‘Labour’s youth wings are worth worrying about – and we should be worried’

Why worry about Labour’s youth wings? 

It’s a fair question. After all, with a new scandal in the papers or crisis in our party seemingly every week, the maintenance of the status quo hardly makes headlines. And with recent election results in both Young Labour and Labour Students resulting in an increased majority for the governing Labour First-linked ‘Organise’ slate, responses have been accordingly muted. Organise’s backers have notably taken their renewed mandate as a sign of great health in the party, suggesting this allows a continued focus on ‘delivery’ against a divided left unable to reconcile themselves with a leadership that continues to thrive and prosper. So, nothing to worry about, right? 

If only the story could be that simple. 

As much as it may appear from the numbers alone, these results are unfortunately not quite the decisive slam-dunk that some would have you believe. Instead, all these elections have done for Young Labour and Labour Students is tell us what young members have known and felt for far too long. 

READ MORE: ‘Young Labour and Labour Students elections show strong mandate for Organise’s focus on delivery’

Firstly and crucially, one number was not published to members – turnout. For the first time in recent memory, the NEC voted not to publish raw numbers for the youth membership who voted in these elections, giving only percentages to pore over. The reasons for this could be many, but with nomination numbers for Labour Students positions often in the high teens at best one obvious conclusion might be a turnout so low that publication of it would be politically damaging. With just 3,532 members voting in 2024’s most-voted contest, the question as to how bad the numbers were this time around therefore has few palatable answers. 

This leads onto a second issue – enthusiasm. If turnout was low, the conduct of the campaign hardly helped matters. Even leaving aside baffling election oversights from the NEC that disenfranchised hundreds of nominations and votes, the winning slate’s flagship pledge being to reinstate a travel fund they oversaw the removal of says it all. For all the policy-light buzzwords of ‘fighting populism’ and ‘boosting Labour clubs’, Organise essentially relied on the backing of the same loyalists who voted for them last time by running with a platform indistinguishable to two years ago. It was an effective enough strategy, particularly against a disorganised ‘Renew’ opposition who meant well but were ultimately ill-equipped to effectively fight back. But an inspiring strategy for new members? Not necessarily. 

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All of this then adds up to a third issue – that of continued and increasing decline in membership and activism. Poor turnout is worryingly in line with what members are seeing day-in and day-out in struggling student societies (as I saw first-hand when reviving the one in Durham last year) and withering youth branches. Roughly only 20% of universities in the UK still have a surviving Labour club after numerous splits and defections to the left. At least half of these did not even endorse in this year’s elections. 

When it comes to branches almost nothing now exists beyond optimistic youth officers and a few regional branches. Admittedly, not all of this is solely due to Young Labour or Labour Students, in the face of a government that has undeniably disappointed many members on key wedge issues from trans rights to Gaza. But it all adds up to an existential crisis for young members that shows no sign of being reckoned with. 

Labour’s youth wings are worth worrying about. After all, young members are where our movement begins, and the students I canvass with on a grey Saturday in Newcastle care as much as anyone about getting out and fighting for the Labour message. But if members aren’t inspired again, they’ll just be left disillusioned and underutilised.  

Victory in an internal election cannot be seen to be a reward for a situation where promises for the few are settled as prescriptions for the many. In the face of the struggle Labour is up against, we have to be bolder – as well as organised – or we will be hollowed out more and more. 

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I hope the new national committee will understand and recognise a little of this – even if they disagree with much of it. After all, I know personally that there are competent young members from every wing of our party. 

This time, the winner of Young Labour and Labour Students elections may really look like no one. That doesn’t have to be the end of it.