be conducted on a Single Transferable Vote basis for a:

1. Leader and Deputy Leader

2. National Executive Committee (NEC) consisting of:

a) Elected Representatives (15 seats)

1. 9 constituency reps (elected by Party members, 3 per year)

2. 3 trade union reps (nominated by affiliated unions, ratified by Annual Conference, 1 per year)

3. 3 affiliated society reps (elected by society members, 1 per year)

b) Party leadership & MPs:

1. Leader & Deputy Leader (ex officio)

2. 2 MPs/MSPs/MSs (elected by Parliamentary caucus, 1 every 2 years)

3. 1 councillor (elected by local government groups)

c) Diversity Guarantee

1. 2 BAME reps (elected by BAME members only, 1 every 2 years)

2. 1 LGBTQ+ & 1 Disabled reps (elected by relevant sections)

3. 1 Youth rep (must be under 30 years old)

2. No elected/ratified NEC member may serve more than 2 consecutive terms.

3. A term shall be a maximum of 3 years.

4. Elected sub-groups of 2+ members shall have staggered terms to prevent sudden swings (see above).

5. Recall Mechanism: Members can be recalled by their particular electorate with a 60% vote.

6. Policy shall be decided by:

a) Policy forums (local & digital).

b) Annual Conference with binding votes upon meeting the defined majority threshold in Section 4.4.c.

4.3 Safeguards Against Entryism

1. Even after democratisation, the constitution shall include:

a) An Ideological Pledge: All candidates & senior members must publicly endorse MMT, the Green New Deal, and

democratic socialism.

b) That members may hold membership of other ideologically-fraternal parties (e.g. the Green Party, Your Party,

Majority). Such members must disclose their dual membership, may not hold office in both parties

simultaneously, must allow review of previous public/social media statements, and agree to a six-month

probationary period in which they will hold no voting rights, on top of the minimum 12 months for which they

must already be a paid member.

c) Re-selection Triggers: Elected representatives/candidates can be deselected by local members if they deviate

from core principles.

d) Rapid Expulsion Mechanism: The NEC may suspend/expel members for collaboration with hostile interests (e.g.,

corporate lobbyists, far-right groups).

4.4: Leadership Election Process

1. Eligibility Criteria

a) To stand for leader, candidates must:

1. Be a Party member for 3+ years without exception.

2. Secure nominations from:

a) 5% of local branches, or;

b) 10% of party members via individual signatures.

3. Pass an ideological review by the NEC, ensuring they:

a) Publicly endorse the Party’s core principles as defined in Sections 1.2 and 3.1.

b) Have no history of sabotaging left-wing movements (e.g., supporting austerity, scabbing etc.).

2. Voting System

a) Members shall rank candidates in order of preference via Single Transferable Vote.

b) The winner must achieve over 50%. If no majority is obtained after the first round, the last-place candidate shall

be eliminated and votes redistributed to other candidates until one hits 50%+1.

3. Campaign Rules

a) There shall be a spending cap of £20,000 per candidate.

b) Candidates are prohibited from using personal funds to finance their campaign.

c) Donations to candidates shall be capped at £100 per person. Constituency branches may donate up to £1000.

d) There shall be at least 6 regional debates which will be live-streamed for accessibility.

e) There is to be no negative campaigning. Candidates who smear rivals shall be automatically disqualified.

4. Term Limits & Recall Mechanism

a) There shall be no limit on the number of times an incumbent leader may stand again.

b) Recall trigger: A Leadership Confidence Vote (LCV) may be triggered by:

1. A public petition of 20% of verified paid members, or;

2. A majority vote of the National Executive Committee (NEC).

c) If the LCV passes with 55% support, the Leader and/or Deputy Leader must stand for re-election within 90 days.

d) If the LCV fails to remove the Leader/Deputy Leader, a new trigger may not occur for the next 365 days.

5. Safeguards Against Entryism

a) Only members that joined 6 months before the election announcement will be eligible to vote.

b) The NEC shall have the power to disqualify candidates with hidden ties to hostile groups (e.g., leaked emails with

corporate lobbyists).

4.5 Election Oversight

1. Independent Election Commission (IEC)

a) A permanent Independent Election Commission shall oversee all internal elections and structured to prevent

factional interference. It shall be composed of:

1. 3 external experts elected by conference from a pool of trusted arbiters, e.g. trade unionists, academic

specialists in democracy.

2. 2 elected Party members who shall be rotated annually and barred from factional endorsements).

3. Each shall be elected to a 4-year term, and staggered to ensure continuity.

b) It shall have the power to:

1. Verify candidate eligibility e.g. enforce anti-entryism rules.

2. Audit spending and enforce the £20,000 cap and other such limitations.

3. Adjudicate disputes e.g. smearing opponents.

2. Member-Led Oversight

a) Local Scrutiny Panels (LSPs) of randomly selected members, stratified by region and demographics, shall monitor

regional hustings and count votes.

b) Members can report fraud to the IEC anonymously, with penalties for retaliation against them.

3. Transparency Mechanisms

a) Live dashboards shall be established for disclosure of real-time donation and spending reports.

b) The Party shall use verifiable open-source software (e.g. Helios, Sequent, OpaVote) for online ballots so as to be

auditable by members.

4.6: Leadership Mandate vs. Conference Sovereignty

1. Provisional Phase Enforcement Mechanism

a) During the founder-led provisional phase, Conference votes shall be advisory but weighted:

1. If a motion receives 60% support, the Provisional Leadership Council (PLC) must publicly respond with either:

a) Acceptance and implementation.

b) A detailed justification for rejection (e.g., strategic/legal concerns).

2. If a motion receives 75% support, the PLC must adopt it unless doing so would violate electoral law or core

party principles (as defined in Section 1.2).

2. The Leader’s Democratic Mandate

a) Once the transition to full party democracy is complete, the Leader will be elected by members via Single

Transferable Vote on a policy platform.

b) Once elected, they have the authority to:

1. Set the strategic direction of the party.

2. Decide tactical compromises (e.g., coalition deals, messaging).

3. Delay, but not outright veto, conference motions for up to 12 months if they conflict with electoral strategy.

3. Conference’s Powers & Safeguards

a) Conference can pass binding policy only if:

1. The motion achieves 60% support (ordinary policy).

2. The motion achieves 75% support (constitutional changes).

b) The Leader can appeal to the Judicial Review Panel (JRP) if a motion:

1. Contradicts the party’s core principles as defined in Sections 1.2 and 3.1.

2. Would severely damage electoral prospects (e.g., an extreme policy that polls below 30% public support).

c) The JRP can suspend enforcement for 2 years if the Leader’s objection is valid.

d) The JRP shall consist of 5 randomly selected Party members who have held membership for longer than 5 years

(once the Party reaches its fifth year of existence). Their purpose shall be to act as a neutral guardian of this

Constitution.

e) Panel membership terms will last a maximum of 3 years and shall be staggered in the following manner, and then

repeat ad infinitum once the cycle completes:

Year Members Replaced Remaining Members

Year 1 2 members 3 members

Year 2 1 member 4 members (2 old + 2 new)

Year 3 2 members 3 members (1 old + 2 new)

Year 4 1 member 4 members (2 old + 2 new)

f) A pool of 30+ candidates shall be vetted for neutrality by the NEC. These candidates must have held paid

membership for a minimum of 5 years, and must not have publicly endorsed any faction in the previous 3 years.

g) Replacements will be determined by lottery from the pre-vetted pool, with the lottery draw overseen and

verified by a reputable, neutral external organisation.

h) No more than 2 Panel members shall normally be replaced in a single year.

i) There shall be no nominations or elections in order to prevent factional campaigning.

j) JRP members shall only be forcibly removed for misconduct by a 75% vote of the NEC.

k) Former JRP members are prohibited from joining any factional group for 2 years post-term.

4. Emergency Override Mechanism

a) If the Leader blocks conference decisions 3 or more times in a term, or subsequently ditches their policy platform

after being elected as Leader, members have the power to trigger:

1. A "Policy Referendum" where a 50% member vote shall overturn the Leader’s block, or;

2. A "Leadership Confidence Vote" (LCV) as specified in Section 4.4.4.

b) Either scenario may be triggered by:

1. A public petition of 20% of verified paid members, or;

2. A majority vote of the National Executive Committee (NEC).

6: Candidate Selection Rules

6.1. Eligibility Criteria

To stand as a Party candidate, applicants must:

Be a paid member for 12+ months (exemptions may be made for exceptional candidates with majority NEC approval).
Publicly endorse the party’s core principles as defined in Sections 1.2 and 3.1.
Pass a due diligence check (no financial corruption, bigotry, or ties to hostile groups).

6.2. Selection Process

(a) Shortlisting

A Local Selection Committee (LSC) will be formed in each constituency, comprising:

5 randomly selected local members stratified by age/gender/ethnicity.
2 non-voting NEC observers, to prevent rule-breaking.

The LSC will produce a shortlist of 3-5 candidates based on:

Competence (experience, communication skills).
Ideological commitment (interview + past record).
Diversity (gender, race, class, disability).

(b) Voting Procedure

Shortlisted candidates face a constituency-wide ballot.

Members shall rank candidates via a Single Transferable Vote system.

Votes shall be tallied and the least-popular candidate shall be eliminated, with votes being redistributed per round until one candidate receives 50%+ support.

(c) Ties

If, after all votes possible have been redistributed and there is no majority for any one candidate, the NEC shall mediate, including the possibility of requiring a new shortlist.

6.3. Leadership Safeguards

Veto Power (Provisional Phase Only):

The Interim Leader may block 1 candidate per 10 seats if they risk harming the party (e.g. scandal-prone, infiltrators etc.) and must provide a public written justification.

The NEC shall hold the power to order a rerun of a selection if foul play is proven.

6.4. Sitting Representatives

All elected representatives (MPs, MSPs, councillors) must reapply for their position each election cycle.

Reselection Process:

Trigger & Timeline:
- Reselection will begin 12 months before a general election and 6 months for local elections.
- Incumbents will automatically enter the candidate pool but shall face the same checks as new applicants.
Expedited Challenge Threshold:
- If 80% or more of local members approve the incumbent in a confidence vote, they shall proceed straight to the final ballot.
- If the incumbent receives less than 80%, a full selection contest shall be triggered.
Standard Selection Rules Apply:
- Incumbents must pass the same ideological, competence, and diversity checks as new candidates.
- Local members shall rank candidates via Single Transferable Vote.

Safeguards Against Factional Purges
- Incumbents shall get first right of reply in hustings.
- The NEC shall retain oversight and suspend reselection if evidence of bullying, intimidation, or entryism is found.
- Incumbents shall have a Performance Defence (voting record, constituency work, party loyalty) to justify their reselection.
Exceptions
- By-elections requiring emergency selections where there is no incumbent.

7: Disciplinary Process

7.1 Grounds for Discipline

1. A member may face investigation for:

Breaching the Party’s core principles.
Collaborating with hostile groups (far-right/left, corporate lobbyists, or rival parties seeking to infiltrate).
Gross misconduct (harassment, corruption, or bringing the Party into disrepute).

7.2 Disciplinary Stages

1. Initial Report:

a) Complaints must be submitted in writing. Anonymous reports shall be allowed but will require corroboration to ensure they are not vexatious.

b) A Preliminary Scrutiny Panel (PSP) of 3 randomly selected NEC members (rotating monthly) assesses if the case has merit.

2. Investigation:

a) If the PSP approves, an Investigatory Committee (IC) is formed, comprising:

1 NEC member (elected by the NEC).
1 local branch rep (from the accused’s constituency).
1 external arbitrator (e.g., trade unionist or academic, agreed by both sides).

b) The Investigatory Committee shall gather evidence and interview witnesses within 21 days.

3. Hearing & Verdict:

a) A hearing must be held no later than 14 days after the investigation closes.

b) The accused may:

Defend themselves in writing or in person.
Call witnesses.
Appeal to the Judicial Review Panel (JRP) if procedural fairness is violated.

c) The IC shall recommend one of the following to the NEC no later than 7 days post-hearing:

No action (case dismissed).
Formal warning (for minor breaches).
Suspension (1–12 months, with conditions for reinstatement).
Expulsion (for severe/repeated violations).

4. NEC Ratification

a) The NEC shall vote on the IC’s recommendation and issue a verdict no later than 7 days after receipt, which will be in the form of a simple majority.

b) If the accused is a senior figure (elected representative, candidate, or NEC member),

expulsion requires a 60% NEC vote.

7.3 Appeals Process

1. Expelled members may appeal to the Judicial Review Panel (JRP) within 14 days.

2. The JRP can:

a) Uphold the verdict.

b) Order a re-hearing.

c) Reduce the penalty.

7.4 Emergency Suspensions

1. The NEC (or Interim Leader in the foundational phase) may temporarily suspend a member without a hearing if:

a) They pose an immediate threat (e.g., violent conduct, leaking sensitive data).

b) A full investigation must begin within 7 days.

7.5 Transparency & Anti-Factional Safeguards

1. If any deadline is missed without an extension approved by the Judicial Review Panel, the case shall be dropped.

2. NEC members who repeatedly delay cases shall face suspension.

3. Investigatory Committee members must not have publicly endorsed factions involved in the case.

4. All disciplinary cases should be tracked in a live dashboard detailing the current stage of the process.

5. Public summaries shall be published of all expulsions (omitting private details beyond name) to deter abuse of process.

6. An annual audit of disciplinary cases shall be carried out by a reputable and neutral external organisation (e.g., a civil liberties group).

7.6 Exceptions for Complex Cases

1. For fraud or legal cases, extensions shall be allowed only if police and/or judicial processes overlap with the Party’s.

2. Accused members may request a pause of up to 14 days to allow themselves time to prepare.

8: Deselection Threshold & Process

8.1 Initiation Threshold

1. A deselection motion against an elected representative/candidate can be triggered only if:

a) 15% of local members AND 33% of the local Executive Committee agree, or;

b) 40% of local members agree at an all-member constituency meeting.

8.2 Grounds for Deselection

1. The motion must specify how the elected representative/candidate violated core principles, such as:

a) Publicly opposing Modern Monetary Theory, the Green New Deal, or democratic socialism.

b) Voting against party policy without prior exemption (e.g. conscience issues).

c) Gross misconduct (corruption, bigotry, or collaborating with rivals).

d) Other

8.3 Hearing & Vote

1. A Deselection Committee consisting of 3 local members + 2 NEC observers shall review evidence.

2. The elected representative/candidate will have 14 days to respond in writing or at a hearing.

3. A special general meeting (SGM) shall be called, where:

a) A quorum of at least 40% of local members must participate.

b) 60% of attending members must vote for deselection to pass.

8.4 Appeals Process

1. The elected representative/candidate can appeal to the Judicial Review Panel (JRP) within 7 days.

2. The JRP can overturn the decision only if:

a) Procedural rules were broken.

b) The motion was politically motivated (e.g. factional revenge).

9. Amendments & Dissolution

1. The founder-led phase as defined in Section 4.1 cannot be shortened except by the Founder’s consent.

2. After democratisation, this constitution shall only be amendable by 75% support at Conference.

3. The Party may dissolve only via 75% support of members via referendum.

Last updated: 30th July 2025

5. Electoral Strategy & Alliances

5.1 Electoral Pacts

1. The Party aims to stand candidates in all constituencies, but may also form alliances with other parties that:

Support MMT-aligned economics, Green New Deal, democratic reform, and/or;
Reject austerity economics & neoliberalism.

2. In the case of such alliances being formed, the Party may agree to stand down in seats where the partner(s) has/have a better chance of winning.