Making sure we hear young people’s voices

Young people have been some of the hardest hit by the Coalition’s cuts. Tuition fees trebled, the Future Jobs Fund abolished, EMA scrapped and destructive higher education cuts. If the UK’s young unemployed formed one dole queue, it would stretch from London to Edinburgh. With all this in mind, it’s more important than ever that young people play a big role in the 2015 election.

As Labour puts together the 2015 manifesto in the coming months, it is crucial that the voices of all our young members are heard in the process.   Young people turn out at consistently lower rates in general elections, and the Coalition is even trying to disenfranchise students with Individual Voter Registration. At the next election, we need to offer exciting and relevant policies that make young people come out and vote Labour. Through the policy consultation process, we want Young Labour members to help us do this.

It’s easy to get involved. There will be policy discussions in your CLP, and you can have your say online too. The YourBritain website provides an easy way for individuals or groups to contribute to Labour’s policy process. A submission might be one sentence long, the minutes of a policy forum, or even a video. You can submit formal amendments through your CLP, or by working with your regional youth rep on the National Policy Forum.

It’s particularly important that the voices of young women are heard in our policy process. Despite the great work done by our women’s officers in Young Labour and Labour Students, women remain seriously underrepresented in our party structures and at our democratic events. It would be great to see groups of Young Labour women submitting their policy suggestions. The YourBritain website ensures that all voices are listened to, however loud they are.

Helena Dollimore is Vice Chair (policy) of Young Labour