GMB Young London are back, and we want to save the capital’s night life

Samuel Johnson once famously wrote: “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” One wonders what Johnson would have made of 21st Century London, with its fearless and vibrant night life, the envy of the world.

I am biased, but I truly believe London is the greatest city in the world, and that is in no small part down to its unique and diverse night-time economy. The introduction of the Night Tube, successfully realised under Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan, will make our capital city even more exciting and accessible in the twilight hours.

Alongside the revellers who will be able to lose themselves that little bit more freely, thousands of key workers who keep us safe and alive in the darkness will, in many cases, no longer have to take several night buses home, but will instead be able to shoot home on regular underground services.

In spite of this progress, however, London’s nocturnal world, and the workers who make it possible, are under grave threat. In recent weeks, the tragic deaths of two teenagers at Fabric nightclub in Islington – once voted the best nightclub in the world – have led to the establishment being closed ‘indefinitely.’

The most important thing here, of course, is to establish how the young men died, but one initial judgement seems obvious: drugs, and our inadequate laws and systems for dealing with them, are to blame – not London’s night life itself.

The closure of Fabric would be symbolic because London’s integrity as a hub of music, culture and art is being challenged by a wide array of other European cities, such as Amsterdam, Prague and Berlin. Most insidiously, it seems that any cultural flourishing remotely connected with black communities mysteriously evades Arts Council funding.

The success of London’s night-time economy is essential to its prosperity. On this economy depend the jobs of thousands and thousands of workers, many of whom are already struggling to survive in a city that is facing an unprecedented affordability crisis. If London loses its vitality as a heaving, 24-hour metropolitan hub, not only will those jobs be lost – the capital’s soul will be lost too.

That is why, after a brief hiatus, the youth wing of GMB London is re-launching with a campaign to protect and promote the jobs and workers’ rights of the thousands of young workers who keep London moving after dark. If you’re a member of the GMB in London and you’re 30 or under, we’d love to have you involved.

In the past, we’ve campaigned with great success on renters’ rights, picketing Parliament to challenge the barbaric culture of ‘Revenge Evictions.’ Now we want to bring forward a new generation of young activists to once again rock the establishment and show them that the spirit of London – and the workers who make it special – will not be quashed.

If you would like to be involved, please tweet us @GMBYoungLondon, email us at [email protected] or like us on Facebook. Together we will ensure London remains a place where young people come to live life to the full, dream dreams and discover who they really want to be.

Cllr Sam Stopp is a member of the GMB Young London Committee