5th July - Organisation subcommittee We had an org sub meeting in which we heard from Tom Watson MP who came along to update us on the party reform progress. I gave an update on the youth review in which I talked about the fact we now have 70,000 young members, as opposed to the 20,000 a few years ago. Young Labour needs to now change to accommodate these young members as we can’t expect our old structures to work for everyone. I spoke about the questionnaire 1000 young members had filled out and the findings we had from that, the members who ran youth review sessions in their regions and those I had attended across the country. The main findings from this looked at the age range of young Labour and how that may need to be shifted to accommodate our increased members but the most resounding thing found was that young members overwhelmingly want OMOV (one member one vote) for all future NEC and youth committee elections. Something I agree is so important for engaging our young members, rather than just allowing those who can afford to attend an expensive conference being able to elect the representatives for ALL of young Labour. Myself and Chair of Young Labour Caroline Hill were elected with a mandate to bring in OMOV and that’s something we will work hard to fight for. The NEC agreed with these main points and we also talked about increased training for young members and how we can better engage with new members. This youth review is still at an early stage but I will continue to keep you updated on its progress. 12th July – Urgent NEC meeting On 12th July we were called into Labour HQ for an urgent NEC meeting. This was because a leadership election had been triggered after Angela Eagle gained the nominations to make a leadership challenge. Prior to the meeting I put out a survey to take into account young member's views before I voted on the various decisions. This survey is for me to gage young member's views, not something I was going to release after informing young members who filled it out it would be a confidential survey. I read all of the 3000 responses and I can say it was incredibly mixed with young members having varied opinions on the leadership elections. Thanks to all those that filled it out, I'll continue to do more surveys before NEC meetings as I have done in the past. I also received hundreds of emails and messages prior to the meeting and as usual I took the time to read them all. Thanks to those that sent in comradely emails, I really try to take into account young members views before I do anything. This meeting was a one item meeting, to discuss firstly the legal decision as to whether a sitting leader would be required to obtain nominations in the event of a challenge, the timetable of the leadership election and the various rules surrounding the election. 32 out of 33 members of the NEC were present, Mary Turner (GMB rep) was unable to attend due to illness and we began the meeting by wishing her well. We began with the Chair notifying us that Andy Burnham and Debbie Abrahams had requested to address the NEC to talk about a negotiation process from a third party figure between the PLP and the leader. The NEC voted to allow AB and DA to address the meeting but voted against prolonging negotiations further. Next, we went onto the first item into the agenda to talk about the rules surrounding whether a sitting leader would have to gain the required nominations in the event of a challenge. A motion was put forward to make this vote a secret ballot as NEC members spoke up about abuse and intimidation they had received prior to the vote. It was highlighted that women on the NEC in particular are targeted with such abuse including rape threats and I know I had received hundreds of emails with one informing me “there would be consequences if I voted the wrong way”. No NEC member should feel vulnerable and intimidated to vote a certain way, that’s why I voted for a secret ballot and the vote was won by 17-15. We were then reminded that the vote as to whether a sitting leader would need the required nominations was a crucial legal decision, and if the wrong decision was made in light of legal advice then the Labour Party could face prosecution. I spoke and highlighted the fact that this decision, contrary to what some thought, was a legal decision and not a factional one. We heard from QC James Goudie who gave legal advice and read through documents outlining other bits of advice. We were then able to ask questions, this debate went on for around 3 hours whilst we tried to work through the important parts of the legal advice and the interpretation of the rules. After more debate we come to a vote on whether a sitting leader would need the required percentage of nominations from MPs and MEPs to get on the ballot in the event of a leadership challenge. The NEC voted that a sitting leader would not need the required percentage of nominations in the event of a leadership challenge by 18-14. The vote itself presented a very difficult set of circumstances for members of NEC on all sides of the debate, and I believe that the protections of a secret ballot were vital. It’s a shame that a secret ballot was a necessary step, but I stand by my decision to support it, and stand in solidarity with my fellow NEC members by respecting the integrity of that secret ballot and our fears for safety. This was the first NEC meeting where I was subject to abusive and scary messages suggesting there would be ‘consequences’ if I voted the wrong way and sexually abusive messages on my personal Facebook. This was the first NEC meeting where I was ushered through the back door into the building due to protests outside. And, this was the first NEC meeting where I was concerned for the wellbeing of myself and members in the room. I am therefore standing united in solidarity with my fellow NEC members and the NEC voted to ensure the sitting leader did not have to gain the required nominations in light of a leadership challenge. We had a break before we moved on and tensions were high. I was genuinely scared for my safety before and after the meeting and it was incredibly difficult to watch NEC members breaking down in tears due to their own fears, with anonymous threats of rape online and NEC member’s home addresses and phone numbers being posted on Twitter. Another comment posted online was “if the NEC voted the wrong way then I will take out a shotgun”. All of these comments have been reported but as a 20 year old woman it doesn’t make it any less terrifying and I hope therefore members appreciate my decision to vote for a secret ballot. I post my reports every month informing young members of NEC meetings and post survey’s before every meeting so this decision was not taken lightly. Next, we looked at the timetable of the leadership elections and to ensure staff had enough time to do their job properly and were not under an undue amount of pressure we voted to have the leadership results announced in September. Then we looked at the role of registered supporters in the leadership elections. It was agreed by all that there must be a freeze date as the pressure on our staff and party last time put them under extreme pressure and stress to ensure everyone was processed on time. In light of a potential snap general election we needed to ensure this was as rigorous as possible. The NEC agreed with a freeze date and various freeze dates were discussed .We eventually compromised on a 6 month freeze date which I voted for. This is similar to all other freeze dates we have for internal elections. Finally, the NEC agreed to raise the £3 fee for registered supporters as last year we were overwhelmed with Tories and UKIP supporters joining (and even a cat) because the price to be a registered supporter was too low. It’s not right that our members felt devalued and that we had to question supporters’ commitment to the Labour Party. It was first discussed to have a fee between £12 to hundreds of pounds; myself and others voted for a compromise of £25 to become a registered supporter. This was passed. After a 7 hour meeting the NEC were all in agreement and the meeting was closed by the Chair. 18th July – Reclaim the Internet Conference I attended the Reclaim the Internet conference which is an initiative looking at the abuse women (in particular) receive online and how we can reclaim in the internet and tackle this so women feel able to state their views. We heard from fantastic speakers such as Yvette Cooper, Jess Phillips, Stella Creasy and Chris Keates. Chris is the General Secretary of teacher’s union NASWT and spoke in particular about the abuse teachers are subject to online by pupils, such as ‘rate my teacher’ where comments can be incredibly abusive. I’m really looking forward to bringing this campaign into Young Labour when looking at how we treat each other online. If you want to see more check out their website: http://www.reclaimtheinternet.com 19th July – Full NEC meeting On 19th July we had our full NEC meeting. Honouring Jo Cox We began by talking about honouring the life of Jo Cox and spoke about how we could work with her family to do this. I suggested doing a collection for refugees at conference in Jo’s name. Other suggestions were an award at conference in Jo’s name and a shield in the House of Commons. It’s important that we keep Jo’s memory alive and I’m proud that we were discussing this. Women’s Conference I raised the issue with the General Secretary that many young memebrs have contacted me about after the emergency NEC meeting which was that women’s conference (our biggest women’s gathering) may be overshadowed by the leadership announcement on the same day. This was an issue I felt incredibly strongly about as if this is ignored it will make women in our party feel undervalued and that the party doesn’t take their concerns seriously. Unfortunately, we were told the date if changed would cost the party in addition of an extra £40,000 and delegates would have to be brought up to Liverpool for an extra day incurring huge costs for the party. So this would sadly not be possible. I asked the general secretary if he would pledge to ensure he would do everything possible to ensure our women’s conference would not be overshadowed by the leadership announcement and mentioned how disappointed young women members were by this. He said he would ensure everything was done to ensure women’s conference goes ahead as normal. Under 18s Registered Supporters I then spoke about another issue that young members had brought up with me regarding the fact under 18s are unable to sign up as registered supporters and those who joined after January were therefore excluded completely. This was something I was unaware of and feel it is incredibly important to ensure 14 year olds+ are included in this leadership election. My concern was expressed around the fact that Labour party members must be 14 to join therefore I asked our general secretary why under 18s were excluded from being registered supporters. The GS outlined that this was in the rules that due to relevant checks that need to be made with regards to address, parental approval and the requirement that registered supporters were on the electoral register meant under 18s were unable to sign up as registered supporters. In future leadership elections I will push for a rule change to ensure all from the age of 14 are included in the registered supporters bracket if they so wish to be. Preparing for an early general election Jon Trickett gave a presentation about the work he has been doing with staff preparing for an early general election. Questions were raised about our policy process and how this would include our National Policy Forum. Members suggested that those who stood in 2015 should be allowed to stand again without challenge as it would be almost impossible for the NEC to manage 650 selections in the space of a few months. It was clear our strategy was being planned and I’m looking forward to hearing more on this at the next meeting. EU Referendum We had a presentation on the EU referendum. In which I raised how positive it was that the turnout for young people was much higher than expected but also how young people would be most affected by Brexit. I asked what could have been done to persuade more Labour voters to vote remain and how we can use this argument going into an early general election. The biggest issue by far was ensuring we don’t lose voters to UKIP after the exit from the EU. The Chakrabarti Report Shami Chakrabarti came along to the meeting to present her report on anti-semitism in the Labour Party to the NEC. She stressed that some of the worst examples of anti-Semitism were laced with misogyny and believes our code of conduct should be extended to include this. I expressed that many young Jewish members had contacted me and had been really disappointed with the party’s reaction to the anti-Semitism they had faced. Along with the fact that some Jewish young members don’t feel safe attending party meetings anymore. I therefore wanted to ensure steps were being taken to ensure young Jewish members feel safe and feel that their concerns were being taken seriously. This is something I will continue to fight for. 20th July - Domestic Violence Campaign One of my personal campaigns with the platform I have on Labour’s NEC is to put domestic violence on to the political agenda. 1 in 4 women suffer domestic violence at the hands of those who are supposed to love them and this in turn effects thousands of children growing up in a household where violence is present. This campaign is important to me as I was one of those children, luckily a few years ago I managed to get away from that but some aren’t so lucky. Over the next few weeks I will meet with representatives from domestic violence charities, MPs and Trade Unions to talk about how we can work together to tackle this problem and raise awareness. Whilst the Tories are cutting women’s refuges and services to women suffering from domestic violence we need to come together to fight for victims and those desperate to escape. I planned to walk 10k with Refuge on 11th September a few months ago when I had an idea to get Labour members involved so together we can raise as much money as possible for domestic violence sufferers. Therefore, I have created a ‘Team Labour’ to walk the 10k. The 10k is titled ‘Walk 4’ as it will take us across London’s 4 big bridges to highlight the fact that 1 in 4 women suffer from domestic violence. There is also a Facebook event here which I have created where you can find out how you can join our team. I’ve already put together a small team but it'd be great to see a huge representation of Labour members there supporting this cause. Please join me on 11th September, it costs £10 to enter and you can join our team by searching ‘Team Labour’ when you are registering. Any questions get in touch: [email protected] Register here: http://www.refuge.org.uk/get-involved/1012306-2/ 22nd-24th – Young Activists Academy On Friday 22nd July I set off to Nottingham for our Young Activists Academy. This was a weekend I’ve been looking forward to since March when I helped secure funding for the event at our ‘NEC funding development panel’. I fought to get this funding for this training event for young members because I know how important giving young members the skills they need to make their own path within Young Labour is. I promised in my manifesto that I would ensure young members get the training they need and I’m proud to be delivering on that. The weekend was brilliant and I’d firstly like to thank all of the amazing Labour Party staff that gave up their weekend to come along and give the training sessions. We started with a dinner on the Friday evening with Tom Watson MP and had an early night ready for the next day. On Saturday we were all up bright and early for breakfast and a packed day full of training. Each training session lasted 3 hours (with a break in the middle), we had 2 on Saturday and the final session on Sunday. Session 1: Next Generation – finding & developing young leaders Session 2: Building relationships & Capacity building Session 3: Identifying your issue & turning it into a winning campaign After these fantastic sessions were delivered we had a round up plenary session where the aim was that these young leaders who were picked to attend from applications in their region would go back and train up their own young members. All young members will be sent the powerpoints and training packs to hold their own ‘Young Activists Academy’ in their own region. This is a great way of community grassroots organising and I’m so glad the weekend was a huge success. 25th July Gavin Shuker Summer School I was asked by Gavin Shuker MP to come along and give a session to his Summer school which he holds every year for young people from his CLP. My session was about why the Labour Party needs young people and my role representing young members. It was so great to hear how they thought the Labour Party could better engage with young people and I’ll be sure to take this on board!
Meeting with the US Embassy That afternoon I was asked to go along to the US embassy to talk to them about the work I do within Young Labour and see how we can better link up in the future. It was a really interesting meeting to talk to their officers about Young Labour and hear their ideas about youth engagement.
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AuthorHere are my Monthly NEC Youth Rep reports and my full NEC meeting reports, starting from March 2016 I'll keep this updated so you know what's going on. Archives
January 2018
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