“Labour Students should be a welcoming place for every member, not just those deemed right-wing enough by the current clique at the top.”
By Vincent Conquest
I am standing for Secretary of Labour Students to provide a voice for Labour members who feel let down by some of the policy decisions made by our party. I want to stand up for real socialist, progressive and anti-imperialist politics and be a reliable advocate for left politics on the committee. Above all, I want to put an end to the toxic factionalism from the Labour right that has turned away so many members from our party. Young Labour and Labour Students were once mass movements. Now they seem hollow.
Since the last election, our party has lost a devastating number of student members. Labour Students is becoming an insular, factional career path, rather than the integral link between the Labour Party and the student movement that it once was. Young people, and especially students, no longer see the Labour Party as for them. I’ve been a member since I was 15. I’m a proud socialist and trade unionist. Crucially, I believe in democracy – something I would work to reinstate in Labour Students if elected Secretary. Labour Students must amplify all our voices and make members feel included, heard and engaged.
For too long, a toxic culture in Labour Students has turned people away from getting involved with our party. Defections to the right and silence on issues such as Palestine, disability cuts, tuition fees and trans rights have led to mass disillusionment across our student wing. I have the experience to work with members and turn this around. When I was Secretary of Leeds Labour Students, democratic debate, discussion and decisions were at the heart of our society, and our membership was engaged and active. Members felt heard. Additionally, Disability Labour have endorsed me due to my opposition to disability cuts and my pledge to ensure disabled members feel heard and respected. We need to do all this and more to renew Labour Students.
Labour Students should be a welcoming place for every member, not just those deemed right-wing enough by the current clique at the top. With your support, we will put members at the heart of our movement.
That’s why it’s imperative for those of progressive politics to back me and the rest of the Renew slate in the internal elections. The right has turned our student wing into a husk of what it once was. We can only reverse this if we put forward a positive vision of what Labour should be, and if we call out the leadership when it gets it wrong instead of toeing the party line.
- Voting for Young Labour and Labour Students’ internal elections is open now until Monday, 2nd March.
- Vincent Conquest is an Arise – a Festival of Left Ideas Volunteer and Young Labour member. You can follow him on Twitter/X here.
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