REFOUNDING MOMENTUM

Refounding Momentum

The results are in. Thousands of Momentum members have voted on the refounding proposals that will shape our movement for decades to come.

From changing the way we run elections and our regional structures, to all-member ballots on how we endorse future Labour leadership candidates – members have voted to put power back where it belongs: in their hands. Momentum’s new democratic structures offer a strong basis from which to organise.

You can read how members voted here.

Read the results

At certain points every organisation needs to change, and Momentum does too. After five years of growth and many successes, and following the 2019 General Election defeat, now is the time to rebuild our organisation from the ground up.

In the last nine months Momentum groups everywhere have been meeting to plan for the struggles and opportunities ahead, and in March we launched our new strategic plan, to organise in communities and win in the Labour Party.

At the heart of this is our ‘Refounding Convention’, a deliberative process that will radically redesign Momentum’s constitution, structures and how we organise with each other. Our goal is to build a new Momentum that can meet the challenges of a new political landscape and build socialist power in the 21st century. And we are going to do it together.

How it worked

Firstly, every local Momentum group and individual members supported by 20 Momentum members has had the opportunity to make submissions with proposals for how we change and improve Momentum, with a focus on our constitution, structures and ways of organising.

Over the second half of 2021, two specially convened Momentum Assemblies (find out more below) took up these proposals, and through consensus decision-making came up with a series of final proposals to go to a ballot of all members. At the middle stage of this step, interim proposals were published and members submitted further amendments, while the NCG had the opportunity to submit counter-proposals.

Finally, the proposals went to a ballot of all members. You can read all of the proposals that went to ballot here.

For the full Refounding Momentum guidance and FAQ, click here.

Not a member?

Join Momentum now.
Socialists can only win if we’re united and organised.

Join now

Momentum Assemblies

Momentum is a dynamic and complex organisation, with tens of thousands of members, a national network of vibrant local groups, an elected National Coordinating Group (NCG), affiliated trade unions and ‘sister’ organisations in Wales and Scotland. Each of these component parts is essential to our success and each has vital knowledge and experience that is essential to building a new Momentum.

That’s why we’re creating two ‘Momentum Assemblies’, to bring together all of these voices and to drive forward Refounding Momentum. The Momentum Assemblies form the centre-piece of our ‘Refounding Convention’ and they take inspiration from the constitutional convention model.

The Momentum Assemblies will include NCG members, representatives from local Momentum groups, individual Momentum members, representatives from our affiliated trade unions and Campaign for Socialism/Welsh Labour Grassroots. They will be tasked with coming up with proposals that will eventually go to a ballot of all members, combining and amending submissions from local groups and individual members.

Composition of the Momentum Assemblies

Each Momentum Assembly will comprise:

4 NCG members:
1-4 Trade Union Affiliate reps:
1-2 reps from WLG & CFS
8 local group reps (randomly selected from a pool of nominated/elected local group reps, and weighting for diversity and geographical spread)
4 individual Momentum members (randomly selected from a pool of Momentum members that have expressed interest, weighting for diversity and geographical spread)
1 facilitator (volunteer)

Find out more about the Momentum Assemblies and how you can sit on them here.

Political Framework

To help local groups and members structure their proposals, and to guide the Momentum Assemblies, we’ve created a political framework that outlines some of the key areas of focus. We’ve divided this into two: one area for each Momentum Assembly. These are:

Politics and People: Policies, Aims, Commitments, Ethics, Representation and Liberation, Labour Party Selections and Elections.

Power and Participation: Local Momentum Groups, Members, Elections, NCG and Direct Democracy, Transparency and Accountability.

You can read the full Framework here.