January 22nd, 2011
At Labour Youth Conference in Glasgow in February young Labour Party members, Labour Students and young trade unionists will elect a new NEC Youth Representative for the Labour Party. With three candidates declared and validly nominated we asked them all a few questions to find out who they are, what they believe and what they hope to deliver for young members of the Labour Party. Let’s meet them…
Emma Garland, 18, sixth form pupil
CLP: Newport East
Emma says: “I would be proud to be NEC Youth rep and I would always be willing to listen to members”
Link to Facebook
Callum Munro, 18, university student
CLP: East Dunbartonshire
Callum says: “I have the experience and ideas to represent young members on the NEC. I’ll be a strong, independent voice who will fight for a more democratic Young Labour and a stronger, more inclusive movement”
Link to Website Link to Facebook Link to Manifesto
Alexander Hay, 19, university student
CLP: Blyth Valley
Alexander says: “As your NEC Youth Rep, I would provide strong leadership but would be approachable to any member. I will promote the youth vision for our Party and ensure the aspirations of young members are achieved”
Link to Manifesto Link to Facebook
Emma Garland: I would promote young Labour branches and do all I could to ensure that the maximum amount of young members are given the option to join young labour branches. This is about enabling members to equally have a voice in making decisions and not having a top heavy approach, including more use of websites like facebook as a tool to obtain opinions, via use of questionnaires and online forums or online debates to which you have invited some big names to lead and this will attract interest.From that type of debate you then go onto formulate policy.
Callum Munro: The Young Labour section of the Labour Party constitution needs completely rewritten. First of all, we need an annual conference, not a ‘youth day’ every two years. The power to make policy, to elect our national committee and to campaign on issues that matter to us, should be put in the hands of ordinary members. I would work with the NEC, the Chair of Young Labour and party staff to make this happen.
Alexander Hay: Democracy requires people power. By representing the views of members with a strong, coherent voice, I will ensure the power is with the party members and the Labour Party is fair for all.
Emma: I would attempt to ensure that all Labour Party elections are as open as possible, and that equality of opportunity is present within the party, including increased use of media.
Callum: Young members must have confidence in the elections they vote in. I will work to make sure that for all young Labour elections, there is clear and transparent information about how to stand as a candidate, how the election will be ran and who is responsible for making sure everything is conducted fairly. One very important thing I will protect is the right of young members to elect delegates.
Alexander: At the moment the NEC Youth Rep elections are not fair. Having a small delegation elect an important role is neither democratic nor fair. Every young member should get a vote – there can be no price for democracy.
Emma: Yes, it is important that the Youth are fairly represented within the party. I would however, examine their effectiveness and efficiency to ensure we are getting the maximum from them.
Callum: Labour Students has proved time and time again that it is one of the finest campaigning forces in the party, not only at election time but also on different issues ranging from child poverty to tuition fees. The three full time officers help make this possible. I won’t stand for the the party’s financial problems to be used as an excuse to attack out youth and student movements.
Alexander: Labour students and young labour are an important part of the Party. However they both need representation and in light of party finances I would encourage abolishing one of the 3 Labour Student Officers and using funds saved from this action to create a new role of National Young Labour Officer.
Emma: I would engage in debate as to whether it is in anyway viable, including financially, and analyse when I had all the facts presented to me.
Callum: This will be the first thing I campaign for if elected as NEC Youth Rep. There can be no ambiguity on this issue, Ed Miliband and the Party must deliver on their promise to create the post of a full time youth officer. The awful way in which youth conference this year has been organised only strengthens the argument that we need a full time member of staff to help Young Labour function properly.
Alexander: When Ed Miliband canvassed for our votes and promised a full time Youth Officer he must have known about the party finances. The Youth Officer would invigorate, inspire and promote our party as a party of the future and is a necessity and as such I will campaign for this.
Emma: No, I do not. Young Labour is an important feature within the party and should not be independent of it in any way.
Callum: Young Labour is the youth wing of the Labour party and needs to have proper policy making powers so that we can campaign on our issues and affect the Party’s wider aims. The Young Labour National Committee should have a far greater say in organising Young Labour events and they should have a full time youth officer to support them. If elected I will fight for these changes so that the youth wing of our party can become the active, campaigning force it deserves to be.
Alexander: I think Young Labour and Labour Students should be on a level playing field – both are equally as important and vital to unity.
Emma: I am the Youth Officer for my own constituency. The onstituency over the last few years has looked into youth membership and how to develop it. I am a student representative on a school governing board and this has given me the opportunity to represent others and ensure participation in school council. I would relish the opportunity to use these skills within the party. I also have enthusiasm and a positive attitude. These attributes are valuable assets when working as part of a team. It is motivating and provide a drive that gets people moving. I have learnt how to motivate people and how important it is to encourage people of the difference every person can make, therefore encouraging the implementation of youth groups.
Callum: I helped run the successful campaign for a second youth and student hustings in the leadership contest, with a time and place accessible to all members. I coordinated with the leadership campaigns as well as young members across the country to bring together an event which gave young people the voice they deserve. My role as campaigns coordinator on the Scottish Young Labour committee has given me experience of organising with young people at election time. I received a campaigning award at Labour Party conference on behalf of Scottish Young Labour for our efforts in the general election. I want to see Young Labour groups get the support they need to function properly, to hold good social events, to be able to campaign on their issues and to recruit new members in their local area.
Alexander: I currently Chair of Labour Students Northumbria and was for several years an Advisor to Newcastle City Council on Youth Issues, during my time as Young Advisor, I was a member of an Advisory Board tasked with establishing a city wide Youth Council for Newcastle. Currently, I am advising members of Hexham CLP assisting to create a dedicated Young Labour branch, In addition to this, I have recently began working with students at Sunderland College assisting them in the establishment of a Labour Students Club, this experience would help instigate and support groups across the country. Through my communication policies I would help raise awareness of forthcoming events and by encouraging party offices to work with Young Labour groups, help develop the existing and new groups into strong groups.
Emma: Social networking would be a key feature, including facebook, twitter and if I was elected to the NEC I would get my own web page so that transparency was at a maximum.
Callum: Young members deserve more than just being ‘kept up to date’ with the work of the NEC. If elected I will make sure that not only can young members stay informed through a website and newsletter but that they get an opportunity to put their views across directly to me. I would be more than happy to travel around the country to speak to and meet with Young Labour, trade union and Labour Students groups so that I can properly represent them all on the NEC.
Alexander: I will set up a blog to keep members informed, as well as establishing a regular news and events bulletin for young members. I will also be contactable to all through a variety of mediums including phone and email.
Emma: As a pacifist, I do not agree that violent conflict is progressive. However, as evidence of weapons of mass destruction was presented, I feel that the MPs were justified to support it as they have a esponsibility to protect the nation.
Callum: The Iraq war was wrong. Saddam Hussein was an evil man who killed thousands of his own people, but Britain went into Iraq because we said he had WMDs. We were wrong and should have waited for an international consensus to form before even considering military action. The trust that Labour lost over Iraq must be earned back if we are ever to be in government again.
Alexander: I believe Iraq was an unnecessary, wrong and a politically motivated war fuelled by America. The soldiers who fought there should always have their sacrifice remembered but they should never have been made to give that sacrifice in the first place.
Emma: Yes, Minimum wage should stand for 16+. It is unfair that people of different ages get paid the different amounts for doing the same job. The wage should be higher, as then less people would need income support.
Callum: Equal pay for equal work is a principle in which I firmly believe. It is an absolute disgrace that Labour allowed the otherwise excellent policy of a national minimum wage to discriminate against younger workers. On the NEC I would fight for a policy which equalises the minimum wage for all people, regardless of age.
Alexander: An equal job deserves an equal pay. Young people need to be paid fairly and on a par with others.
Emma: Yes I will. It is the most fair way of doing it and I openly admit that as I have received a certain level of education, if I then earn the salary which means I give back and give others the chance to receive the same level of education, I would be happy to do so. It also removes personal debt and encourages people from a diverse range of backgrounds to go to university.
Callum: Yes and I already have done. I was proud to peacefully march with my fellow students against the rise in tuition fees and cuts to higher education. A graduate tax would be a far more progressive option than the regressive tuition fee system, introduced by Labour and made ten times worse by the Tories and Lib Dems. However, a graduate contribution should not mean an end to all government support for our universities, we need investment from the government in all subject areas if our universities are to maintain academic excellence and remain competitive.
Alexander: The coalition’s plans are regressive, unfair and a kick in the teeth to students across England. A graduate tax, whilst not perfect, is a more progressive route to take and should be fought for in opposition to the coalition’s plans.
Emma: I backed Andy Burnham. After attending the Youth Hustings in London, and talking to the candidates personally, I felt I agreed with him on the most policies out of the candidates. Aspirational Socialism being the main and most broad of these, but also on specifics such as the NHS and football safe standing and ticketing policies.
Callum: I think that the leadership election and the debates which were had during it made our party better. I genuinely spent a while deciding who to vote for but ultimately chose Ed Miliband. He was the candidate who, for me, offered the best ideas for how we can to rebuild the Labour party and take us back to power.
Alexander: I think its time we move on from the leadership contest and focus on uniting under the Leadership of Ed Miliband, in answer to the question however, I backed Ed Miliband as I felt he was the candidate with the substance, the ideas, the policy and correct approach to rejuvenate and unite our party and ultimately return us to power. So far, I have not been disappointed with his performance, approach and leadership.
Emma: I am not involved in any AV campaign but am extremely interested in and have participated in the ongoing debates, but will vote No in the referendum in May. I have concluded that I feel it confuses systems and does not provide the stable government which I believe functions best. AV is far more likely to give coalitions.
Callum: I fully support the Yes to AV campaign and will be voting yes myself. However, I will not be actively campaigning on the issue as in the run up to May I will be out every day helping to return a Labour government to power in Scotland.
Alexander: I wont be campaigning on AV campaign for the referendum in May, nor am I 100% sure how I will be voting, but I am currently in my role as Chair of Labour Students Northumbria organising a debate on the issue of AV with guest speakers from both the yes and no campaign and will make a decision after the debate upon reflection of their performance and the points debated.
Emma: No, not at this present time.
Callum: I am a member of Unite the Union, the Fabians, the Co-operative Party and Labour Students. Labour’s affiliated organisations make us a stronger movement and set us apart from other political parties. I am proud to support their campaigns and objectives, in line with the wider aims of the Labour movement.
Alexander: I’m not but I admire the work they do and if elected would intend to form partnerships and work alongside them. I currently am a member of LGBT Labour, Labour Students, and until last month held a membership to the Fabian Society.
Emma: I have not been directly involved to any great extent although have participated in the online discussions and local debates. Living in Wales has given me a different perspective to the debate and I was delighted with the decision that the Assembly made with regard to student fees The role of NEC youth rep is however a national role and if elected I become involved to a much greater extent, I would use my knowledge of how Wales have managed to sustain payments of student fees as a campaign tool in order to raise awareness of how Parliament could have supported students. As the question implies, providing alternatives to the cuts goes beyond our party members and engaging with other youth is a necessity.
Callum: At my university I was involved in peaceful direct action over the issues of tuition fees. So many young people have been politicised by this coalition government and if elected I will work with other youth organisations to help campaign against the attacks on our generation. Young Labour should be an outward looking movement which seeks to involve the whole youth community in our campaigns.
Alexander: The position would enable students to see how Labour are the only party of progressive policies and how hard we as a party are fighting for their rights, by linking up in protest with students across the UK and introducing them to the Labour movement we’d increase our support amongst students and our voice as the youth of this country.
Emma: The most immediate campaign will be the referendum in Wales I will be campaigning for a Yes vote. This will involve participating on a street stall. This is a cross party issue but I can see that the main issue is raising the general public’s awareness of why voting yes is so important and indirectly why voting yes will maintain a Labour led assembly. This will immediately lead onto and incorporate to an extent the re-election campaign for John Griffiths for AM. As a welsh member, I feel it is vital we do everything we can to keep the Assembly Labour and get all our Ams re-elected. The Welsh Assembly is the most effective place we can act against oalition cuts at the minute. I am the candidate with expeience of being in a Labour-led area and have so much experience of what the alternatives are to these cuts. Both campaigns are vital.
Callum: I have recently been involved with the campaign to defend EMA, this is something I really believe in as it helps those poorest in our society and is exactly the sort of thing that Labour should be defending in this era of Tory cuts. However, asking to be the sole representative of young people in the Labour movement on the Party’s National Executive Committee must surely be one of he most important campaigns I am involved in. I understand the serious and important nature of this role and promise that if elected I will work tirelessly to make our youth movement and our party stronger.
Alexander: All the campaigns I work with, assist, and advise hold equal importance to me, I dedicate my all to everything I approach and everything I work on.
Emma: No. The UK is an individual country with its own problems. Therefore a unique solution should be worked out for itself. This includes spending, investment and any necessary borrowing. The UK has to find the solution itself. The UK could however, imitate features of systems such as the German interference in the manufacturing, which then stabilised the service and financial industries. The Australian economy also has unique features as the economy focuses on the export of commodities as oppose to manufactures. The problem with these however, is that most succesful economies are built on a reliable and efficient manufacturing system, which the UK currently lacks. Government intervention is needed.
Callum: If we want to learn anything about austerity measures and other economic models then we need to look no further the the Republic of Ireland. The economic mess that Ireland is in now was fueled by swingeing government cuts. We need to win the argument that the Tory cuts put Britain in similar danger, we need to convince people that there is an alternative and that if we cut too far, too fast then the consequences could be dire.
Alexander: Cuba is one of the most Socialist nations, as it has a mostly state-run economy, universal healthcare, government-paid education at all levels, and a number of social programs. It does not have a stock exchange. Cuba’s economic views to healthcare and education really inspire me especially with our governments recent attacks on the NHS and education cuts, Cuba proving cuts are not the only option.
