Stephanie Peacock

I am the Youth Representative on the Labour Party's NEC having been elected in 2007.

This website is just one way of keeping in touch with young members, and includes my NEC Reports and details of events I have attended.

I am always keen to hear from young members so please contact me if you have any questions or issues you would like to raise.

The NEC met throughout Conference. The Young Labour Reception was well attended and I am grateful to our speakers Yvette Cooper, Harriet Harman, Ray Collins and Glenis Wilmott as well as the Co-Op for sponsoring the reception.

Young Labour also held a fringe on “Building a Party without barriers”, speakers included MPs Emily Thornberry and Chris Bryant, Kamaljeet Jhandu from the GMB and Byron Taylor from TULO. After short contributions from the panel we held discussion groups to hear young members contributions and ideas about building a more equal party.

I attended a moving fringe event by Justice for Colombia where we heard about the awful situation facing trade unionists in Colombia and from visiting speaker Aidee Moreno, head of the Agricultural Workers Union in Colombia.

As a member of the Education Policy Commission I opened the Conference education debate, speaking about the difference the Labour Government has made across education but also the importance to continue to take bold action and ensure there is no further marketisation of higher education.

I was pleased to see that there were lots of young members and delegates in attendance at Conference this year and the fact many spoke in a variety of debates.

Young Labour Reception:
Sunday Night in the Lo Lounge Bar, Hilton Hotel, from 20:00 – 22:30 with special Cabinet guests. Hosted by Stephanie Peacock, NEC Youth Rep. Tickets available at the Party Stand.

Young Labour Fringe:
‘Building a Party without Barriers – Practical measures to diversify the next Labour generation’

With Emily Thornberry MP, Chris Bryant MP , Bryron Taylor - Director of TULO , Kamaljeet Jhandu - GMB National Race and Eqaulities Officer
Chair: Stephanie Peacock NEC Youth Rep

Tues 12:30 – 13:30 in the Edinburgh room of the Hilton Hotel

Labour Students Fringe:
‘Changing the World? The Impact of Universities and Colleges on Climate Change’ with Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Andrew Pakes, SERA and Susan Nash, National Union of Students
Wed 1 – 2 in the Edinburgh room of the Hilton Hotel

Labour Students Disco: the legendary last night disco returns on Wednesday night at Cuckoo Club just outside the secure zone, from 22:00 – late.

I also want to mention an event organised by Justice for Colombia. The fringe event- "Colombia: Alternatives to a flawed policy" will take place at lunchtime on Monday 28th September in the Alexandra Room, The Grand Hotel, Brighton.

Earlier this year I was part of a delegation to Colombia and one of the people we met while out there will be attending Labour Party Conference- Aidee Moreno- Director of the Agricultural Workers Union, will be speaking about her experiences as a trade unionist in Colombia . Other speakers include: MEP Richard Howitt, Sandra Osbourne MP and member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Tony Woodhouse, Chair of Unite Executive Council and the meeting with be chaired by Tony Lloyd MP Chair of the PLP.

I was out campaigning recently for the local by-election taking place in Wednesbury in the West Midlands. The Labour candidate is local woman Olwen Jones, there is campaigning taking place everyday and any help would be very much appreciated! If you can spare some time get in touch- polling day is the 1st October.

I attended the Women Chainmakers' Festival at the Black Country Museam on Saturday 11th September. The annual festival celebrates the success of the 1910 Chainmakers strike, led by Mary Macarthur, the women won a victory that saw their pay doubled and laid the foundations to todays Minimum Wage. Their were speeches from women trade unionists followed by a march to remember Mary Macarthur and the other women strikers.

I have written on the Progress Website about how "Backing Young Britain" must be the start not the end of the Government's efforts to help young people through the recession. You can read it here.

Young Labour's National Committee met on July 27th, the key points discussed at the meeting included:

• A campaign report was given following the Norwich North by-election and the key role that young activists played, it was agreed that mobilisation for the Glasgow by-election should begin now.
• I gave an NEC Report, with particular focus on MPs expenses and the decesions and actions the NEC have taken on the issue.
• A report was given on the recent IUSY festival and a discussion took place about Britains involvement.
• A report was given by Labour Students on their General Election camapigning strategy.
• Discussion took place about the two Young Labour events at Party Conference in Brighton: Young Labour Reception, Sunday 27th September, Lo Lounge, 20:00 – 22:30
  Young Labour Fringe meeting, Tuesday 29th September, Edinburgh Room, Hilton Hotel, 12:00 – 14:00
• A Partnership in Power update was given and Olivia Bailey highlighted the importance of continuing to campaign on Votes at 16 and outlined her plans for a series of Policy Forums to take place across the country.
• Lucy Seymour-Smith the Disabilities Officer announced her intention to create a mailing list of disabled members to offer them support with accessibility issues.
• Jamie McMahon, Vice-Chair Campaigns gave an update on the Equalisation of the Minimum Wage Campaign and circulated a response to a letter he had written to Pat McFadden.

I chaired a meeting of the Education Policy Commission on the 22nd July. The Commission heard from Minister Vernon Coaker about the Schools White Paper and some of the key measures included in it, a discussion took place about school governors and the extension of apprenticeships.

Young Labour’s National Committee met with Harriet Harman on 24 June. We discussed a range of issues, such as the challenges facing the Party politically, recent events and the upcoming by-elections. Committee members also raised the £1 youth rate and other policy issues such as the campaign on the minimum wage. Harriet Harman has agreed to meet YLNC on a quarterly basis so get in touch if you would like us to raise any issues or concerns.

An ECOSY Campaign Study Visit took place in the UK at the end of May. The agenda included a variety of workshop such as fighting the BNP and training on campaigning and mobilising local communities.

During the four days campaigning took place in Hastings, Brighton, Hove and London as well as a meeting with  General Secretary Ray Collins. I spoke about the NEC and Young Labour at a meeting with Denis MacShane in Westminster.

A big well done to both Richard Angell and Sam Tarry who organised the weekend.

You can read my report from the May meeting of the NEC here.

Young Labour's National Committee met for the first time since youth day on Monday 18th May, the key points discussed at the meeting were:

• The election of Vice Chair Campaigns took place, two candidates self nominated Tom Copley and Jamie McMahon and Jamie was elected.
• Each member of the committee was asked to outline their priorities for the year ahead, I spoke about the extension of the £1 youth rate, sharpened Young Labour campaign focus and campaign training for young members and continuing the fight for a full time youth officer. There were lots of other ideas put forward, including,
• by-monthly campaign seminars and workshops
• increased women’s inclusion and representation
• better web presence and improvement of the use of new media.
• Strengthen regional Young Labour groups and ensure Young Labour does not become London-centric
• Organisation of regular policy forums and continue to campaign on policy including Votes at 16 campaign and for the equalisation of the minimum wage.
• If you have any thoughts or ideas please get in touch.
• I gave an NEC update from the last meeting and events I have attended recently.
• A full discussion about the feedback from Youth Day will take place at the next meeting but members can fill in a feedback form on membersnet with any comments or suggestions.
• An update was given about the preparations for the Ecosy Campaign Exchange and plans for the IUSY Festival.

I recently attended a great event organised by London Labour Students and LYL. “Talking Politics with Eddie Izzard” is part of a series across the country was a great opportunity for young activists and young people interested in politics to hear discussion from Eddie Izzard with two Cabinet Ministers, Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell and Children, Schools and Families Minister Ed Balls. There were lots of questions on a variety of topics and free Party membership for those non-members who enjoyed the event and want to get more involved.

The reform of Young Labour has finally been put into action over the last few months and finishing at Youth Conference the new committee has now been elected. I want to congratulate everyone on being elected and I am really looking forward to working with them over the coming years.

Sam Tarry- Chair

Olivia Bailey- Vice Chair Policy

Equalities Officers

Marie Birchall- Women's Officer

Tulip Siddiq- BAME Officer

Lucy Seymour Smith- Disabilities Officer

Kevin Peel- LGBT Officer

Affiliate Reps

James Anthony- trade union rep

Richard Angell- trade union rep

Dan Carden- trade union rep

Thomas Gardiner- trade union rep

Joe Sherry Labour Students

Helen Gibson Labour Students

Tom Christian- Labour Students

Kate Grocutt Young Fabians

Regional Reps:

Jamie McMahon- East Midlands

Owen Grey- Eastern

Tom Copley- London

Georgia Elliot- Northern

Kate Fry- North West

Luke Sproule- Northern Ireland

Emma Gillan- Scotland

Tom Millar- South Eastern

Rebecca Gordge- South Eastern

Rachel Shaw- Wales

Liam Preece- West Midlands

Joe Riches- Yorkshire

I am really pleased to have been re-elected to represent all three sections of the youth movement and I will make sure all sections are represented on YLNC.

Youth Conference 2009 took place in Gillingham this weekend. I thought the day went really well, with a great turnout we heard from a range of speakers and saw the reform of Young Labour put into action.

Ed Milliband spoke to Conference as well as holding a manifesto surgery so people could feed in their ideas.

Conference also heard from Caroline Flint and Glenis Wilmott on Europe, Harriet Harman and I chaired a Q&A with Ray Collins, General Secretary of the Party, Harriet Harman, Wes Streeting, President of NUS and Dawn Butler the Party’s Vice Chair for Youth.

Equalities caucuses took place to elect a Women, LGBT, Disabilities and BAME representatives. And there were of course hustings for the NEC Youth position and Chair of Young Labour, both positions were elected unopposed. I want to congratulate Sam Tarry on being elected Chair and I look forward to working with him over the coming two years.

Before Conference closed John Prescott held a GoFourth Rally and we then went out campaigning for local MP Paul Clark.

Nominations closed for the position of NEC Youth Rep on the 6th March. I have been informed that I am the only validly nominated candidate, the nominations I received included 70 CLPs 9 Labour Clubs, 8 Young Labour Groups, 1 Socialist Society and 7 trade unions.

Trade unions & affiliates: Community, GMB, TSSA, UCATT, Unison, Unite the Union, USDAW, Socialist Health Society.

Young Labour groups: Chorley & South Ribble Young Labour, East Yorkshire Young Labour, London Young Labour, Nuneaton Young Labour, South Yorkshire Young Labour, Wales Young Labour, West Midlands Young Labour.

University Labour clubs: Aberdeen, Birmingham, Leeds, Leicester, LSE, Manchester, Manchester Met, Nottingham, Swansea.

CLPs: Bath, Birmingham Edgbaston, Birmingham Hall Green, Birmingham Selly Oak, Blaydon, Bognor Regis & Littlehampton, Bracknell, Bradford East, Bradford South, Bristol East, Bristol North West, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Chelsea & Fulham, Chorley, City of Durham, Corby, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Croydon South, Delyn, Dudley North, Edinburgh North & Leith, Faversham & Mid, Kent, Finchley & Golders Green, Gillingham & Rainham, Hackney North & Stoke Newington, Harborough, Harlow, Harrogate & Knaresborough, Hertford & Stortford, Hornsey & Wood Green, Jarrow, Kingston and Surbiton, Kingswood, Leeds North West, Lewisham. Deptford, Manchester Gorton, Manchester Withington, Mansfield, Newcastle under Lyme, North East Herts, North Herefordshire, North Shropshire, Norwich Labour Party, Nuneaton, Pendle, Poole, Preseli Pembrokeshire, Scunthorpe, Sheffield Central, Sherwood, South Cambridgeshire, South Ribble, South West Hertfordshire, Staffordshire Moorlands, Stoke on Trent South, Stourbridge, Streatham, Sutton & Cheam, The Wrekin, Tiverton & Honiton, Tooting, Tower Hamlets Borough Labour Party,Vauxhall, Walsall North, Walthamstow, Weaver Vale, Westminster North, Wigan, Winchester.

I want to thank everyone for their help and support, I am looking forward to working hard on the NEC over the next two years and helping to continue to improve the youth movement.

Young Labour's National Committee met on March 23rd.

• We discussed preparations for the National Youth Day that is taking place on the 18th April, including the agenda for the day, speakers and workshops that will be taking place.
• I gave an NEC report covering the issues that had been covered at the January meeting of the NEC and other events I have attended recently.
• A report was given from different regions about what events and camapaign days have taken place.
• Vote 2009 was looked at, including what role Young Labour can play.
• LYL reported about the fact they had advertised the £1 membership rate on facebook with a successful outcome.
• An update was given on the preparations for the Ecosy event that is being held in the UK in May.
• It was concluded that the recent Web Chat with Tessa Jowell went well, a range of questions were put to her including the Olympics, women in politics and apprenticeships.
• I thanked those who will be leaving YLNC due to the fact the reform of YL comes into place next month, in paticular Richard Angell who steps down as Chair of Young Labour for everything he has done over the last two years, he has worked incredibly hard and been key in transforming Young Labour. 

I recently attended the NEC Committee Meetings, including WREC and Org Sub. A number of issues were discussed including:

• A report was given by Deputy Leader Harriet Harman MP who spoke about the upcoming Equality Bill.
• There was a summary about preparations for the Equality Events taking place in the near future including the National Youth Day, Women’s Summit and the BAME Labour Biennial Conference.
• There was a discussion about Vote 2009 and Annual Conference.
• Reports were given including the Ethnic Minority Taskforce Report and the Vice Chair Faith Report.
• A discussion and votes were taken on Parliamentary Selections.
  

The Education Policy Commission met at the beginning of March with Ministers Jim Knight and David Lammy.

We discussed the Commission's work for the current year. There was also a general discussion covering a range of issues from child protection and children's services, the social mobility white paper and testing in schools.

I have signed LGBT Labour's Petition to support Clause 58 as part of the Coroners and Justice Bill that will outlaw homophobic hate speech.

The legislation in Clause 58 promises to outlaw speech that calls for the rape and murder of lesbian and gays, and that encourages the bullying of vulnerable children in schools.

Last time these proposals went before the House of Commons only five Conservative MPs backed them – and when the legislation came to committee on March 3rd, the Conservatives unanimously voted against it.

Sign LGBT Labour's petition and find out more infomation about what you can do at www.lgbtlabour.org.uk/clause58

I have written an article on the help that is needed to support young people through the economic downturn. You can read it here on the Progress Website.

I travelled up to Manchester to North West Young Labour's Big Weekend. Around seventy young people attended what was a great weekend. Speakers included Hazel Blears and James Purnell, there was also policy discussion workshops and camapign training followed by a film and pizza. On the Sunday there was a Go Forth Rally with John Prescott and campaigning in Bolton.

I thought it was a really fantastic event, thanks and congrats to all of the NWYL committee who organised such a good event, I really think we should try and hold similar events in every region.

You can read my report from the January meeting of the NEC here.

There will be a one day youth event held on the 18^th April 2009 at Gillingham Football Club. Young members can go as delegates from Young Labour Groups, CLPs, Labour Clubs or Trade Unions as well as Visitors. Young members have been sent registration forms but you will also be able to register for the event via membersnet and the deadline is the 6^th March.

It should be a fun and interesting day, with policy discussion and key note speakers.

Elections for Chair of Young Labour, NEC Youth Rep and Young Labour Equalities Reps will also take place on the day and details of how to stand or nominate for these positions are as follows:

Elections for NEC Youth Representative will take place on the 18^th April, by an electoral college of a third Young Labour & CLP delegates, third Labour Students, third trade union delegates. Those eligible to stand must be under 23 on the day of election and hold three supporting nominations. Nominations are open now and will close on the 6^th March.

The Chair of Young Labour will be elected by Young Labour & CLP delegates on the 18^th April. Those eligible to stand must be under 27 on the day of election and be either a YL Regional Rep, Policy Rep, Equalities Rep, trade union or other affiliate member of YLNC. Nominations will be self nomination on the day.

Four Equalities Officers will be elected by self defining caucuses on the 18^th April, these include LBGT, Women, BAME and Young Member with disabilities.

Regional Representatives on YLNC will be elected in every region by a OMOV ballot of all the young members in that region. The deadline for self nomination for regional reps if Friday 13^th February 10am and candidates must be under 27 on the 13^th February. Ballot papers will then go out on the 18^th February and the ballot will close on Friday 20^th March.

Details of how to stand for or nominate in these elections and the ones have been sent out to CLPs and young members.

Young Labour’s National Committee met on Monday 26^th January.

• We discussed the youth events that took place at conference and how these could be improved. I highlighted that the NEC have recently agreed to give every CLP with more than 30 young members an extra Youth Conference delegate.
• The forthcoming elections to YLNC following the reform of Young Labour.
• Ideas for the agenda, speakers and workshops to take place at the National Youth Day in April.
• Discussed the “My Life My Say” resources to engage young people.
• Regional Review of Young Labour events taking place across the country.
• I gave a report of recent NEC meetings.

I went along to speak to Putney CLP. Stuart King Labour's PPC organised a special "Politics & Pizza" evening for young members and new local activists. I gave a short NEC report and there was a good discussion (& lots of pizza) on a range of issues. I thought the evening was a great success and a good way to get young members involved in the local party.

I spent the weekend at Labour Students Council in London. The event was a great success and well attended. Council heard from a range of speakers including Hazel Blears, James Purnell and Richard Howitt MEP. A number of policy areas were debated and I spoke on the importance of campaigning to equalise the minimum wage.

I travelled up to Glasgow for Scottish Youth and Student Conference from the 28th- 30th of November. The event was kicked off by a social on the Friday night, we then took part in the STUC anti-racism march and rally Conference then heard from a range of speakers including Catherine Stihler MEP and Jim Murphy MP. I gave an NEC update to Conference on what has happened recently on the NEC and within Young Labour.

I travelled up to Glenrothes for the Labour Students campaign weekend where the feeling on the doorstep was positive and there are lots of young activits working hard. If you are available to help at any point do get in touch!

I attended the Keep the Promise Rally on Saturday the 4th October along with thousands of others to call on the Government to keep to the 2010 target and end child poverty.

On Thursday 2nd October I attended an event organised by Justice for Colombia with a Colombian human rights lawyer German Romero who works with the Inter-Church Justice & Peace Commission in Colombia. He spoke about the struggle that the Commission's lawyers and human rights defenders face, having been threatened and, earlier this month one member abducted by paramilitaries.

At Party Conference in Manchester this year the NEC met more than once to deal with the general organisation and logistics of conference. There was a packed agenda for young members at Conference this year.

• The Young Labour Reception was a great success, Gordon Brown spoke along with Andy Burnam and Vice Chair Youth Dawn Butler. Other Ministers attended the event along with hundreds of delegates including Hazel Blears and David Milliband.
• The Young Labour Fringe was centred around the theme of the "National Year of Reading", I chaired the event which heard from Secretary of State Ed Balls, Honor Wilson (Director National Year of Reading) and Jonathan Douglas (Director National Literacy Trust). We had a lively debate and Young Labour have decided to look into how we can encourage members to help young people with reading in schools.
• Labour Students held two very successful events, a Fringe on winning for Students and the famous late night Party.
• I was very pleased that the policy of "Votes at 16" that the NPF youth Reps worked hard on at the NPF won support of conference to be included in the next manifesto following a debate where many delegates spoke in favour.
• I chaired the Education Policy Commission Seminar with almost all the Ministers from the Department for Childrens Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on the panel, where there was an interesting and lively discussion.

On Wednesday 17th September I chaired an event with two visiting student leaders from Zimbabwe. The event "Zimbabwe: New era, new challenges" was organised by ACTSA in conjunction with Young Labour and NUS.

The President and Vice-President of the Zimbabwe National Students' Union Clever Bere and Brilliant Dube spoke about the current situation in Zimbabwe, their involvement in the student movement and the daily struggles that the Zimbabwian people face.

Also on the panel was Tony Dykes, Director of ACTSA and Labour MP Andrew Gwynne, who spoke about the historic deal made this week in Zimbabwe and the support and solidarity people in the UK can give. It was a really interesting and well attended event with a detailed Q&A session covering a range of issues.

You can read my report from the September 2008 NEC meeting here.

I attended the Women Chainmakers Festival at the Black Country museum, which once again celebrated the success of the 1910 Women Chainmakers strike, which saw the Chainmakers of Cradley Heath earn the right to a minimum wage which more than doubled their pay and laid the foundations for today’s National Minimum Wage. Local people and trade unionists heard speeches and marched for the Chainmakers.

Young Labour & Labour Students invites you to join us in welcoming our partners from ZINASU (the Zimbabwean national students union), for a special question and answer session on the 17th September from 6pm-8pm.

This event is a rare opportunity to speak to student activists about the current situation in Zimbabwe, to hear their stories and demonstrate the importance of the partnership between Young Labour in the UK and activists in Zimbabwe.

Please join us in what will prove to be a insightful and moving evening at Labour Party Headquarters in 39 Victoria St, London.

This delegation has been organised by Young Labour, in partnership with NUS and ACTSA. For more information on the event or how you can help ZINASU please contact me at stephaniepeacock@gmail.com

I have been out campaigning a few times in the Plumstead by-election following the sad death of Councillor Kanta Patel.

It is important we work hard to keep this seat Labour and elect hard working candidate Matthew Morrow. Campaigning is taking place regularly, if you are interested in helping out contact michaelstanworth@hotmail.com  

Young Labour is celebrating the fact that Labour's National Policy Forum recently endorsed votes at 16. Young members of the NPF argued that lowering the voting age to 16 will give young people more of a voice and a stake in their communities, and will help tackle disengagement in politics amongst young people.

Votes at 16 also gives young people a chance to cast a vote in support of Labour's proud record of investment in youth services, schools and in tackling youth unemployment - at a time when these services matter most to young people.

Labour is taking this bold step to empower young people, but the battle isn't won yet. YLNC has been working hard to publicise this victory, we have sent a campaign pack to all MPs and email to every young member as Votes at 16 must still be ratified by annual conference - and we need your help to make sure they do.

You can click here and join our campaign - and send an email to everyone you know telling them to do the same!

By clicking here you can access a campaign pack with helpful articles, petitions and surveys to gather support for votes at 16.

Labour’s policy-making body the National Policy Forum met at Warwick University last weekend. The forum is made up of representatives from local CLPs, trade unions the Government and PLP.

The three days at Warwick were the culmination of the Partnership in Power policy making process. There has been widespread engagement from across the Party in the process with thousands of amendments submitted. A day was spent on amending the documents, followed by a day of workshops and then voting. NPF representatives discussed their detailed proposals with Government Ministers with the aim of finding a consensus position.

Some of the key policy decisions included:

·        The NPF Youth Reps campaigned for a clear manifesto commitment for votes at 16. The Government agreed to support a review of the situation but the issue went to a vote and was overwhelmingly supported. I want to say well done to all the youth reps for their hard working campaigning on the issue over the weekend. I think it is fantastic that we were able to lobby the Government on this important issue and win the vote.

·        Universal offer of support and advice to 18-25 year olds (with less than 2 A levels) who want to study or train.

·        Redundancy package – increasing redundancy pay and looking at skills and training package to re-enter the jobs market.

·        There will also be the introduction in 2010 of the right to request time off for training which will cover 20 million workers.

·         It was agreed the adult rate of the minimum wage should be introduced at 21 and not 22. I support a complete end to age differentials in the minimum wage but this change is a good step in the right direction.

·         Tips will no longer count towards the minimum wage.

·        It was agreed that unpaid parental leave for parents of children up to 16, beyond the current age of five, should be introduced.

·        The NPF voted in favour of compulsory real fur labels.

·        There was support for health check-ups for everyone as part of a shift to a preventive NHS.

·        The NPF voted to support a wholly elected House of Lords against the recommendation of a partially elected chamber.

·        Encourage local authorities to copy Hull City Council’s free school meals pilot.

·         Anti-social behaviour squad to help communities target persistent offenders.

You can read my report from the July meeting of the NEC here.

Last weekend I went along to the annual JFC bbq, there was live music as well as speakers.

If you want to learn more about the situation in Colombia and the work of Justice for Colombia you can visit www.justiceforcolombia.org

I chaired the Education Policy Commission, speakers included Schools Minister Jim Knight and Secretary of State John Denham. The main topic of discussion was the Education & Skills Bill. Jim Knight talked about a range of issues including National Challenge to improve the GCSE results of under performing schools, the transfer of funding and responsibility for the delivery of 16-18 education as well as expanding the capacity of Children's Trust. John Denham spoke about the statutory basis for the apprenticeship programme, a demand-led adult based skills system as well as the strengthening of workplace skills training.

A special young members Weekend Conference package has been announced, young members can attend Labour’s Annual Conference in Manchester on the Saturday and Sunday for £45 or £25 for just one day. The Young Labour Reception is to be held on the Saturday of Conference and a Young Labour fringe on the Sunday. The deadline for pass applications is the 31^st July, go to membersnet for more information.

On Sunday I travelled up to Oxford to attend the Labour Club BBQ. The weather was lovely and sunny and it was a well attended event not just by club members but by Labour Students who had been out campaigning in Henley.

I spent the weekend before Polling Day campaigning in Crewe and Nantwich for the by-election. It was an incredibly disappointing result for the Labour Party but Tamsin Dunwoody along with the many hundreds of activists worked really hard.

On Saturday 17^th May Young Labour, Labour Students along with Unite held the next of their “Together we are Stronger” events in Manchester. There was a good turnout and lively discussion, speaker Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP spoke about a range of issues, including elections, engaging with young people and help for first time buyers and attacking the Tories. She was fantastic and received a warm welcome. Following the event we travelled to Crewe to campaign for Labour.

Following the sad death of Gwyneth Dunwoody MP, there will be a by-election in the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich. The local Labour Party has selected Tamsin Dunwoody, Gwyneth's daughter, as Labour's candidate in this by-election.

The by-election will be held on 22nd May 2008. Labour Students and young members from across the country will be campaigning in Crewe throughout the next few weeks. Come up whenever you can - there'll always be a friendly face and the chance to campaign and win for Labour whilst meeting fellow activists and younger members from across the UK.

Labour Students and Young Labour are organising a special campaign weekend on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th of May, if you able to come and help please contact me on 07962228280.

On Wednesday 16^th April I attended Unite and Labour Students “Together we are stronger Event” in the West Midlands, one of several being held across the country bringing together young trade unionists, Labour Party members and Labour Students. We watched a special DVD produced by Unite and heard from Ruth Smeeth PPC for Burton. After a Q&A activists phoned young trade union members about the upcoming local elections.

I travelled to Blackpool last week to help Labour Students at NUS Conference.

I was there to support our amazing Presidential Candidate Wes Streeting. I am so delighted that Wes was elected standing on his record with a fantastic mandate, I think he will be an excellent and inspirational leader of NUS.

I also want to congratulate, Katie Curtis who was recently elected Women’s Officer at NUS Women’s Conference, and the three successful block candidates, Ed Marsh, Susan Nash and Hollie Williams as well as Nicola Heaton who joins Steering Committee. I think they will make a very good team driving forward the NUS over the coming year.

Unite & Labour Students are holding a series of ‘Together We’re Stronger’ Regional Event's accross the country the next one is in the West Midlands on Wednesday 16th April 6pm-9pm.

Unite is keen to find out what issues are a priority for young and student members, your views on the key political developments of the last decade and what you think we should be calling on the Labour Government to change. The union is working towards building an active partnership so that we can better deliver with Labour for our members.

The event will bring together youth and student union members, young Labour members and Labour Students. The guest speaker will be Tom Watson MP and a drinks reception will follow the campaign workshop and phone bank.

Come along to find out more about the work of the union and the Labour Party, pick up campaigning tips and join with colleagues to canvass young members in the region.

The event will take place at Terry Duffy House, West Bromwich, West Midlands. If you would like to attend the event, please RSVP by Monday 14th April. Email hannah.blythyn@unitetheunion.com or text / phone 07980 237694, giving your name, organisation and contact details. Places are limited so you're advised to let us know as soon as possible if you want to come along.

The issue of Colombia was raised at the NEC and I along with other members of the NEC signed a letter to the Prime Minister expressing concern about recent comments made by Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells in relation to the situation in Colombia. Mr Howells had accused Justice for Colombia, a trade union backed organisation of supporting the FARC - a Guerrilla army. In responding to concerns Gordon produced a letter written from Kim Howells to Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC, stating that the regretted the way his comments were interpreted and that he does not believe that JFC supports the FARC.

The NEC met on Monday 10 March to appoint the Labour Party’s new General Secretary. Every member of the NEC was in attendance including Gordon Brown and there were three candidates for the post.

I voted for Mike Griffiths, Political Officer of Unite-Amicus and former Chair of the NEC, as I felt he had the necessary broad range of skills, political leadership and confidence of the wider Party to do the job successfully. A key factor in my decision to vote for Mike was his long-standing commitment to and support for the youth movement and his pledge to continue that if elected General Secretary.

Mike was narrowly defeated and the NEC elected David Pitt-Watson as General Secretary. I wish him well in carrying out this important job.

Following the launch of the consultation into the reform of Young Labour with a series of events having already taken place across the country I am pleased to report that the reform document has been sent out to CLPs and affiliates so that everyone can feed in their opinions and ideas concerning the future of Young Labour. The consultation will close on the 30th June.

As part of the “Hope not Hate” Weekend of Action against the BNP that took place across London I was out campaigning at Victoria Station on Friday where we distributed hundreds of Searchlight magazines. It is really important that we get out and campaign against the BNP in the coming weeks to make sure they do not get a seat on the GLA.

I spent this weekend in Birmingham for Labour’s Spring Conference and I was pleased to see so many young activists there. It was an interesting weekend with a range of high profile speakers. I chaired a Q&A with Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP as part of Labour Students Conference as well as speaking in a training session "Involving young women in politics".

Labour Students Conference, which took place at the same time, was very successful. They held a range of events including a “Labour in the Community” event cleaning graffiti in the Hall Green area of the city. I want to congratulate Sarah Mulholland, Matt Strong and Alan Scobbie who have been elected to the Labour Students office along with everyone else who was elected to serve on Labour Students National Committee, I think they will do an excellent job.

I travelled to Eastbourne on Sunday 24^th February to speak at the Unite T&G Young Members Conference. I spoke about my role as NEC Youth Rep and how the youth sections of the Labour Party can work more closely with young members. I was happy to talk about a range of issues with young Unite members from across the country.

I attended a TULO reception in Westminster the night before the Private Members Bill was debated in the House of Commons.

There are 1.4 million agency workers in the UK, many of whom do not receive equal treatment and basic employment rights. A considerable number of agency workers are women, young people and migrants receiving low wages and poor terms and conditions.

I was very pleased that the Bill passed its Second Reading and I really hope that the Government will support the legislation and deliver the Warwick Agreement pledge on this issue.

I attended the Education Policy Commission, Ed Balls and his ministerial team were in attendance and responded to what was a wide ranging discussion. There was a discussion on the Government’s recently published Children’s Plan, various issues raised including family intervention projects, Sure Start and the difference it can make as well as the impact the Children’s Plan will have on children and the wider community.

There was then a discussion on raising the education and training age, with a special presentation from representatives from the NUS concerns raised included the compulsion element of the proposal. However, the advantages of expanding opportunity to all and making sure that young people are well qualified were widely welcomed.

The last day for registration for this year’s Spring Conference in Birmingham is 1st February- you can sign up online at membersnet.

The focus of this years conference is Women, Local Government and Europe. But there will be some special events for young delegates and Labour Students Conference is taking place at the same time so there should be plenty to go to for young members.

Youth Events at Conference:

• Young Activist campaigning in a key seat in Birmingham Friday 29th from 10.30am- 12.30pm.
• A special seminar on involving young women in politics, Saturday 2-3pm.
• Young Councillor Roundtable- open to all Association of Labour Councillors under 35, Saturday 6.15-7.15pm

I attended Labour Students National Council which was held in London over the weekend of the 15^th and 16^th of December with a packed agenda. Speakers included Steven Pound MP, Vicky Foxcroft from Unite the Union, James Purnell MP and Ed Milliband MP. There were policy workshops, motion debates and a controversial debate on extending the 20 day detention limit. Phone canvassing took place on both days and the event was a great success.

I am very excited to announce that the new Young Labour website has been launched. The website will hopefully provide useful information for activists across the country. Visit www.younglabour.org.uk to find information about Young Labour, how it works, the issue of the month, details of future Young Labour events and more!

The Young Labour Toolkit is now available, it will hopefully prove to be a useful resource for young activists wanting to learn more about Young Labour and how to become involved. It is available to download at www.labour.org.uk/membersnet and there are also some printed copies of the Toolkit which are being sent to Regional Offices- contact me if you would like a copy.

On Friday the 7^th December the first event of its kind was held, bringing together CLP Youth Officers and key young activists from across the country for an interesting and productive afternoon. The event aimed to provide an introduction to Young Labour, how to get involved and the resources available for young activists.

The event was opened by Labour’s Vice-Chair for Youth Dawn Butler MP. Richard Angell, Chair of Young Labour and myself gave a presentation on how Young Labour works before taking part in a Q&A session. Three discussion groups were held focussing on- “Organising events” “Working with Trade Unions” “Campaigning on issues”. To close the day Labour Students gave a presentation on how the different sections of the youth movement can work together effectively. I want to thank everyone who came along and made the day a great success.

The National Policy Forum met on Saturday 1^st December. Gordon Brown addressed the delegates expressing his anger over recent events and reiterating the need to look at party funding before answering a wide range of questions from NPF members.

Policy workshops then took place to consider the important policy issues were referred back to the NPF from annual conference under the new policy making structures. I attended the Equality and Equal pay workshop, and raised the need to look at the issue of age differentials in the minimum wage which unfairly discriminate against young workers. Later I attended the Education and Skills workshop where we had a discussion on the government’s plans to reform the education system and raise the education leaving age to eighteen.

I travelled to Hull on Saturday 24^th November to speak at a meeting of young labour activists, members came from all over including Sheffield, Bradford, Doncaster, Hull as well as members of the East and South Yorkshire Young Labour groups. I spoke about my work on the NEC and the national situation within Young Labour, as well as answering a range of questions on involving young people in politics, partnership in power, campaigning and the reform of Young Labour. There was then a wide ranging discussion on the reform of Young Labour and some brief remarks from Diana Johnson MP who kindly attended the event.

I attended an event held in the Houses of Parliament organised by Justice for Colombia to raise awareness of the situation in the country. Colombia is the most dangerous place in the world to be a member of a trade union. Over recent years forced displacement has increased, extra-judicial executions have gone up, the numbers of political prisoners in Colombian jails has soared and more trade unionists are being murdered each year. The speakers talked about their experiences of visiting Colombia and the need to end British Military aid to the country. If you want to learn more about the situation in Colombia and the work of Justice for Colombia visit www.justiceforcolombia.org

On Friday 7^th December myself and Dawn Butler MP, Party Vice-Chair for Youth have co-ordinated a meeting at for all youth officers under 27 and key young activists so that we all have the chance to:

• meet with each other.
• learn more about the structures and support Young Labour can give you.
• develop your campaign techniques.
• discuss the way we communicate with and campaign for young people.
• share best practice.

This meeting is set to take place at 2pm on Friday 7^th December at the Media Centre, Labour Party Head Office, 39 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0HA.

If you wish to attend this event, please register via Labour Membersnet by logging on to labour.org.uk/membersnet and clicking on the ‘Diary of Events’ tab. The event itself will be free to attend – the Labour Party will not be able to subsidise travel costs, so please do get in contact with your local CLP secretary to see what help your constituency party can offer.

It was nice to see so many new members at London Young Labour’s Parliamentary Reception. I was pleased to speak at the event about the new resources we have for Young Labour and what the Government has done for young people since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister. MPs Dawn Butler, Sadiq Khan and Andy Slaughter spoke about the important role young activists play in the Labour Party.

Young people under 27 can now join the Labour Party for just a £1, download the new form here!

Labour Students held their annual Political Weekend with policy discussions and guest speakers. Ed Balls, the Children, Schools and Families Secretary spoke along with MP John Mann, Jonathan Ashworth from the Number 10 Political Office, a speaker from Oxfam and NEC member Ellie Reeves. I had the honour of doing the famous Saturday night quiz and there was of course the late night Party!

A group of Labour Students visited Evelyn Hone College, Lusaka, Zambia where they met with a group of sabbatical officers. The College has 4000 students and a chronically under-resourced library. Labour Students have therefore organised a book drive to collect unwanted and unneeded textbooks to send over to Evelyn Hone College. It is hoped that the project will run until the New Year to give Students Unions the chance to collect as many books as possible. Pictured are Labour Students with the hundreds of books that people brought to Political Weekend from Labour Clubs across the country.

On Friday 2 November I went along to speak to Unison’s young members forum.

I spoke about my work on the NEC over the last eight months including what issues the NEC have dealt with, the events I have attended and the work I have done with young people.

I also answered questions on how the Labour Party can work more closely with young trade unionists, as well as the Scottish elections, public-sector pay and how the Labour Party’s policy making process works.

I attended a lobby of Parliament organized by the T&G section of Unite the Union. The event was organised to raise concerns about the age differential in the minimum wage and speakers included Katy Clark MP, Jack Dromey, Deputy General Secretary of T&G, Wes Streeting, NUS Vice-President Education and myself.

I spoke about how it is important not to forget how far we’ve come on the issue of the minimum wage. Wages of £2 an hour used to be the norm for thousands of people and today it is now something of the past, millions of people have seen a year on year pay rise and thanks to the work of trade unions, MPs, and youth reps on the National Policy Forum we now have a minimum wage for 16-17 year olds – showing that our policy process can work, and produce effective policies that make a real difference to young people.

But although we have achieved a lot it is not enough. Age discrimination is simply not fair: everyone should be entitled to the same wage for doing the same job. We should give the same level of protection to all workers, no matter how old or young they are.

MPs, trade unionists, party members, Young Labour and Labour Students – need to work together on a new campaign to end age discrimination in the minimum wage. Our Parliamentarians need to make sure it is raised in the Commons and not a forgotten issue and we should make sure that Party members put it on the government’s agenda by raising it at the National Policy Forum and work towards securing an agreement to abolish the age differentials in the minimum wage just as we did four years ago on establishing a rate for our youngest workers.

On Monday 29 October I attended a Parliamentary Q&A event organised by Hackney Young Labour for young people in Hackney. Local MPs Dianne Abbott and Meg Hillier were joined by MPs Ed Milliband, Sadiq Khan and David Lammy to discuss 'Young people and politics: challenges and opportunities'.

There was a really good attendance from young people in Hackney and Stoke Newington and a wide ranging discussion on politics, issues that young people are concerned about and what affects young people in Hackney.

Leicester Labour Club organised a special “Ladies in Red” event for women members, kindly sponsored by the GMB.

There was a really good turnout from students at Leicester, local Party members and councillors. Everyone wore red and enjoyed cocktails and cake.

I was pleased to be one of the guest speakers for the evening and spoke about how although over the last ten years Labour has done a lot for women - introducing domestic violence legislation, the minimum wage and extending maternity leave - there is still a lot to be done.

While there is a gender pay gap of 38% for part-time workers and only 20% of MPs are women it is important that we get more women involved in politics and the Labour Party.

I am very pleased to be able to announce that the Labour Party has agreed to produce a new website for Young Labour.

It will hopefully prove to be a useful tool of communication, with details about Young Labour and our activities. If you have any ideas or suggestions about what you would like to see included on the website or any photos you think may look good just get in touch.

The website will be launched along with the new £1 membership rate for all under 27s at an event with special guests on Friday 7th December.

The consultation into the reform of Young Labour was announced earlier this year. Everyone should have received the new national Young Labour e-update with details of the consultation events that are taking place across the country. The events aim to give young activists the chance to share their ideas about how Young Labour can be improved, how it should be run and what activities it should be holding.

The first was held in the West Midlands on the Sunday 14th October but there are more to come over the next month:

East Midlands- Leicester University 6pm Friday 26th October.

Scotland- Glasgow, Scottish Youth & Student Conference Saturday 3rd November.

London- Council Chamber, Camden Town Hall 12pm Saturday 17th November.

Yorkshire- Unison Building, Quay Street, Hull 3pm Saturday 24th November- with Diana Johnson MP. (venue tbc)

If you can’t make it to one of the events above you can download a consultation form here.

The Party will be contacting CLPs about the consultation to ensure as many people as possible are given the chance to feed in their opinions. Following the consultation it is hoped we can take a proposal for the reform of Young Labour to next year’s Party Conference so that the changes can be implemented in time for the next Youth Conference.

I attended the NEC's Women Race and Equalities committee on Tuesday 16th October where a range of topics were discussed.

Harriet Harman MP raised the need for human trafficking to be moved up the political agenda. There was a discussion on the different events that took place at Annual Conference including the Equalities Reception, Women’s Reception and very successful Youth event. We looked at the new Diversity strategy that is being rolled out and I'm pleased that it is to include a new campaign pack for local parties to work with women voters - it is due to be available for download on Mpurls in the coming weeks. There is also a Labour Party disability access and provision guide that is to be sent to all CLPs and should hopefully prove to be a useful resource.

I was pleased to go along to London Young Labour's AGM which was held in Central London on Saturday 6 October. I spoke briefly about my work as NEC Youth Rep over the last six months and about the new resources that have been secured for Young Labour.

I was very impressed to see such a fantastic turnout of young members from across the capital. LYL have a talented and enthusiastic executive who I am sure will work hard over the coming year.

At Labour Party Conference Young Labour held a very successful reception. A packed marquee of young activists heard from guest speakers Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Alastair Campbell and Dawn Butler MP.

At the event I was delighted to be able to launch three new resources for Young Labour:

• The new Young Labour Toolkit for young members which will hopefully prove to be a valuable resource. With details of how Young Labour works, how to organise an event and best practice stories from members across the country along with lots of other useful information, the guide will be available to be downloaded from Mpurls in the near future.
  
  
• Every young member should have received the new Young Labour quarterly e-update. The first edition was sent out a few weeks ago and it will be sent out every few months to help keep activists up to date with what is going on around the country.
  
  
• A special membership rate for young members. I was pleased to be able to announce a renewed commitment from the Party along with a special form for young people to join the Party for just a £1. I am really pleased to announce further good news - at the end of Conference the NEC agreed to extended this special rate to cover all young people under 27 wishing to join Young Labour. I spoke enthusiastically in favour of this move at the NEC and it will shortly be put into action.

Like hundreds of activists I spent the week in Bournemouth for Labour’s Party Conference.

There were wide ranging policy debates with some excellent speeches from both Ministers and activists. On Conference floor resolutions were referred to the National Policy Forum for further debate and action, as the new Party Reform measures were voted through overwhelmingly.

I was pleased to be able to move the Education debate. I spoke of the enormous progress that we have seen in education over the last ten years but also about the fact that there is still a lot more to do. As well as stating how important it is that students are not put off going to University by cost, I made clear that there should be no attempt to lift the cap on tuition fees.

The Labour Students party was an enormous success as was their fringe event that saw the launch of their important and ambitious priority campaign on International Development. I was pleased Young Labour held a successful reception and that there were so many young members in Bournemouth this year.

I felt the week was a huge success; as delegates headed home there was a positive feeling that the Party was united and ready to take on the Tories.

The NEC met just before Party Conference and my latest report can be read here.

For those young members going to Party Conference in Bournemouth there are a series of events organised for young members throughout the week.

On September 4 I attended a special London Young Labour meeting to give an NEC report back. I spoke about the issues and events the NEC has dealt with over the six months I have been NEC Youth Rep, including the Leadership and Deputy Leadership elections, party funding, elections, Party Conference later this month and Partnership in Power.

I answered a wide range of questions about resources for Young Labour, future events, links with other organisations and the future role of Young Labour. I have plans to visit other Young Labour groups over the coming months and if you would like me to come and feed back to your local YL group then please get in touch.

On Wednesday morning I joined thousands of people to watch the unveiling of the statue of Nelson Mandela in Parliament Square.

The statue is a fitting tribute to, as Gordon Brown described him, "one of the greatest leaders of his generation… the man who will be remembered forever as the leader who ended apartheid."

Nelson Mandela received a fantastic reception from the crowds as he recalled the many brave men and women who joined the campaign to end apartheid in South Africa.

Labour Students held a campaign day (with local MP Jim Fitzpatrick) on Monday 6 August in Shadwell where an important local by-election is currently underway.

It will be a close fight between Respect and Labour and that’s why it is really important that we get out in the next few days and make the case for our local candidate Michael Keith. Respect have done nothing to help the local area - they are opposing more police on the streets and raising Council Tax.

If you can spare a few hours in the next few days to go along and help our campaign team in Shadwell it will be very much appreciated.

On Tuesday 31 July, along with Labour Students and various representatives from the youth movement and youth organisations, I met with Dawn Butler MP the new Labour Party Vice-Chair for Youth.

A range of different issues were discussed on how the youth agenda can move forward. The consensus was that looking to the next election Labour should be campaigning on issues that affect young people and really promoting the policies that the government have already implemented to benefit young people, such as the new higher education support measures recently announced that will mean that two thirds of students from 2008 will be entitled to some grant support. It is important that Labour communicates and takes seriously young voters if we are to do well at the next election.

Like many young activists I spent last week campaigning in the Ealing Southhall by-election. It was a tough contest with the three parties working hard but the people of Ealing Southall rejected the Tories' spin and elected Virendra Sharma to Parliament. The result is a crushing blow for David Cameron who associated himself so closely with the candidate and campaign.

I want to thank all the young activists who came from across the country, worked hard and played a crucial role in the Labour victory not just in Ealing Southall but in Sedgefield as well.

The NPF was held on 14 and 15 of July in West London. The weekend was opened with a wide ranging speech from Gordon Brown in his first address to the NPF as Party Leader. The new officers of the NPF were elected, including Pat McFadden MP as the new Chair of the NPF, and the outgoing Chair of the NPF Ian McCartney MP received a standing ovation.

A number of government ministers attended throughout the weekend to listen to members' ideas as a range of topics were discussed including thoughts on the proposed Party reforms and an in depth look at the six policy documents which will shortly be published on the Labour Party website.

The policy documents will be sent out to CLPs for further consultation before the final round of discussion that will formulate the Party’s next manifesto. If you have any opinions on any of the subjects included in the documents please get in touch.

Young Labour and Labour Students will be out campaigning in Ealing Southall at the following times over the next week:

Wednesday 4 July: Meeting at 10.30am and 1pm
Friday 6 July: Meeting at 10.30am and 1pm
Saturday 7 July: Meeting at 12 noon
Sunday 8 July: Meeting at 12 noon

There will be someone to meet people at Action Town station at all the above times (see map here) 

On Thursday 5 July a 'Ring and Win' session is being organised from 6.30pm at Labour Party HQ on Victoria Street for people to help with phone canvassing.

If you would like to attend any or all of these events please feel free to turn up and if you are free at any other time do get in touch because there is always something to do. If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch will one of the following:

Richard Angell, Chair, Young Labour: 07966 161 444
Emily Richards, Campaigns and Membership, Labour Students: 07737 338 102
Lynne Wells, Campaigns Officer, London Youth Labour: 07730 615 152

I hope to see you out campaigning keeping Southall Labour.

This weekend saw a special Leadership Conference take place in Manchester to announce Gordon Brown as our new leader and declare the much awaited result of the Deputy Leadership contest which saw Harriet Harman narrowly elected.

I think the leadership contest has been very good for the Party, a number of important issues have been raised and discussed and members have had their say. I supported Hazel Blears for Deputy Leader and although I am obviously disappointed that she didn’t win, I think she is an amazing politician who played a vital role in the contest and will continue to play an important role in both the Labour Party and in Government. I am pleased that we now have a balanced and formidable leadership team at the top of a united Party ready to take on the Tories at the next election.

Amicus in conjunction with Young Labour and Labour Students held their first joint Political Weekend at Stoke Rochford Hall on the weekend of the 16th and 17th of June. Over thirty young activists took part in a weekend of workshops and discussion looking at a range of issues.

There were a series of training workshops covering different aspects of being involved in the Labour movement including a look at the history of the Labour Party and the trade union movement, how to campaign and recruit and getting involved in the Labour Party. A special session looked at Young Labour reform with some excellent ideas being discussed all of which will contribute to the consultation. A series of policy forums were held on a range of different issues and the points made will be fed in to the Partnership in Power process. There was also an in depth look at beating the BNP with Jon Cruddas MP and Searchlight.

The weekend was a great opportunity for young members from across the Labour movement to come together learn about different aspects of the Labour Party and trade union movement as well as discussing ways in which we can work together to build up the youth movement.

One of the pledges I was elected on as NEC Youth Rep was to reform Young Labour. Myself and Young Labour's current National Committee are serious about ensuring Young Labour is reformed so it is a more effective, active and engaging organisation. I believe the only way we will secure long lasting and successful reform is if we can reach a consensus about the way forward. To do that it is important that every young member can have a say about the future of Young Labour.

With so many young members at the Youth Hustings last weekend we decided to take the opportunity to launch the consultation into the reform of Young Labour. You can download a copy of the questionnaire given out on Sunday here and please feel free to email me with your ideas. This questionnaire is only a start and there may be other issues you think need to be discussed. If so do let me know and over the coming months there will be a series of regional events so that all aspects of Young Labour and reform can be looked at.

On Sunday 10 June the Youth Hustings for Labour's leadership elections took place in Oxford. Young members had the chance the quiz our next Prime Minister Gordon Brown (see his opening speech on You Tube) along with the six Deputy Leadership candidates. All the candidates faced a range of tough questions on topics such as the NHS, international development, civil liberties and devolution.

It was great to see so many young members attend the hustings and I hope it helped people decide who they are going to vote for. Following the hustings dozens of activists went out campaigning in the crucial marginal Labour seat of Oxford East followed by Oxford Labour Club's summer BBQ.

As I have said before I will be backing Hazel Blears for Deputy Leader. I thought she performed very well and demonstrated that she is the only candidate to so far take the youth movement seriously. At the hustings Hazel launched her youth manifesto postcard which outlines her main aims for the youth movement including her pledge to secure a National Youth Officer at Head Office.

On the 13 June I travelled to Berlin to represent ECOSY at the PES Women (Party of European Socialists) statutory meeting. The meeting covered a wide range of issues looking at the electoral situation in several different European Countries as well as focusing on the issue of childcare.

If you want to know more about the work of ECOSY please visit their website or drop me a line.

If you haven't registered for the Youth Hustings taking place this Sunday in Oxford you have until Thursday to do so at www.labour.org.uk/membersnet. On the day you will need to be in Oxford by 11am and details of the venue will be emailed to you nearer the time once you have registered.

Following the hustings we will be going out campaigning in Oxford East which is one of our most marginal seats and where every vote will make the difference. Transport from the hustings venue will be arranged. It would be very helpful to get an idea of numbers, so please email dan.l.simpson@gmail.com if you intend to come.

To finish off the day young members are also invited to Oxford Labour Club's Summer BBQ from 4pm at Wolfson College. Details can be found on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=2372001464 or by e-mailing Sarah Hutchinson on sarah.hutchinson@wolfson.ox.ac.uk.

Please get in touch if you have any questions and I hope to see you on Sunday.

I've decided to back Hazel Blears to be next Deputy Leader of the Labour Party because I think she is the only candidate with a distinct platform of ideas that can help lead the Party to a fourth election victory.

I agree that the Deputy Leader should be what Hazel envisages - a “Campaigner in Chief” not a cabinet minister with no time for the Party. If we are serious about renewing the Labour Party we need a Deputy Leader who understands the Party and will get out on the streets and win for Labour. Hazel has the experience, the ideas and motivation to do just that.

She is committed to listening to Party members views and representing their concerns at the highest level of the Party and I have seen first hand how she has done so on the NEC.

Hazel is the only candidate who has taken the youth movement seriously. She is committed to increasing our resources and consistently promotes our work. I fully support her pledge to establish a much needed National Youth Officer and you can read her youth supporters list at www.hazelblears.com

I believe Hazel as Deputy Leader would create an excellent balance to Gordon as Leader - she is a woman but isn’t asking you to vote for her on that basis alone. Throughout this campaign she has stuck firmly to her principles and previous actions never pandering in attempt to gain votes.

She has a fantastic ability to communicate with voters and motivate Party members. I believe she has the right vision, enthusiasm and commitment and is the best choice to be our next Deputy Leader.

With the Leadership and Deputy Leadership contest underway Labour Party members have the chance to get involved and shape the future direction of the Party. There are a number of hustings taking place across the country and I have already been along to the Progress/Fabian Society one in London and yesterday to the West Midlands hustings in Coventry. 

They provide a great opportunity for members to question the candidates on different issues and I'm pleased there will be a special Youth Hustings on Sunday 10 June in Oxford, to give young members the chance to quiz all six Deputy Leadership candidates and our next Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

If you would like to come along you will need to register for a place by 7 June on your Mpurl at www.labour.org.uk/leadership where you can also submit questions to the candidates.The exact venue and time will be confirmed nearer the time.

On 11 May I was honoured to introduce Gordon Brown at the launch of his campaign to become leader of the Labour Party.

Gordon Brown has consistently shown he has the values, experience and vision to lead our Party and the country - building upon the successes of the last ten years to secure a fourth election victory. 

At the launch Gordon Brown talked about affordable housing, the environment and education as well as restoring more powers to Parliament. You can find more information about his campaign and ideas at www.gordonbrownforbritain.com

I believe Gordon will make an excellent Party leader and Prime Minister and he has my full support. I'll be urging my CLP to make a supporting nomination and I hope many young members will do the same. 

International Workers’ Memorial Day is a day of mourning held across the world every year.

It originated in Canada in 1989 and has since been a chance for communities, workers and trade unions to recognise workers who have been killed or injured while at work.

Last Friday I helped organise a local event to mark the day and remember those who have died at work. Over thirty people of different faith groups and trade unions gathered in the grounds of Halesowen Parish Church where a memorial tree is planted.

Across the world, millions die each year as a result of workplace hazards. Although we have seen improvements in working conditions for many, the toll of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths remains enormous. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reports one worker dies every fifteen seconds worldwide. It is really important that we continue to raise awareness and remember those who have so tragically lost their lives.

Congratulations to all the young candidates who were elected on Thursday and commiserations to those who weren’t.

Given that we are ten years into government the Scottish, Welsh and English local election results are better than many of us feared. In fact, our share of the vote was slightly higher than in the 2004 local elections – a year before we went on to win a third general election victory.

There were some particularly good results. For example in Wrexham, where Young Labour and Labour Students held a national campaign day just a few weeks ago, Labour’s Lesley Griffiths won a seat back from an Independent Assembly Member.

And despite standing over 750 candidates and talk of a big breakthrough, the BNP made a net gain of just one seat. The hard work by anti-racist campaigners, trade unionists and supporters of Searchlight across the country paid off.

Young activists in Scotland, Wales and across England have been out in force campaigning for Labour over the last few weeks and months - and will be helping to get out the vote on Thursday between 7am and 10pm.

We've had some really successful Young Labour campaign days, with many members travelling to different parts of the country or phoning voters from nearer to home. And now that the age at which people can stand for election has been reduced from 21 to 18, there are many Young Labour and Labour Students members standing to be elected themselves this year.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the campaign days and - wherever you're spending election day or if you're standing yourself - good luck! 

On 28 April I travelled to Newcastle to speak at a meeting of the CWU's Youth Advisory Committee. I spoke about my role on the NEC, how the Labour Party works, how I would like the youth section to move forward and the importance of more young trade unionists playing a part and working together with Young Labour and Labour Students on beating the BNP and campaigning on issues such as more affordable housing.

It was great to meet the CWU Youth activists, we had a lively discussion and I am pleased they are keen to become more involved with Young Labour and Labour Students. If you would like me to come and speak at a trade union, Labour club, Young Labour group or CLP meeting, just get in touch.

On Saturday 21 April, young activists travelled to Wrexham to campaign for Labour in the Welsh Assembly elections. We delivered thousands of leaflets in what will be a close race for Labour’s Lesley Griffiths who is taking on an independent candidate.

If you would like to help Labour win on 3 May get in touch for details of campaign days in your area.

Young members across the country can help campaign in the crucial Scottish Parliament elections. 

Phone banks are being set up across the UK and if you could spare just a few hours to do some phoning it would be most appreciated.

On Saturday 28 April a phone bank has been organised in Birmingham at the Labour Party Offices in Bristol Street, just ten minutes walk from New Street Station. Young members will be there between 11am and 1pm.

And on Thursday 26 April phone canvassing will be taking place in London at Labour Party Head Office on Victoria Street between 7pm and 8.30pm.

Other Young Labour groups and activists have volunteered to do some phoning from home. If you can help out too just get in touch.

There will be campaign events taking place across Scotland where young members will be out on the doorstep - if you would like to come and help please get in touch and I will let you know times and meeting points.

Young Labour's National Committee held its AGM at the start of the month. Currently Young Labour's National Committee is made up of regional Young Labour group Chairs, trade union representatives and the National Policy Forum youth reps. The committee then elect the executive.

Over the summer we will be holding a consultation for young members to get involved and decide how Young Labour can be reformed so young members can have a much greater say in electing their executive. The following people were elected to serve on the Executive and will work hard over the coming months to renew and reform Young Labour:  

• Chair - Richard Angell
• Vice Chair - Connor McGinn
• Assistant Secretary - Craig Martin
• Campaigns Officer - Leonie Mathers
• Womens Officer - Olivia Bailey
• Ordinary exec members: Sarah Mulholand, Will Martindale 
• NEC Youth Rep - Stephanie Peacock

Young activists are heading to Wales for the day to help campaign for Labour in next month's Welsh Assembly elections.

We will be leaving Birmingham New Street station at 10.30am on Saturday 21 April and travelling in the fun bus (kindly lent to us by the T&G union) over to Wrexham for a day of campaigning in a key Assembly seat. We will be leaving at around 6.30pm and returning to Birmingham for 8.30pm.

It should be a great day and hopefully make a real difference in the run up to May's elections. If you would like to meet us in Wrexham please get in touch for directions to where we will be or if you have any other questions you can contact me at stephaniepeacock@gmail.com

A sunny Sunday saw 200 activists arrive in Sandwell for a day of action against the BNP, as part of Searchlight's Anti-Fascist Fortnight.

It was fantastic to have over 15 young activists from all over the county come along to help out. The event brought Labour Party members, anti-racism campaigners and trade unionists from across the community together in West Bromwich.  

The Hope not Hate tour bus arrived, a steel band played throughout the day, and special guest Billy Bragg performed to thank the volunteers who had given up their day. It is so important that we hold campaign days like this - not only do they motivate volunteers but they are the difference between a Labour or BNP councillor and help expose the BNP for what they really are.

Last week I travelled to Blackpool to help Labour Students out at NUS conference. 

I was there to support our fantastic VP Welfare candidate Richard Angell who was standing on a platform proud to be a Labour Party member putting students first and campaigning for free prescriptions for students and fairer TV licences.

Unfortunately he didn’t win but he was by far the best candidate and it is NUS’s loss. Wes Streeting was re-elected VP Education with a fantastic mandate. I also want to congratulate Kat Stark who was re-elected Women’s Officer at Women’s Conference, and Be Pringle and Katie Curtis who join the Block of 12. I think all four of them will make a fantastic contribution to NUS over the coming year.

My first NEC report is now online - read or download it here. If you'd like to be on my mailing list to receive reports directly please e-mail me at stephaniepeacock@gmail.com

Lots of campaign events are taking place across the country as part of Searchlight's Anti-Fascist Fortnight which starts this weekend.

I've been asked to promote two of the anti-BNP Campaign Days taking place in the next few weeks in the West Midlands. It would be great to see lots of young activists as targeted campaign days such as this one make a huge difference to a local ward under threat from the BNP. The BNP could make significant gains within Dudley and Sandwell approaching the local elections this May if we do not win the campaign on the doorstep.
 
Dudley anti-BNP Day of Action

Sunday 25th March: 10am at Wrens Nest Community Centre, Summer Road, Dudley, DY1 3PD. Lunch will be provided.

Sandwell anti-BNP Campaign Day

Sunday 1st April: 10.30am-5pm at the West Bromwich Caribbean Resource Centre, Thomas Street, West Bromwich.

The aim is to get 200 activists into the borough for a day of leafleting and canvassing. In return for this, lunch will be provided and the legendary Billy Bragg has agreed to do an exclusive concert for all the people that help out on the day.

If you have any questions about the events or need help with transport to get there then please get in touch: stephaniepeacock@gmail.com

The Campaign Dignity! Period was launched by ACTSA (Action for Southern Africa) in 2005 alongside the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. The economic crisis in Zimbabwe with inflation of 1200% means that one pack of sanitary pads cost more than 50% of the average monthly wage. As a consequence, millions of Zimbabwean women are forced to replace tampons with newspapers and dirty rags, a practice which has led to vaginal infections for which there is no available medication. These medical infections are often falsely attributed to sexually transmitted infections leading to social embarrassment and domestic violence.

This lack of sanitary products has far reaching implications. Families suffer from increased poverty as mothers and wives are unable to work when they have their periods. This means that they are unable to buy food and clothes or finance their children’s education. In addition girls are forced to take time off school, further jeopardising their education.
Millions of women and girls across Zimbabwe face unnecessary suffering and hardship and ACTSA campaigns to ensure that these women are afforded their most basic human rights.

The Rally for Dignity held in Trafalgar Square on 10 March aimed to raise awareness of this awful situation. I'm pleased that the National Union of Students have been campaigning on this issue over the past year along with the Labour Students Women’s campaign who have had this issue as their priority campaign.

It is vitally important that we continue to raise awareness of this issue and help the women of Zimbabwe reclaim their dignity.

On 3 March I went to Barking for London Young Labour's 'day of action' against the BNP.

In areas like this Labour needs to re-engage with and win the trust of voters, at the same time as exposing the racist BNP's true colours and the way they fail to represent local people when they are elected. Young Labour activists spent the day doing just this, delivering thousands of leaflets and running several street stalls across Barking and Dagenham.

The event was followed by an evening meal and debate. I think campaign days like this are a fantastic way of making a real difference to a local community and bringing together activists from across the Labour movement. Well done to Sam Tarry for all his hard work organising the day!