Archived Minutes 2017
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Minutes of Meeting
Held: Thursday 21st December 2017
Location: Manor Pub - Henknowle
Chair: Rob Berry
Vice Chair: Dorothy Dolby ( Chaired second half of meeting)
Treasurer: Betty Hopson
Secretary: Alan Breeze
Members Secretary: John Brigstock
Committee Members: Faith Breeze
Regional Organiser: Apologies for absence Gordon Parkin
Attendees: Mark Bickerton
Apologies:
The Chairman asked if the previous minutes could be taken as a true record and this was proposed by Dorothy Dolby and seconded by John Brigstock before being accepted unanimously.
Matters Arising
Our Treasurer confirmed that we have had no further use of funds since our last meeting and we collected our normal monthly voluntary subs of £1 per attendee to add to our funds.
Any other Business
The meeting were pleased to welcome a new member to our meeting in the form of Mark Bickerton who has moved from the Newcastle area where he has previously stodd as a Council candidate narrowly losing out to Labour. Mark's enthusiasm for the party was self evident and he was informed that his contribution in time and effort in the future would be welcomed and appreciated by everyone.
Since our last meeting our new leader henry Bolton visited the North East to the Grand Hotel Hartlepool on the 1st December and our Chairman and Secretary went through to meet him and to listen to his message. As well as answering questions from the audience Henry also stayed after the event to meet members informally and answer any concerns. He explained to everyone that financialy UKIP were at rock bottom and great efforts were being made to procur new financial sponsors. He also explained that since his appointment there has been a resurgence in membership after a period of decline. He said that he was very busy reorganising the party framework working alongside the NEC and had appointed a party cabinet with spokespeople for every sector so that we are prepared for the fothcoming demands on the party. It is expected that he will revisit the North East in the spring of next year to provide guidance and motivation to our region.
John Brigstock asked of the progress with getting some representation on our local radio station Bishop FM and Rob our chairman said he had a positive response from his discussion with Jillian Campbell at Bishop FM and passed her telephone number over to John.
In the second part of the meeting our stand in Chairperson Dorothy le Roger Helmer had retired and would be greatly missed by the party.t everyone know that our Energy spokesman.
At the meeting with Henry Bolton, we had the opportunity of also meeting our MEP Jonathan Arnott who promised to come along to talk to our area if he was free and back in ENgland at the time of one of our future meetings. Our secretary promised to write to him to secure a future date.
With no other business Dorothy declared the meeting closed and confiormed that the next meeting will be the last Thursday in January, weather permitting.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Held: Thursday 30th November 2017
Location: The Manor Pub - Henknowle
Members present: Rob Berry; Dorothy Dolby; Betty Hopson;Alan Breeze; John Brigstock; Faith Breeze
The meeting accepted the Minutes of the previous AGM as a true record proposed by Dorothy Dolby seconded by Betty Hopson which was agreed unanimously.
The first task was for our Current Chairman (Vice Chairman - Rob Berry in this instance with the absence of Colin Race) to supervise the appointment of a new Chairman.
Chairman:
Nominations: Rob Berry ( Tel: 07899 921654 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )
Proposed by Betty Hopson
Seconded by Dororthy Dolby
No other nominations - carried unanimously.
Vice Chair:
Nominations: Dorothy Dolby ( Tel: 01833 690164 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )
Proposed by Faith Breeze
Seconded by Rob Berry
No other nominations - carried unanimously
Secretary:
Nominations: Alan Breeze ( Tel: 0793 0593 248 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )
Proposed by Rob Berry
Seconded by Dorothy Dolby
No other nominations - carried unanimously.
Treasurer:
Nominations: Betty Hopson ( Tel: 01388 607483 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )
Proposed by Faith Breeze
Seconded by Dorothy Dolby
No other nominations - carried unanimously
Membership Secretary:
Nominations: John Brigstock ( Tel: 07803 588488 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )
Proposed by Alan Breeze
Seconded by Rob Berry
No other nominations - carried unanimously
Executive Committee:
Nominations: Faith Breeze ( Tel: 07816026694 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )
Proposed by Rob Berry
Seconded by Dorothy Dolby
No other nominations - carried unanimously
Statement of Accounts
Our Treasurer Betty Hopson confirmed that our current balance stands as a total of £263.83 comprised of £243.83 in our Darlington Building Society and £29 cash in hand.
Our Treasurer confirmed that we had no outgoings over the last year and the increase in funds was accounted for by income from several Car Boot stands plus the monthly collections at Branch Meetings.
Our new Chairman Rob Berry then declared the meeting closed and confirmed that the next Branch meeting would take place on 21st December 2017 at the Manor pub, Henknowle Bishop Auckland and the next AGM will take place on the last Thursday in November 2018 at a venue to be confirmed.
Minutes of Meeting
Held: Thursday 5th October 2017
Location: Manor Pub - Henknowle
Chair: Rob Berry (Apologies Colin Race - Work Commitments)
Vice Chair: Rob Berry - See above
Treasurer: Betty Hopson
Secretary: Alan Breeze
Members Secretary: Current vacancy
Committee Members: John Brigstock; Dorothy Dolby (apologies due to work commitments)
Regional Organiser: Apologies for absence Gordon Parkin
Attendees: Faith Breeze,
Apologies:
The Chairman asked if the previous minutes could be taken as a true record and this was proposed by John Brigstock and seconded by Faith Breeze before being accepted unanimously.
Matters Arising
Because of the extended period of time since the last meeting and the significant changes in the party recently there were few matters arising from the previous meeting. It was reported by our Secretary that a meeting was called in July but was aborted due to not meeting the Quorum which is minimum of 50% of formal committee size (7 ) and must include 2 of the three prime officials (Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary). The Chairman and Secretary agreed with telephone support from other members to have the meeting on tonight's date as the best time after the UKIP Leadership outcome is known.
It is understood that Lee Harris has indicated that he no longer wishes to take an active part in the branch and we all wish him well for the future.
Because of the withdrawal of Lee's Parliamentary Candidacy the money from our accounts allocated to his campaign was not spent and therefore is retained for future use.
Any Other Business
Our secretary pointed out that the next meeting due to take place on the normal day the last Thursday of the month will be the Annual General Meeting and will be on the 26th October at "The Manor" pub Henknowle Estate Bishop Auckland. It was also pointed out that this meeting is restricted to paid up members.
On the subject of membership concern was expressed that the membership was not growing and even some regular attendees were no longer in attendance. Our secretary reported that under the new system announced at Conference, as well as 100% of first years membership fee, branches will receive 15% of all membership fees within an area. It was felt that we make Head Office aware that we represent North West Durham as well as Bishop Auckland Constituency and should receive the fees for both areas.
Ideas were invited for ways in which we could increase our membership but it was felt that without a National drive and a strong show of leadership from our new Leader any efforts would prove futile because it has become increasingly clear that local people are influenced far more by National events than local ones although local ones can have a beneficial effect in backing up National campaigns.
With regard to fundraising events we should consider Summer Car Boot sales as they have proved fruitful in the past as well as combining with showing a UKIP presence and the Secretary feels we should invite "Big Beasts" to talk at our Branch meetings and advertise heavily so that we may attract a sizeable crowd and run a raffle on the night to raise funds.
Next Meeting
The next Meeting will be the AGM on 26th October at The Manor pub starting at 7:15pm
Minutes of Meeting
Held: Thursday 26th April 2017
Location: Manor Pub - Henknowle
Chair: Colin Race
Vice Chair:Rob Berry
Treasurer: Apolgies for absence Betty Hopson
Secretary: Alan Breeze
Members Secretary: Current vacancy
Committee members: Dorothy Dolby; John Brigstock (apologies for absence away in Spain)
Regional Organiser: Apologies for absence Gordon Parkin
Attendees: Margaret Warren; Irene Hargrave; Jim Hargrave; Lee Harris; Faith Breeze; Tina;
Apologies:
The Chairman asked if the previous minutes could be taken as a true record and this was proposed by Lee Hariss and seconded by Alan Breeze before being accepted unanimously.
Matters Arising
We had a message from our treasurer that we currently have £201 funds available following an expenditure of £312 on printing of leaflets for the Durham County Elections.
The results from the Durham County Elections were discussed and the most votes within the wards, accumulated by John Brigstock who did NO campaigning and had NO leaflets delivered suggested that the efforts by the other candidates were in vain and that people had largely decided their party of choice regardless of campaigning.
Any Other Business
As this meeting followed on the hustings for selection of the Bishop Auckland Candidate, the meeting unanimously congratulated Lee Hariss on his success and wished Alan good fortune in his quest to find another suitable Constituency.
The meeting agreed that the remainder of the funds available should be dedicated to the Parliamentary Candidacy Campaign for Lee and arrangements would be made to release the funds for him.
It was agreed that with the election being so close we should hold an interim meeting on Wednesday 10th May to progress Lee's campaign.
Following that the next monthly meeting will take place on Thursday 25th May at 7:15pm at The Manor pub.
Minutes of Meeting
Held: Thursday 30th March 2017
Location: Manor Pub - Henknowle
Chair: Colin Race
Vice Chair:Rob Berry
Treasurer: Betty Hopson
Secretary: Alan Breeze
Members Secretary: Current vacancy
Regional Organiser: Gordon Parkin
Attendees: John Brigstock; Irene Hargrave; Jim Hargrave; Lee Harris
Apologies: Dorothy Dolby
The Chairman asked if the previous minutes could be taken as a true record and this was proposed by John Brigstock and seconded by Alan Breeze before being accepted unanimously.
Matters Arising
Our secretary explained that despite writing to Mike Hookem he had not been able to secure his services prior to our County Council Elections but also said that he had a brief discussion with John Tennant at the Regional meeting who said he might be able to come along and advise us on Campaigning techniques prior to the elections on 4th May.
Our Treasurer confirmed that we currently have £513 funds available for campaigning in the near future.
Further to the meeting in February Rob Berry explained that he was no longer able to put himself forward for election in May, however discussions with Jim and Irene Hargraves in Spennymoor resulted in a definite commitment from Jim and a possibility of Irene standing too in the Wards of Spennymoor and Tudhoe.
In addition John Brigstock offered to stand as a candidate in wherever we thought most suitable and initialy Coundon was thought best choice with a second choice Shildon although it was mentioned at the meeting that Town Council vacancies in Kirk Merrington and Byers Green were not being contested by Labour.
Our secretary has subsequently with the help of our Chairman secured forms for all the Wards that we were likely to contest and thanks to the attendance of our Regional Organiser who is an approved signatory for the forms these forms could be signed on the night allowing candiodates to use the UKIP logo and name.
Our secretary confirmed that as soon as text and pictures were received from all candidates artwork would be produced for A5 flyers and attractive pricing has been gained at Local printer Lifestyle in Bishop Auckland.
Our secretary advised that a letter of thanks has been sent to Rhys Burriss for his generous donation.
Gordon and other members gave encouragement and confidence to Irene so that she might favourably consider standing in one of the Wards and she agreed to consider it carefully.
Any Other Business
The only subject of concern was the pending Durham County Council Elections and it was agreed that towards this end an interim meeting be held on the 19th April to progress detailed matters in progress. This date was immediately checked with Phil the Landlord and confirmed as a meeting for the confirmed candidates that would be a none minuted progress meeting.
Beyond that the next minuted monthly meeting will take place on the last Thursday in April (27th)
Minutes of Meeting
Held: Thursday 23rd february 2017
Location: Manor Pub - Henknowle
Chair: Lee Harris (Apologies for Absence)
Vice Chair: Vacant
Treasurer: Betty Hopson Apologies for Absence)
Secretary: Alan Breeze
Members Secretary: Current vacancy
Regional Organiser: Gordon Parkin (Apologies for Absence)
Attendees: John Brigstock; Colin Race; Rob Berry, Dorothy Dolby
Apologies:
The Meeting was informed by our Secretary that he had been approached by our Chairman Lee Harris who explained that he was no longer able to sustain the position of Chairman due to personal issues. The first item to resolve therefore at the current meeting was to appoint a new Chairman.
Proposed for Chairman: Colin Race Proposed by Dorothy Dolby
Seconded by Rob Berry
Rob Berry Proposed by Alan Breeze
Seconded by John Brigstock
New Chairman elected as Colin Race by margin of 3 - 2
Our new Chairman then took charge of the meeting with the first issue as election of Vice Chairman
Proposed for Vice Chairman: Dorothy Dolby Proposed by Rob Berry
Seconded by John Brigstock
Rob Berry Proposed by Dorothy Dolby
Seconded by Colin Race
After a vote there was a tie at 2 - 2 and the Chairmans casting vote was given to Rob Berry making him Vice Chairman, Dorothy Dolby and John Brigstock remain as committe members.
The Chairman then asked if the previous minutes could be taken as a true record and this was proposed by Rob Berry and seconded by Alan Breeze before being accepted unanimously.
Matters Arising
Our secreatary explained that he had written to Mike Hookham to try and secure him to speak at our branch meeting but got no response possibly because of our meeting date coinciding with the Stoke and Copeland by elections.
Any Other Business
The main focus of our efforts for the coming months are the tendering of applications for the forthcoming Durham County elections on the 7th May with a deadline of 23rd March for the submission of applications. It was confirmed that Lee Harris still wished to stand in the West Auckland Ward and people at the meeting were asked to consider standing in other wards.
Colin Race confirmed he would stand within Woodhouse
Alan Breeze for Evenwood
Rob Berry for St Helens Auckland
John Brigstock for Coundon
Lee Harris for West Auckland
Our secretary reminded the candidates that they must put themselves forward for the vetting process online on the UKIP website.
Mr Race passed to our secretary a proposed text for his flyer and it was agreed that Mr Breeze would develop proposed A5 layouts for the next meeting.
Our secretary promised to obtain the necessary forms from DCC and also confirm the exact areas for each Ward.
It was agreed that an interim meeting be held before the next Monthly meeting and straight after tonight's meeting our Secretary agreed a date of Wdnesday 15th March for the next meeting with the Landlord of the Manor.
The meeting requested that a batch of Membership forms are procured for candidates to have in cases where people were found wishing to join whilst out campaigning.
Our secretary announced to the meeting that we had received a significant donation of £250 from Rhys Burriss to Branch funds to help us in branch and it was unanimously agreed that a letter of thanks be sent to Mr Burriss.
With no other Business the meeting was brought to a close by our Chairman and confirmed the next monthly meeting at The Manor on the last Thursday in March starting at 7:15pm. The interim meeting for DCC candidates is to be held on Wednesday 15th March at The Manor at 7:15pm
Minutes of Meeting
Held: Thursday 26th january 2017
Location: Manor Pub - Henknowle
Chair: Lee Harris (Apologies for Absence)
Vice Chair: Vacancy due to recent Death of Alistair Robertson
Treasurer: Betty Hopson
Secretary: Alan Breeze
Members Secretary: Current vacancy
Regional Organiser: Gordon Parkin (Apologies for Absence)
Attendees: John Brigstock; Colin Race
Apologies: Rob Berry, Dorothy Dolby
In the absence of our Chairman and without a current Vice Chairman but with a quorom of four attendees our Secretary Alan Breeze took the Chair.
The meeting opened with a statement of Remembrance for our dear recently departed Chairman Alistair Robertson highlighting his dedicated service to UKIP and his key involvement in helping start our branch and helping secure a Brexit vote in our constituency. This was followed by a sincere and extremely well presented prayer dedicated to Alistair's memory conducted by our Treasurer Betty Hopson
It was proposed by John Brigstock and seconded by Colin Race that the previous minutes of the monthly meeting be accepted as a true record, this was passed unanimously.
There were no matters arising from the previous minutes
Any Other Business.
The Chairman highlighted that our unwavering focus must be to field as many approved candidates as possible for the County Council elections in May 2017 and after discussion a plan of action was proposed and accepted as below:-
1) A high Profile UKIP speaker must be secured as soon as possible for the next meeting on February 23rd and it was thought that outside of Paul Nuttall and Suzanne Evans the most known key UKIP member was Mike Hookem our South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire MEP who is the UKIP spokesman on Fishermen and Armed Forces Veterans. It was agreed that our secretary should request his attendance to speak to our branch on the future of our fishing industry after Brexit. If Mr Hookem is not available then another high profile UKIP spokesman will be secured to speak on his area of expertise.
2) Local press is to be contacted to advertise the coming of our Speaker as well as personal phone calls to all our registered members within the constituency (It was agree that this task would be shared by our current committee and to assist in this task our secretary is to split the phone numbers between the committee as soon as possible and a check list to be produced of the conversation format)
3) Our chairman is to contact the local UKIP expert on Campaigning techniques Mr John Tennant from Hartlepool to give a training talk at our March meeting
4) Maximum effort is to be made at the major February meeting to recruit as many candidates as possible for the forthcoming Durham County Elections with the promise that they will receive training on campaigning at our March meeting supplemented by advice from our committee.
5) All Candidates must submit their details on line for UKIP vetting and then secure a proposer, seconder and 8 nominees all of whom must be on the electoral register within the ward and then these lists must be submitted before the March deadline the exact date to be confirmed.
The Chairman thanked members for their attendance and confirmed that the next monthly meeting was to take place on Thursday 23rd February at "The Manor" pub Henknowle starting at 7:15pm