Constitution of the Free North

The Constitution of the Free North
This revised constitution was accepted by 86.4% of the membership of the Free North movement on the 11th of May, 2023. It is displayed below, in full, as it was read to the assembled members of the movement at the 10th of May general meeting in York City. No amendments have yet been proposed.

New Constitution of the Free North
1: The Aims and Principles of the Constitution and State

The Free North aims to become a Unique Kind of State, created according to the principles of and to fulfil the aims of Yorkist-Socialism: the destruction and suppression of capitalism; the establishment of a ‘Unique Kind of State’ in Yorkshire and the North; and the eventual establishment of worldwide communism.

1.i: The Destruction and Suppression of Capitalism

The aim of the free north is to destroy the system of capitalist exploitation, and to prevent it from re-appearing in any shape or form.

1.i.I: Definition of Capitalism

Capitalism means the rule of the capitalist class, maintained through the shams of usury, private property, bourgeois militarism and wage slavery.

Usury is defined as personal profit through trade, where exchange is made for the good of one party rather than for the good of all. Private property is individual ownership of the means of production. Wage slavery is the renting of people, and is identical to chattel slavery: the buying of people. Bourgeois militarism is the maintenance of a civilian caste and a distinct soldier caste.

1.i.II: Escalating Conflict and the Destruction of Capitalism

A key objective of the Free North is to bring about the final battle by means of continually escalating conflict. This must be a highly strategical and coordinated endeavour, by which the strife between class and class is accelerated through military action and propaganda. In a manageable way, the Free North must move from a state of relative peace, to a state of total war with every bourgeois regime, worldwide, (in alliance with the workers and the various organisations, states and systems that represent them). At some point during this conflict, destiny and necessity will cause every worker to become a warrior. This point is the final battle: Ragnarok. After this, the bourgeois and the worker will annihilate one another, clearing the way for a truly socialist society.

1.ii: The Establishment of a Unique Kind of State

The immediate goal of the Free North is to establish and maintain a Unique Kind of State, as defined in section 2 of the constitution.

1.iii: The Eventual Establishment of Socialism

Socialism is defined as a society free from class, where life is conducted on the principal of ‘From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs’. This society will only emerge after the final battle, when the two dominant classes of this age have annihilated one another in fire. The exact nature of such a society cannot be clear to us until after the final battle.

2: The Institutions of the Unique Kind of State

The Unique Kind of State will exist in Yorkshire and the North of England, and will be based on the institutions that follow.

2.i: Legislation of the Unique Kind of State

The laws and legislature of the Unique Kind of State will be the charge of the Diet, consisting of a committee of syndics. Until this committee can be established, the role of the Diet will be filled by the Provisional Council.

2.ii.I: The Diet

The Diet has the power to pass legislation, and to legitimise brigades. The Diet is responsible for collecting military information from brigades and revealing it to said brigades. The Diet will act as the voice of the Unique Kind of State in international affairs, and will speak for the people of the Free North in all such issues. The Diet will appoint all ambassadors to foreign states.

The Diet of the Unique Kind of State will be made up of a number of syndics, elected using the Single Transferable Vote system of proportional representation, by the entire population in annual elections. The precise number of syndics will be determined at a later date, when the Diet is established.

Legislation must be proposed to the Diet at least a full day before it is voted on, to allow time for all syndics to express their views fully. Legislation must be read, in full, to the Diet when it is proposed, and again immediately before it is voted on. No legislation may pass through the Diet without a 60% majority in the final vote.

All other decisions of the Diet require a simple majority vote. Alternatively, these decisions may be delegated to Chartered Committees. The charter for such a committee is treated as legislation. Chartered Committees must abide by the terms of their charter, which will include a statement of how membership of the CC is determined, what its powers are and so forth.

2.ii.II: The Provisional Council

The Diet’s formation will require stability, and the security of the Free North and Yorkshire. Until this is achieved, all the functions of the Diet will be held by a Provisional Council.

The Provisional Council will consist of a number of Consuls. The 1st Consul has absolute authority over the Provisional Council. Immediately below the 1st Consul is the 2nd Consul, and so on in this fashion. The Consuls shall be appointed for the duration of provisional government, but may be recalled by a general vote-of-no-confidence. Such a vote requires a 70% majority, but if this is obtained, the consul shall be removed from office and his position is taken by the consul immediately below him in rank.

Alternatively, a vote-of-no-confidence may be held against the whole Provisional Council. If this is passed (again a 70% majority is required) then the entire Consulate is dissolved, and a new 1st Consul is chosen from amongst the population by the YEC.

2.ii: The Army of the Unique Kind of State

The Unique Kind of State shall not be policed or defended by a bourgeois militaristic army, but an army of the people, consisting of worker-warriors, each of whom goes into battle of their own volition.

A brigade is simply a group of such warriors, who come together to fight a particular battle or achieve a stated goal. Such a group must apply to the Diet to receive official recognition. Only if this is granted may the group go into battle. The Diet may withdraw its support for a brigade at any time. If the Diet withdraws its support while a brigade is away on campaign, the warriors of that brigade are obliged to return home, or to sever all ties with the Free North, permanently.

The brigades will be equipped and supplied by the YEC, to the highest level possible. The Diet will provide the brigades with necessary intelligence, but will have no power over the brigades, other than the previously mentioned power to withdraw the official recognition of a brigade at any time.

2.iii: The Economy of the Unique Kind of State

The Unique Kind of State is based on social ownership, and community control of property. Local economic decisions shall be made by Economic Councils of Workers. These ECWs will send delegates to a Yorkshire Economic Congress. The Diet has no constitutional power over these bodies, except through passing actual legislation.

2.iii.I: The Economic Councils of Workers

The Economic Councils of Workers, or ECWs, will be assemblies of all the workers within a certain, defined area. All workers must be informed of ECW meetings and given the chance to attend, with the exception of those who perform essential functions or are otherwise unable or unwilling to attend themselves, who may authorise another to vote on their behalf.

The ECWs must meet at least once every two weeks. They decide on local economic planning, creating a public document which details what each workplace must produce, and what each can consume, and how the wealth that is produced is distributed, in accordance with the Economic Plan.

Each ECW elects two delegates to the YEC. These two people may be provided with written instructions regarding their ECW’s position on specific issues.

2.iii.II: The Yorkshire Economic Congress

Overall co-ordination of the economy of the Unique Kind of State will be managed by the Yorkshire Economic Congress, which meets every three months to devise the Economic Plan. They will last several days. The Economic Plan will explain in some detail what the various ECWs are required to produce. The exact nature and detail of the Economic Plan are, of course, entirely up to the YEC. A detailed summary of the Economic Plan must be read before it is voted on. The Economic Plan requires a majority to become valid.

The YEC may appoint Chartered Economic Committees to monitor or manage specific projects or areas. The charters of such committees are included as part of the Economic Plan. CECs function in much the same as CCs, but focus on different issues.