Cameron Family Membership

[Ray]

I've only just caught up with this, and can't say I like it.

I'm not at all sure that I would care to be in a club that would accept someone like David Cameron as a member, let alone send him a free invitation.

(thanks to Groucho Marx, I believe. Or should that be Karl?)

Ray

[pga]

I always knew the CTC rode on the right side of the road so I am not surprised. The Clarion and the BLRC got it right.

[JT]

When the volunteers who keep Member Groups running are given free membership, then they can think about giving them out to ***** like Cameron.

[Randomeur]

Damn me! I wish I'd taken a closer look at this forum before re-joining. If I'd realised the CTC was now in the business of handing out freebies to the likes of Cameron I would have kept my cash firmly in my pocket. I'm not surprised they kept this quiet - absolute bloody disgrace.

In fact come to think of it, I'll have my money back off the Cyclists' Tory Club.

[gaz]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm not surprised they kept this quiet - absolute ***** disgrace

According to the latest 'Cycleclips' newsletter the Camerons have been offered family membership of CTC....

Hmm. The CTC kept it so quiet that they announced it in the Club's weekly newsletter.

[The Mechanic]

Just so you know, now that the CTC is a charity, you, as a member, no longer have a say in what the "club" does. Don't say you were not warned.

[BeeKeeper]

Just so you know, now that the CTC is a charity, you, as a member, no longer have a say in what the "club" does. Don't say you were not warned.

You may have to do it differently but now it is a charity there is an opportunity for the membership to express its wishes at the AGM which all charities must hold annually.

However, it may be quite a long-winded procedure, having seen this in action in the similarly structured Britsh Bee Keepers' Association (BBKA). The problem is any resolution you want to raise at the national AGM you will almost certainly have to get approved at your local AGM first and then probably have to get another local association to second the proposal. But if you can get this done then you would be able to present a resolution at the AGM and it will be voted on by those present.

I am not sure of the detail of how it would work in the CTC and life is too short to encourage me to find out but the BBKA is a similar charity and members can influence decision making but it is a very slow process - think several years to get any major changes done in my experience.

[Steady rider]

http://www.ctc.org.uk/about-ctc/policie ... ctc-policy

the CTC wants good ideas, like any group.

eg The CTC warmly welcomes the TdF coming to Yorkshire and will engage to support extra effort to encourage cycling. or something like that

[RickH]

...the AGM which all charities must hold annually.

I could be flippant & say that it wouldn't be an AGM if it wasn't annual - but not all charities have to have them.

Do all charities need to have an AGM?

80. No, not all charities have members or need to have an AGM. The governing document should be checked to see if an AGM is required. A charitable company is only required to hold an AGM where stipulated in its articles of association. If the governing document does not require an AGM, the charity trustees may wish to call one (perhaps calling it a users' meeting to avoid any confusion with a formal AGM). (From here)

Rick.

[byegad]

If he wants to join and pay fine, although I'd rather not belong to the same anything as that rich bloke, why on earth are we offering him free membership? I'll remember this come renewal, or rather non-renewal. He's rich enough to not free-load off me!

[BeeKeeper]

Better not tell the CTC Council they don't have to have an AGM. They have already arranged it for 11 May 2013: http://www.ctc.org.uk/about-ctc/ctc-nat ... rds-dinner

But as I tried to explain earlier and against the background that the CTC does have an AGM, as a buckshee CTC member I would be very surprised if you can actually introduce anything yourself at the National AGM. Any proposal will have to work its way up from the local CTC groups I suspect.

[Steady rider]

Call for motions
Members are notified that motions for the AGM must be received by the Chief Executive at CTC Head Office no later than 1st February of each year. Motions must be in writing and accompanied by the name and signature of a proposer and seconder who must both be full CTC members.

http://www.ctc.org.uk/about-ctc/policie ... ctc-policy

[Si]

Any proposal will have to work its way up from the local CTC groups I suspect.

To be a CTC member you don't have to be in a MG, thus the mechanism that you describe would not work. As Steady Rider points out, it appears that the process for submitting motions at the AGM is much the same as it was before.

As for having a say on how the organisation is run - you still get to elect councillors to represent you just as you always have. And like the way democracy runs in this country, those councillors can do more or less what they want (within certain limits) until the next election comes around. The only real formal say that members ever had was either by electing these councillors (and any member could seek election) or by voting on a small number of motions at the AGM (which hardly anyone ever bothered with anyway).

Of course, a member can make an informal suggestion to a councillor at any time - whether or not it is acted on depends upon a number of factors, but (since we became a charity) I've made such suggestions to councillors or to staffers and seen them taken up.

IIUIC, the real difference from when we were a club seems to be that if the membership did vote for something (at AGM) that appeared counter to the charity's best interests then that vote could be ignored. The question is: will this ever happen? And the only answer we have at the moment is: wait and see.

As for giving the primeminister free membership, well I can't really see the expense putting the club into the red (no pun intended) and if he should happen to pick up a copy of cycle that drops through the letter box of No 10, have a read of it, and decide that he should be just a smidge more pro-cycling then shirley that's a good thing? Personally I'm more inclined to think that it will have no effect at all, but given that it's cost next to nothing I guess it was worth a punt.

[Steady rider]

Some in the Cabinet also cycle and they could have a quick read of Cycle when tea is being served. It would help them get the right priorities.

[BeeKeeper]

So long as they leave by the right gate.