SNP activists are demanding the party sets up a network of paid regional organisers in a bid to boost election success.
The Leith branch has put down a resolution for consideration arguing the move would help increase the participation of members in campaigning and policy development.
It notes that despite party membership soaring since the independence referendum in September 2014, more efforts could be made to improve turnout at branch meetings and election campaigns.
“Conference believes that greater participation of party members would be advantageous in many respects, including policy development, activism and electoral results,” says the motion.
“Conference, there, proposes that as part of the governance review of the party, we also consider how we structure our staff support for all party activities, and particularly the possibility of paid regional organisers to help coordinate and support local campaign efforts.”
The motion is one of 43 “potential resolutions” which appear on the draft agenda for the SNP’s annual conference being held in Glasgow in October.
With several lodged by senior figures relating to the benefits of EU membership, risks posed by Brexit to devolution and calls for Holyrood to have powers over immigration, Scotland’s future relationship with Europe is likely to be a key theme at the three day conference.
Around half will be selected for debate by conference delegates for the first time who will vote online for their preferred resolutions after amendments are added by a September 1 deadline.
Failure to mobilise sufficient numbers of the party’s 120,000 members in this year’s General Election campaign has been cited by senior party insiders as one of the factors why the party lost 21 of its 56 MPs on June 8 and saw its vote share slide from 50 per cent to 37 per cent.
The move to introduce paid regional party organisers was first raised last year by Tommy Sheppard, the Edinburgh East MP, during his depute leadership bid last year.
Another motion published in the draft agenda include one calling for a ban on ‘sex for rent’ adverts, which has been lodged by the Lomond North Branch and Stuart McMillan MSP.
“Conference note with concern the recent newspaper coverage detailing a disturbing trend in Scottish towns and cities of persons advertising “free” rental on flats and houses to women in exchange for sex,” says the resolution.
“Conference condemns this utterly appalling practice; and resolves to ask the Scottish Government to look into introducing new primary legislation making it an offence to solicit sex in exchange for providing accommodation, or advertising accommodation for ‘free’ with the intent to solicit sexual relationships.”
Further “potential” resolutions include one calling for automatic voter registration. It was submitted by national council members and the SNP’s trade union group and says that automatic enrolment on the electoral register and holding elections on weekends have contributing to higher voter turnouts in countries such as Sweden and France.
“Conference deplores any moves by the UK Government towards placing additional barriers in the way of voting, such as the introduction of mandatory voter ID, which is shown to have little effect on electoral fraud while depressing turnout in certain demographics,” it says.
“Conference calls on the Scottish Government to look at best practices across European electoral systems and use the powers devolved in the Scotland Act 2016 to invigorate the democratic process and boost voter turnout, with a particular focus on automatic voter registration.”
Voter turnout has considerably varied in Scotland over the past few years. It reached 84.6 per cent for the independence referendum — a record for any UK election since the introduction of universal suffrage — but was 66.4 per cent at the snap General Election in June.
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