‘Organise 2026 – We want to lead a Young Labour that listens – that provides for members in every town, village and city’

I’m standing to be the next Chair of Young Labour because I believe, deeply and unapologetically, in the values of our party. The direction we take over the next few years is so important. We can be inward looking, and waste time talking to ourselves, or we can get out and show the country the positive changes we are looking to deliver. That is the choice at this election. 

Young Labour has incredible people, energy and talent, but it remains too narrowly rooted in metropolitan centres. We need a youth wing that speaks to the whole country and so we must open doors for young members in all of our towns and villages, places that have too often been written off or spoken about rather than listened to. 

I grew up in Oldham, a Lancashire mill town. It’s a place I’m proud of – a place full of potential and diversity – but also one that has borne the scars of political decisions taken far away. I grew up in Oldham during the age of austerity. We had the highest level of deprivation in the entire country. I watched opportunities disappear, public services being hollowed out, and communities pitted against each other by deliberate political choices. That experience leaves its mark. As a teenager, it was hard not to feel powerless. 

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The mix of anger and hope that I felt as a teenager is what brought me to join the Labour Party at sixteen. My politics has always been rooted in my lived experiences, and desire to make the world a better place. Through the Labour Party I’ve channelled my frustration into campaigning, organising, and turning my ideas into practical action. Everything I do is rooted in my Oldham grit – which powers my determination to bring about positive change, to fight for what I believe in and my refusal to accept that decline and inequality are inevitable. 

I know the realities young people are navigating today because I’ve lived through them – I’ve dealt with rogue landlords, zero-hour contracts, minimum wage work, being talked over in meetings because of my age or accent. At university, I pulled pints to pay the bills and spent whatever time I had left campaigning against injustice. Mine isn’t a sob story – it’s the lived experience of millions of young people that our movement exists to represent. 

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Young Labour has always been a vital campaigning force – winning elections, by-elections, and arguments on the ground. That role is more important than ever with the rise of Reform. I have seen first hand what the politics of division and decline can lead to. I know that we need to be sharper, bolder, and more organised online, particularly as the far right grows more confident in digital spaces. This will be a key focus of the Young Labour I will lead. 

My politics is rooted in a simple belief: local people know their communities best. That’s why I’m proud to be running alongside 20 young local leaders in the ‘Organise’ team; each candidate brings forward ideas shaped by the realities of their own areas. Different places need different solutions, but we are united by the principle that Young Labour should be for everyone – regardless of where you come from, how you got here, or where in the UK you live. 

By running together, we’re making a statement about the kind of organisation we want Young Labour to be – collaborative rather than competitive, rooted in local knowledge, building on the successes of those who come before us. If we open the doors wider, listen harder, and organise better, Young Labour can continue to be a driving force for the fairer future that the Labour Government is building. 

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I believe in a Young Labour that reaches into every corner of the country, where all young members can be led by a sense of hope and optimism for our future. Together, we can turn anger into action, frustration into power, and hope into real change. And together, we can build a future that young people don’t just inherit but help to shape.

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