October 9th, 2011
Compass Youth has elected the Organising Committee for the next year. You can find out more about each of the committee members below.
Will Cass – Chair
Will, from Aylesbury, came to his role as National Youth Chair after interning at Compass and Wimbledon Labour Party. As Vice-Chair and Youth Officer of Aylesbury Labour Party, Will took the lead as campaigns manager and election officer in the recent election and oversaw the election of Labour’s first two councillors in the area for 13 years.
When he is not working on Compass projects, Will is Assistant Editor of the Social Europe Journal, runs operations for an IT start-up and is a member of CND, GMB, and the Co-op Party.
Matthew Fulton – Vice-Chair
Matthew is a Labour Party activist from Norfolk who first became involved in Compass through the End Legal Loan Sharking Campaign. He ended up leading his own campaign on the issue, with the result that The Money Shop agreed to display free debt advice and Credit Union literature in their shops on a nationwide basis.
Marley Miller – Secretary
Marley is studying economics at Durham University and joined the committee with the hope of running events and campaigns targeted at increasing political literacy amongst disenfranchised young people. He is also Vice-Chair of New Turn and has experience working at Deutsche Bank.
Jon Ridge – Treasurer
Jon is a Manchester-based Labour activist and sometime charity volunteer. He is currently studying for a postgraduate degree in International Relations at the University of Manchester, focusing on India, and he works in the travel industry.
Kirsty Styles – Media Officer
Kirsty is an ambitious multimedia journalist with experience in TV, radio, local and national newspapers, and the third sector.
Ralph Scott – Media Officer
Ralph holds an MA in Philosophy and Politics from Edinburgh University. He currently works in communications for a leading progressive think tank, and before that worked as a researcher on the deputy leader of the Green Party’s General Election campaign and as a freelance writer and copy-editor.
Saima Yousaf – Equalities Officer
Saima is currently a member of the governing board of the Council for Education in the Commonwealth. She was previously a member of the National Executive Committee of the NUS and Vice-President, International and Welfare at her university.
Luke Pearce
Luke Pearce studied politics, sociology and psychology at university, where he was also drawn to party politics by students who never gave up hope that wit and passion could change anything – even the fortunes of the Labour Party. A strong believer in debate and freedom of speech, Luke was President of the Cambridge Union, and during his term welcomed speakers including Jeremy Paxman, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Howard, Vince Cable, Billy Bragg, former Iraqi President Ahmed Chalabi and Miss Canada to the debating society.
After graduation Luke moved to work in London as a manager in the public sector. He remained involved in politics and became National Chair of Compass Youth in early 2011, seeking to work with any group or individual who shared a vision of the ‘good society’, regardless of their party political hue. Luke currently lives in Kennington Oval and continues to pursue interests in entrepreneurship, travelling, psychology, current affairs and the London social scene.
James Whitaker
James is London-based, and is a long-standing member of the Labour Party, and a more recent member of Compass. Having studied history and political science, he now works as a lawyer, and hopes to bring his skills and knowledge to the Compass Youth movement over the coming year.
Lewis Dagnall
Lewis is a Mancunian studying History and Politics at Sheffield University. An active member of the Labour and Co-operative Parties on both sides of the Pennines, he has previously stood as a council candidate for Trafford Borough Council.
Thomas Wallis
Tom, a Labour Party member from St Albans, got involved with Compass out of his concern over inequality and climate change. He is currently studying in London to be a solicitor, having previously studied geography and law at Leicester University.
Ed Barney
Ed is a graduate from Loughborough University, where he studied Sport Sociology. A Labour Party activist, originally from Somerset, he is currently interning at Compass and has joined the Compass Youth Committee to turn progressive sociological thought into practical action that empowers marginalised young people across Britain.
