“We need our Labour government to deliver real change, invest in public service, tackle child poverty and treat our pensioners with respect.”
By Yasmine Dar, Labour NEC
With only a few days remaining for members to vote in this year’s elections to Labour’s National Executive Committee and National Policy Forum, I hope that members will take the opportunity to vote for candidates who will stand up for the rights of grassroots members, defend Party democracy and hold the government to account.
After fourteen years of Conservative government, it is brilliant to have a Labour government. Public services have been suffering from year-on-year underfunding. Civil liberties have been eroded, migrants scapegoated and the cost of living crisis has not gone away. Over four million children now live in poverty in the UK.
We need our Labour government to deliver real change, invest in public service, tackle child poverty and treat our pensioners with respect. Further austerity will not grow the economy or provide the investment we need to deliver for a population in desperate need of change. The worrying rise of Reform, and the riots earlier this summer, demonstrate the need for a broad based fight against racism and Islamophobia.
These are some of the issues I will continue to raise at Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) if re-elected. We must do everything possible to to ensure our Labour government delivers for those most in need. To really deliver, Labour must listen to its members – the lifeblood of our Party who play such an important role in keeping elected representatives in touch with local communities and what needs to change. This is what I stand for.
Since I was first elected onto the NEC in 2018, I’ve championed transformative economic policies and a foreign policy rooted in internationalism, seeking peace, justice, and human rights.
I continue to actively promote Labour Party democracy, including dynamic, inclusive equalities structures and implementation of the Forde report. Labour is stronger when it empowers its diverse membership to come together to debate and make policy, and when it promotes candidates, democratically selected by local members who are in touch with voters and representative of the communities they seek to serve. Empowering members and treating them with respect is a focal point of my efforts. As exposed by Forde, too often factionalism can undermine our collective efforts to bring about change and has caused unfair treatment of too many members. I’ve tirelessly advocated for transparent and fair disciplinary processes founded on natural justice and will continue to do so if re-elected.
As a BAME woman, social worker, anti-racist activist, and Councillor, my experiences fuel my determination to fight for a Labour government that transforms society. I am a strong supporter of Labour’s trade union link – our Party is stronger because of the influence of millions of working people through their trade unions and we must defend that link and ensure a Labour government prioritises a new deal for workers.
If re-elected I will continue to advocate for vital campaigns to reverse privatisation of our NHS, for a redistributive tax system and anti-austerity economic policies, and for the positive benefits of migration, with asylum seekers treated with dignity and respect. I maintain a strong commitment to anti-war and anti-racist activism.
I hope, along with comrades Jess Barnard, Gemma Bolton and Mish Rahman, we can continue, on Labour’s NEC, to fight for a more just and equitable future.
- By Yasmine Dar, Labour Party NEC standing for re-election
- Follow Yasmine on x/twitter
- Find out more about the Grassroots Voice 4 candidates here
