Help Labour win the student vote

By Johnny Innes

Universities and colleges are a great place for social interaction. The traditional, albeit stereotypical, image of a student is the lefty/liberal type who begins to engage with politics. Whilst I can take comfort in the fact that’s happened to me and many others, demonstrated by the healthy student network which exists within the Labour Party today, there are a large amount of students that remain uninterested in politics.

There are many reasons as to why this is the case. In my opinion, the main thing that detracts students from politics is the myth that politicians are “all the same”, something which I hope most people reading this would understand is incorrect. It is the recyling of this myth, be it through the media or word of mouth, that is dangerous to any political party, not only Labour, when it comes to attracting the younger electorate. There has to be an effective way of tackling this problem.

In my opinion, Labour students can help break away from this myth, attack the problem, and in the long term attract new members to the party. I know there are many student Labour clubs throughout the UK who are already making themselves known throughout their campus – but there are many universities and colleges that do not have live Labour action for other students to see.

My university is one of them (Glasgow Caledonian) and right now I am tyring to set one up – because for Labour to achieve a fourth term, the student support has to be there. It is important that every further education establishment in the UK at least has some Labour influence on campus, be it an active Labour club or society or an invitation from other neighbouring establishments to become active on the ground in the fight for Labour. It can also happen online othrough web forums or mailing lists that alert people to activity and advertise for members within their campus.

Current and prospective MPs would then find a better platform to present themselves to the student electorate, which I’m sure you’d all agree can only be beneficial.