Warwick Labour Society
Warwick Labour Society
The University of Warwick Labour Society is a student society at Warwick University, which was founded to represent the interests of left-wing students and Labour Party members on campus. It is currently affiliated to the Labour Party via National Labour Students and partnerships with local CLP's such as Warwick and Leamington and Coventry South CLP, alongside whom they regularly campaign.
Warwick Labour Society is believed to have over 220 members and regularly holds speaker events, social events, topical discussions, and runs campaigning sessions. In recent years, the society has hosted various notable politicians including Zarah Sultana, Taiwo Owatemi, Ian Lavery, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Liam Byrne, Andy Burnham, Ian Byrne, and Theresa Griffin.
History
During the 2017 and 2019 General Elections, the society campaigned for Labour in two hyper-marginal seats, both of which were in predominantly student wards. Student mobilisation was later credited as a reason for Labour’s victory, particularly in Warwick and Leamington.[1].
Recently the society has been praised by the UCU on social media for being active on the picket lines during the 2018-23 dispute[2]. In an article by The Boar, Warwick Labour were quoted saying they "offer full support to all striking staff. We will continue to stand with them and UCU members in solidarity on the picket line to support them in their fight for fair pay, protected pensions and better working conditions and contracts."[3]
In the 2022–2023 period, the society underwent structural change and increased the number of executive positions to reflect its increase in size over the previous year. This change led to the formation of a football team and the creation of a new publication, namely the L.E.F.T magazine – which stands for Liberation, Equality and Forward-Thinking. The society also evaluated its charitable objects and has since claimed to have incorporated this into their outreach work.
The society partook in outreach work through the Coventry Schools UNESCO project in the Spring of 2023, hosting secondary schools across Coventry and facilitating discussions on environmental issues between students, politicians and academics such as Christine Ennew, Baroness Brown, and Matt Western. This was part of a wider initiative where schools later visited Parliament[4]
Constitution and organisation
The society is run by a democratically elected executive committee voted on by members at the end of Term 2, in an Annual General Meeting, each academic year. Once elected, the executive holds weekly meetings to discuss the aims, objectives and finances of the society. In EGM's and AGM's members can propose constitutional amendments.
Membership
Membership is open to all members of Warwick Students Union, regardless of whether or not one is a part of the national party. The society charges no fee.
Structure
The society is led by a Chair, Deputy Chair, Treasurer and Secretary who, according to the constitution, provide "leadership, strategy and direction." The Chair and Deputy Chair cannot both identify as male.
Other positions include external campaigns officers, internal campaigns officers, talks and events officers, social secretaries, liberation and welfare officers, amongst many others.
Controversies
In the summer of 2022, the society was featured in national media after Nadhim Zahawi came to the University and was called a "transphobe" by a student who stood up and challenged the politician on his position on Trans Rights. This student happened to be the child of two prominent Labour Politicians[5]. In an article by Guido Faulkes the Labour Society were described as "gatecrashers" to the event, something which the society reportedly objected to and instead made statements to the media expressing their disappointment at the reporting taking place and the lack of opportunity to question the minister, despite being invited by the Conservative society to attend. They published a response on their own social media saying they were "supportive" of the member who questioned Zahawi[6]. Nadhim Zahawi later tweeted saying "This student [Mr Cooper] was very polite to me. He made a reasonable point about how schools can help children which I was happy to debate. His right to free speech is vital too."[7]
Partnerships
Warwick Labour have been seen to work closely with Cambridge University Labour Club, visiting and engaging with them.
They are set to send 2 delegates to the annual Labour Students Conference in 2023.
Notable Former Members
Felix Ling (Labour Candidate in the 2019 Stratford Upon Avon Election)
Joel Cooper (Son of Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper)
- ↑ Hearne, David (2019). "Young people, students and the upcoming General Election".
- ↑ "https://twitter.com/ucu/status/1623654265045585920?s=46&t=la3rv1XnAIXP-7NGks6RGA". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-03-30. External link in
|title=(help) - ↑ "The Boar". theboar.org. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- ↑ McKenna, Jade. "Coventry school pupils to visit the House of Commons". Coventry City Council. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- ↑ Badshah, Laurence Sleator, Kieran Gair, Nadeem. "Yvette Cooper's son heckled Nadhim Zahawi at Warwick 'transphobe' protest". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- ↑ "Warwick Labour Society 🌹 on Instagram: "Warwick Labour's response to the Secretary of State for Educations visit to campus last night. We have also shared the video of the question and of Nadhim Zahawi's response for those who were either not in the room or not in attendance at the event."". Instagram. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- ↑ "https://mobile.twitter.com/HorshamGardener/status/1531654264317263878". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-03-30. External link in
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