Youth wing of the British Labour Party
Young Labour
is the youth section of the UK
Labour Party
. Membership is automatic for Labour Party members aged 14 to 26.
[1]
It exists to involve young people in the Labour Party and ensure that the aspirations of young people are reflected in Labour's policies in power. Young Labour members are able to get involved in the Labour Party through local policy events, campaigning or by attending events and social gatherings.
Young Labour hosts an annual conference, alternating between national committee elections and policy conferences every other year. Young Labour also holds a range of additional national events, including fringe sessions at the annual
Labour Party Conference
.
Young Labour is affiliated to both the
International Union of Socialist Youth
(IUSY) and
Young European Socialists
(YES).
[
citation needed
]
History
[
edit
]
Throughout much of the 20th century, younger members of the Labour party were represented first by the Labour
League of Youth
and later by the
Labour Party Young Socialists
. These organisations often positioned themselves on the left of the party and frequently had a difficult relationship with its leadership. The latter of these groups went into decline in the late 1980s after reforms were made to make it more manageable and closed down entirely in 1991.
[2]
[3]
Young Labour was founded in 1993 by a Labour Party annual conference motion in Brighton, proposed by
Tom Watson
, seconded by Brian Whitington, then Chair of the
Labour Party Young Socialists
, and supported by then
National Executive Committee
Youth Representative
Claire Ward
.
[2]
In October 2017, Young Labour passed a motion at their annual conference which called for Britain to
withdraw from NATO
.
[4]
[5]
In May 2018, the organisation started a digital campaign against then-Labour MP
Chuka Umunna
after it was revealed that he employed university students to be unpaid interns. The campaign, "#PayUpChuka', led to the Labour leadership briefing the
Parliamentary Labour Party
that employing unpaid interns runs contrary to Labour's 2017 general election manifesto.
[6]
In October 2018, Young Labour voted to make Brazilian labour leader
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
its honorary president.
[7]
On 25 February 2022, Labour Party leader
Keir Starmer
scrapped Young Labour's annual conference in response to activists from the youth section criticising his backing for
NATO
during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
.
[8]
The tweets from earlier in February condemned Starmer for his "celebrating" of closer cooperation with NATO while he was also "attacking
Stop the War
and other pro-peace activists."
[8]
Some of the statements from Young Labour were cited as follows:
"Nato's acts of aggression both historical and present are a threat to all of our safety"
[8]
"Stoking up tension, macho posturing & trying to 'out do' the Tories on hawkish foreign policy will only lead to further devastation, loss of life and displacement of people across the world"
[8]
It was also announced that Young Labour's funding would be cut in response to the comments, whilst its Twitter account was restricted by the party for what was described as breaches of acceptable "standards of behaviour".
[8]
[9]
[10]
The move was condemned as bullying by Young Labour's elected chair Jessica Barnard, who also said it may drive young people away from Labour.
[8]
An article from
The Canary
dubbed the move "Keir Starmer's latest authoritarian crackdown."
[11]
The Labour party's
shadow foreign secretary
David Lammy
described Young Labour's views as "lazy knee-jerk"
anti-Americanism
and said that "They don't speak on behalf the party."
[10]
Membership
[
edit
]
Members of the Labour Party aged 14 to 26 are automatically members of Young Labour.
[12]
Structure
[
edit
]
Young Labour National Committee
[
edit
]
The Young Labour National Committee acts as the executive of the organisation. It includes a chair, the
National Executive Committee
(NEC) youth rep, an international officer, an under-18s representative, four liberation officers, 10 trade union reps
[a]
, three
National Labour Students
reps, one
socialist society
rep, 11 national and regional reps, and the chair of the
Co-operative Party
Youth Committee. In addition, the Labour Party appoints a permanent secretary to act as non-voting facilitator, and the
National Policy Forum
youth reps appoint a vice chair (policy).
[13]
Chair of Young Labour
[
edit
]
Between 1991 and 2009 the Chair of Young Labour was appointed by the Labour Party.
[
citation needed
]
Reforms passed by the Labour Party's annual conference saw the creation of a democratically elected chair, voted for by delegates at Young Labour's national conference, to serve a two-year term. The first election took place in 2009.
[
citation needed
]
In late 2017 the Labour Party's NEC changed the system so that the Chair of Young Labour is elected by a
one-member-one-vote
ballot of young members.
[14]
It was reported that over 7,000 young members voted in the 2018 election.
[15]
Elected chairs of Young Labour
[
edit
]
- 2009?2011:
Sam Tarry
[16]
- 2011?13: Susan Nash
[17]
- 2013?16: Simon Darvill
[18]
[19]
- 2016?18: Caroline Hill
- 2018?2020: Miriam Mirwitch
[15]
- 2020?2022: Jessica Barnard
[20]
- 2022?2024: Nabeela Mowlana
[21]
- Since 2024: Jack Lubner
[22]
National Executive Committee Youth Rep
[
edit
]
Delegates at Young Labour's national conference also elected the Youth Rep to sit on the Labour Party's NEC. The election operated under an electoral college, with a third of the vote for young member delegates, a third for Labour Students delegates, and a third for delegates from affiliated trade unions and socialist societies.
For the 2018 election, the system was changed, with half of the vote allocated to young members through a
one-member-one-vote
ballot and half allocated to block votes by affiliated trade unions and socialist societies.
[14]
Current Committee
[
edit
]
Role
|
Name
[36]
|
Chair
|
Jack Lubner
|
International Officer
|
Ryan Bogle
|
Under 18s Rep
|
Jacob Withers
|
BAME Officer
|
Thripty Dutt
|
Disability Officer
|
George Baldock
|
LGBT Officer
|
Chloe Brooks
|
Women's Officer
|
Bella Simpson
|
East Midlands Rep
|
Ruby Simpson
|
Eastern Rep
|
Daisy Blakemore
|
London Rep
|
Sudenaz Top
|
North West Rep
|
Lewis Hurst
|
Northern Rep
|
Jacob Cousens
|
Scotland Rep
|
Solomon Cuthbertson
|
South East Rep
|
Lundy Mackenzie
|
South West Rep
|
Jake Bonetta
|
Wales Rep
|
Jessica Moultrie
|
West Midlands Rep
|
Maya Desai
|
Yorkshire and Humber Rep
|
Lucy Hulme
|
NEC
Youth Rep
|
Elsie Greenwood
|
Socialist Societies
Rep
|
Jimmy Sergi
|
Community
Union Rep
|
Ralph Ali
|
GMB
Union Rep
|
India Rees
|
GMB Union Rep
|
Phillip Hutchinson
|
Unison
Union Rep
|
Ralph Bennett-Richards
|
Unison Union Rep
|
Jess McGuire
|
Unite
Union Rep
|
Grace Ashworth
|
Unite Union Rep
|
Charlie Mower
|
USDAW
Union Rep
|
Adam Birks
|
NLS Rep
|
Ruby Herbert
|
NLS Rep
|
Lewis Warner
|
NLS Rep
|
Issy Waite
|
Co-operative Party
Youth Rep
|
Rosie Kurnaz
|
Local groups
[
edit
]
Young Labour groups exist at the local, regional, national, and international level, supporting the activity of the wider Labour Party and feeding in to Young Labour through its national committee.
The national groups are:
- Scottish Young Labour
- Welsh Young Labour
- Young Labour NI
- Young Labour International
- Young Labour Under-19s
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Often not all 10 seats are filled
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Splash - Official Labour Organisation Sites"
. Younglabour.org.uk. Archived from
the original
on 31 August 2018
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Webb, Michelle (2007).
"The rise and fall of the Labour league of youth"
(PDF)
.
University of Huddersfield Repository
– via University of Huddersfield.
- ^
According to Ted Grant, "The Real Situation In Britain", 1947, as quoted in
Marxists and the British Labour Party: The Experience of Entrism; A Note on Ted Grant's Explanation of Entrism in the 1940s
- ^
Fisher, Lucy (16 October 2017).
"Young Labour Calls for Nato Withdrawal"
.
The Times
. Retrieved
16 October
2017
.
- ^
Buchan, Lizzy (16 October 2017).
"Young Labour brands Donald Trump a 'fascist' and calls for Nato withdrawal"
.
The Independent
.
Archived
from the original on 7 May 2022
. Retrieved
16 February
2019
.
- ^
"#PayUpChuka: Umunna humiliated in unpaid intern row"
.
New Statesman
. 31 May 2018
. Retrieved
26 February
2019
.
- ^
Barnett, Marcus (3 October 2018).
"Young Labour: Why we've just made Lula our honorary president"
.
LabourList
.
Archived
from the original on 3 October 2018
. Retrieved
3 October
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Merrick, Rob (25 February 2022).
"Keir Starmer axes Young Labour's conference and cuts funding after it attacked backing for Nato"
.
The Independent
.
Archived
from the original on 7 May 2022
. Retrieved
25 February
2022
.
- ^
Jarvis, Chris (25 February 2022).
"Labour Party seizes control of youth wing's Twitter account"
.
Left Foot Forward
. Retrieved
25 February
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Chappell, Elliot (25 February 2022).
"Young Labour Twitter account restricted for being "detrimental" to Labour aims"
.
LabourList
. Retrieved
25 February
2022
.
- ^
Topple, Steve (25 February 2022).
"Keir Starmer's latest authoritarian crackdown is dire timing"
.
The Canary
. Retrieved
25 February
2022
.
- ^
"Labour Join Donate Renew"
. Join.labour.org.uk
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
"Young Labour National Committee 2013-15 - Labour Youth"
. Younglabour.org.uk.
Archived
from the original on 22 June 2015
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Kentish, Benjamin (1 December 2017).
"Jeremy Corbyn allies accused of 'stitch up' after changing election rules for key committee post"
.
The Independent
.
Archived
from the original on 18 March 2018
. Retrieved
17 March
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Miriam Mirwitch elected as Young Labour Chair"
.
Labour List
. 16 March 2018.
Archived
from the original on 19 March 2018
. Retrieved
25 March
2018
.
- ^
"Sam Tarry becomes chair of Young Labour ≪ Birmingham University Labour Students"
. Bulsonline.org. 18 April 2009.
Archived
from the original on 22 February 2015
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
"Youth Conference, February 2011"
. 3 December 2013. Archived from
the original
on 3 December 2013
. Retrieved
20 September
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"Archived copy"
(PDF)
.
www.younglabour.org.uk
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 3 December 2013
. Retrieved
17 January
2022
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
"Youth Elections 2013: The Results"
. Archived from
the original
on 3 December 2013
. Retrieved
2 December
2013
.
- ^
Rodgers, Sienna (13 November 2020).
"Labour national executive committee election results released"
.
LabourList
. Retrieved
13 November
2020
.
- ^
Chappell, Elliot (1 September 2022).
"Results released in NEC, national policy forum, youth and student wing elections"
.
LabourList
. Retrieved
7 September
2022
.
- ^
"Internal Ballots Results 2024"
.
The Labour Party
. 8 April 2024
. Retrieved
8 April
2024
.
- ^
"The young idealist who took on the old hand"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. 16 March 2001.
Archived
from the original on 25 September 2015
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
"Chocoholic with the willpower to stay on-message"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. 6 June 2001.
Archived
from the original on 25 September 2015
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
Wring, Dominic; Baker, David; Seawright, David (January 2000).
"Loughborough University Institutional Repository : Panelism in Action"
(PDF)
. Dspace.lboro.ac.uk.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 22 February 2015
. Retrieved
28 July
2015
.
- ^
"The big squeeze (From Herald Scotland)"
. Heraldscotland.com
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
"Inside Labour's Bermuda Triangle"
. Socialist Party. 22 June 2001.
Archived
from the original on 24 September 2015
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
Claire McCarthy (29 September 1999).
"Speaking from the heart | Politics"
.
The Guardian
.
Archived
from the original on 22 February 2015
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
Claire McCarthy (28 September 1999).
"A thoroughly modern conference | Politics"
.
The Guardian
.
Archived
from the original on 22 February 2015
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
"The young ones | Progress | News and debate from the progressive community"
. Progressonline.org.uk. 6 June 2002.
Archived
from the original on 28 September 2015
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
"nec_march2001"
. Annblack.com. 27 March 2001.
Archived
from the original on 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
"About me"
. Jonathanreynolds.org.uk. 26 March 2014.
Archived
from the original on 8 September 2015
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
Anderson, Joe (26 January 2012).
"Jonathan Reynolds MP announced as the new Vice Chair Youth"
. LabourList.
Archived
from the original on 18 June 2015
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
"Young Labour at the heart of the fightback ≪ Labour Uncut"
. Labour-uncut.co.uk. 11 February 2011.
Archived
from the original on 22 February 2015
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
Anderson, Joe (12 February 2011).
"Young Labour conference 2011: Liveblog"
. LabourList.
Archived
from the original on 22 February 2015
. Retrieved
27 July
2015
.
- ^
"Results released in Spring Internal Ballots covering Young Labour and Labour Students"
.
Labour
. 8 April 2024
. Retrieved
8 April
2024
.
External links
[
edit
]
Political youth organisations in the United Kingdom
|
---|
|
|
---|
Full members
|
- Armenia
:
Haygagan Yeridasartats Tashnagtsutiun
- Austria
:
Sozialistische Jugend
,
Sozialistische StudentInnen
- Belgium
:
Jongsocialisten
,
Jeunes socialistes
- Bulgaria
:
BSM
,
ELMA
- Croatia
:
FM SDP
- Cyprus
:
NEOS
- Czech Republic
:
Mladi Socialni Demokrate
- Denmark
:
Social Democratic Youth
- Estonia
:
Noorsotsid
- Finland
:
Demarinuoret
,
SONK
- France
:
Jeunes Socialistes
- Germany
:
Jusos
,
SJD ? Die Falken
- Greece
:
Neolaia PASOK
- Hungary
:
FiB
- Ireland
:
Labour Youth
- Italy
:
Young Democrats
,
Federation of Young Socialists
- Latvia
:
JGS
- Lithuania
:
LSDJS
- Luxembourg
:
Jeunesses Socialistes
- Macedonia
:
SDMM
- Malta
:
Labour Youths
- Netherlands
:
Jonge Socialisten
- Poland
:
FMS
,
FMUP
- Portugal
:
Juventude Socialista
- Romania
:
Tineretul Social Democrat
- Serbia
:
Democratic Youth
,
Social Democratic Youth
- Slovakia
:
Mladi socialni demokrati
- Slovenia
:
Mladi Forum SD
- Spain
:
Juventudes Socialistas
- Sweden
:
S-Studenter
,
SSU
- Switzerland
:
Young Socialists
- Turkey
:
CHP Genclik Kolları
- United Kingdom
:
Young Labour
,
Labour Students
,
Young Fabians
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