‘From student activist to Labour Party Chair: why our youth wings matter’

This weekend, Cardiff will see over 300 Labour Students and Young Labour members attend the Labour Party’s first Youth and Students Congress, the largest event of its kind in nearly a decade.

It is great to be coming together back in government once again. Especially as Labour Students and Young Labour played such a vital role in our movement helping support our campaigns and elections, and delivering the victory last year.

As anyone who has pounded the streets or staffed a committee room knows, our young members so often make up the backbone of our doorstep operation and turning out the vote to win.

But even beyond election results, our youth wings provide something just as important: a space for the next generation of activists, organisers, and leaders to find their political voice and develop the skills that will shape Labour for decades to come.

I know this personally. I joined the Labour Party when I was 15 and got involved in Labour Students when I started university. I met lifelong friends, found my political confidence, and gained experiences I never imagined were possible.

As National Chair of Labour Students in 2002, I chaired a televised conversation with Tony Blair at Labour Party Conference and was invited to Number 10. As a young woman from a South East London comprehensive, these were the sort of opportunities I never expected to have.

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Labour Students also gave me the chance to lead teams of student campaigners across the country — often fighting against the far right at a time when their presence was growing in local communities. Growing up in the shadow of Stephen Lawrence’s murder, that work was personal. It mattered to me to be part of a movement that stood firmly against racism and hate.

Today’s Labour Students face a different challenge to my generation, with a more volatile and fragmented political landscape and Reform trying to take the country backwards instead of thinking about today’s challenges and tomorrow’s solutions.

All of these early experiences shaped my entire political journey. Today, as a Member of Parliament, Labour Party Chair, Chair of the NEC and the NPF, I know that the skills, confidence and networks I built as a young activist were fundamental to my path.

That’s why I am so proud our Party is hosting the Youth and Students Congress not just to help support our campaigns, but to build community and develop the leadership of tomorrow. Because when we support and empower our members at every level, we invest in the future of our Party.

To every young person getting involved, whether at this Congress or in your local community my advice is take every opportunity and throw yourselves into the work. You never know where it might lead, but I can promise you, it will be worth it.

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