The importance of Leicester South

By Rob Hicks / @robjhicks

Labour’s had plenty of reason to enjoy by-elections of late. A comfortable victory in Oldham and the embarrassment of the Lib Dems in Barnsley have bolstered the PLP with two promising new MPs whilst delivering vital morale boosts to a party still finding their feet in opposition after thirteen years in government.

Auspicious by-election results are not necessarily precursors to a general election victory though and most certainly shouldn’t be read as such. This May’s by-election represents a much bigger opportunity for our party however, the Leicester South seat has a distinctive make-up precipitating ideal conditions to lead the national discourse on young people’s issues.

Two large universities lie in the constituency teaching tens of thousands of students each year. De Montfort University and the University of Leicester produce tomorrow’s nurses, economists, artists, doctors, lawyers and politicians and come May will be poised to jettison two graduating classes of unprecedented size into a landscape of record youth unemployment pinned onto a waning economy. Whoever triumphs in Leicester South this spring will not be able to ignore the mandate bestowed upon them to help salvage a generation faced with an increasing lack of opportunity. Whatever the outcome the Labour Party should be leading this charge, recognising that educating, training and employing our young people represents the best investment we can make in our efforts to rebuild our economy.

It is far too easy as a party in opposition to become a party of reactive rhetoric. The situation facing the young people of this country represents an opportunity to proactively set the agenda of how we ensure education and employment are available for our young people – we should grab it with both hands, lest we stand by and let a generation drift into economic stasis.

The University of Leicester in particular is continually accredited for work in widening participation to higher education but this work will sadly be in vain if educational opportunities are not reflected in employment opportunities upon graduation. If a gargantuan increase in tuition fees didn’t quite conquer political apathy amongst our youth then an indeterminate spell on the unemployment scrap heap certainly will. Whichever side of the debate of the student protests you’re inclined to fall down on, the events of last November exposed two realities – our students and young people recognise when they are being served an injustice and they will fight it when they are (through violence, diplomacy or otherwise).

As strong as the student vote could be in Leicester, parliamentary elections are rarely won solely off the back of these issues – many other issues will contribute to the success of the future MP for Leicester South. Beyond polling day though the constituency is the perfect spring board to reach out to our students and our young people and offer them an alternative to this Tory-led government that is offering them no solutions to their impending difficulties.