Code of Conduct for Members

Applicability

Code of Conduct

1. Every member owes a duty to the Party to abide by its constitutionally laid down policy and direction and its Constitution, Rules, and Standing Orders.
2. A member shall not disavow the aims of the Party in whole or in part.
3. Members shall respect each other’s good faith in endorsing the Party’s aims.
4. Every member owes a duty to the Party to refrain from conduct likely to cause damage to or hinder the Party’s proper pursuit of its aims in accordance with its constitutionally laid down policy and direction.
5. No member may make racist statements in any context.
6. Every member has a responsibility not to discriminate in his or her conduct on the ground of race, colour, gender, religious belief or non- belief or sexual orientation.
7.  No member may make malicious allegations of illegal or improper conduct against any other member or maliciously cause to be reported or published in the media the fact that an allegation of illegal or improper conduct by a member is known to have been made.
8. No member shall abuse, harass, bully, or maliciously defame any other member whether via the media or otherwise.
9. No member shall be a member of any organisation contesting elections in opposition to the Party or deemed to be a political party under the Party’s Membership Rules or announce an intention to join any such organisation.
10. No member shall stand for election to a Scottish local authority, the Scottish Parliament, or the Parliament of the United Kingdom other than as a Party candidate.
11. [obsolete]
12. Any member elected as a Party candidate to any level of government owes duties to the Party to sign the Party’s group Standing Orders for that level of government as soon as practicable after being elected and to re-sign the group standing orders as soon as practicable after any amendment of them by the Party.
13. Any member resigning from a Party group at any level of government owes a duty to the Party also to resign as a member of the local authority or Parliament to which he/she was elected as a Party candidate.
14. No member shall make a statement on behalf of a Branch, Constituency Association, Liaison Committee, recognised Members’ Association or Affiliated Organisation of the Party without the authority of that organisation nor make any such statement that he/she knows or ought to know does not properly reflect the position of the body in question.
15. All members owe a duty to the Party to respect the internal confidentiality of Office Bearer reports to the Party and of papers issued only within the Party except insofar as these have been put into the public domain by or with the authority of the National Executive Committee.