Lessons for Local Party Secretaries: no. 4 – the agenda

A week before the meeting, it will be time to issue the agenda. Naturally, it will include all of the reports from the Officers, your branches, Council Group, PPC(s) and, if you’re really lucky, your MP (let me make that clear, if you’re lucky enough to have an MP, they’re all utterly spiffing and fully engaged with their Local Party…).

It will start with ‘Apologies’, move on to ‘Minutes of the last meeting’, where the previous effort is judged for accuracy, before reaching ‘Matters arising’, where members of the Executive will raise issues that were discussed then and they missed due to absence, sorry, didn't understand the first time... If the reports are up to the mark, it can be noted that the points are already covered there, and members will learn to read them before they come.

Next come the reports, and then ‘Any Other Business’. Don’t forget to include ‘Date and venue of the next meeting’, as it is much harder to agree a date after everyone has gone home.

If a written report has been provided, include it with the agenda. If not, note that on the agenda, as it will confirm that the failure is down to the person who was supposed to report. It might encourage them to supply a report, which you can then circulate using your e-group. Ah yes, an e-group. The party provides a really useful e-list function which, if you’re organised enough, you can use to ensure that you can quickly and efficiently distribute material. Best of all, you can set it so that the Executive can use it to talk to each other, rather than require you to do it all for them.