By Tom Grandjouan
Manchester Labour Students is the biggest Labour Students club in Britain and one of the largest student political organisations in the country. Throughout the year we campaign in the North West and around the rest of the country, we coordinate stimulating speaker events and organise convivial socials. Over the course of this academic year we’ve campaigned in Manchester but also subsidized exciting campaign trips to London for Ken Livingstone’s mayoral campaign and up to Edinburgh to campaign with Scottish Labour.
Manchester Labour Students exists as a port of call for those who care about progressive values, for students whose concerns lie with the social bonds and relationships that make up the communities we live in, and for those who have an unshakable belief in fairness. In the last couple weeks, the content of George Osborne’s budget has highlighted that we’re dealing with the same old Tories. While middle and lower income families are struggling with rising costs and bills, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat front bench have unashamedly gifted a tax cut to the very richest in society, raised fuel duty when petrol prices are peaking, and shockingly passed a £3 billion tax raid on our pensioners, all the while cutting the front line services we depend on and breaking apart the institutions that have shaped our society. In times of economic hardship and social turmoil, this government is utterly failing us on jobs, on growth and is ripping up the fabric of our local communities in the process.
Manchester Labour Students provides a platform for students who want to stand up and speak up for a fairer society, and it’s the vehicle for those who want to go out and campaign for it. We’ve achieved alot this year. Our membership has swelled to over 600 members, we’ve launched a new website, improved the communication with our membership, and increased the frequency of events and socials. With a heightened level of commitment and involvement from members and the committee, we campaigned and won a fair living wage for all employees at the University of Manchester.
The next few months will be crucial. Labour Students will be out in force up and down the country preparing for the string of by-elections, council elections, local mayor and police commissioner elections that will be taking place in the near future. More urgently with only a few weeks now, is our priority to elect Ken Livingstone Mayor of London so that seven million Londoners do not put have to put up with the frivolous joke that is Boris Johnson any longer.
I very warmly encourage you to get involved. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and join the Labour Party through Labour Students. It is an amazing opportunity to meet like-minded people, exchange ideas and most importantly, campaign for a fairer society and a fairer future.
