Under-represented groups have already been a focus in this election as candidates have offered members a view on how they would approach involving more women in Progress but we mustn’t forget that they are not the only under-represented groups within our party. Young councillors are not represented at any level in the Labour party. There is no role for them on Labour’s National Executive Committee, National Policy Forum, Local Government Association Labour group or the Young Labour national committee and they are uniquely positioned to contribute to the debate, capable of providing expertise and insight that very few others are able to provide.
I believe in plural politics where everyone has a voice and the ability to debate the merits and flaws of policy and fighting for what I believe in: that is why I’m standing to be elected in the councillor section because I want to see young councillors represented in our party and I believe that this organisation is the best place to start to make that happen because of the skills, talents and expertise of its members. In March I advocated through Progress for the creation of ‘an Association of Young Labour councillors for the under-35s in local government to set the agenda for young people in their communities, their local authorities and their Labour groups’. Along with colleagues I have been developing a free support network open to all young Labour councillors under 35 to begin laying the foundations for such an association to be viable and achievable. At conference this year we aim to provide our first fringe event for young councillors to come together and discuss the issues they face so I hope you’ll join us.
I want us to:
• Advocate and lobby for a minimum of two protected places, with gender quotas, in each of these bodies.
• Support members to effectively timetable and propose young councillor candidates to these bodies in their Labour group, under the current system.
• Raise awareness of election schedules to members so that they can prepare members around them to expect more of standing candidates.
Since joining Labour in May 2010 I have got stuck into party life and making my contribution: elected as youth and students’ officer setting up a small constituency Young Labour group, elected as a county-wide Young Labour group secretary, elected as a local authority councillor, elected as a campaign coordinator and many other unofficial roles that have to be done and now I am standing to serve Progress councillors in being an accountable representative bringing new ideas to support Progress and the party as we start to forge new ground returning Labour back to government.
Being from the west Midlands I am passionate about taking Progress to the party outside of London and as a former students’ union officer of a small and specialist university college I know how it feels to be on the outside looking in of the national scene watching the debate go on without the ability to influence it. That’s why I strongly support building Progress groups in every constituency to care for the heart of the party – our activists – to inspire them, to debate them, to educate them, to ensure they play a leading role in our party, to rally them against our political opponents and to look after their welfare. Electing me will mean I would support proposals to ensure that Progress events were regularly organised outside the capital, and surrounding areas, to engage with members from the north-east, north-west, east Midlands, Scotland, south-east, south-west and west Midlands as well as supporting regional diversity for the selection of Progress-nominated candidates to Labour’s committees.
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Rowan Draper is a candidate in the members’ section in the Progress strategy board elections 2012. You can find out more about all the candidates at the dedicated Progress strategy board election microsite
A 34 year old is likely to be married, with children, a house and a job. They are not representative of ‘young’ people – ie students/recent graduates in the slightest. 35 is too high.
Hi Harry, thanks for your comment, but I have to disagree. I accept your point that the further away you get from your teenage and university years the less likely you are going to be ‘representative’ of youth opinion but the problem with local government is that many young Councillors are the exception and not the rule with many being the only young councillor in their group.
When the average age is 60, and my own Council’s is 53 if I remember rightly, someone in their 30s can be a refreshing change.
The average age has risen twice in the last two years from 57 in 2010 to 59 in 2011 and 60 now in 2012, and unfortunately young Labour councillors can fall into the unenviable trap of being seen and not heard and this is one of the recurring themes I’ve seen whilst setting up the young cllrs support network. This is why I think it’s so important that we include those 35 and under in the umbrella of young Labour councillors because we’re about a collective, a movement, that stands united in common purpose and I would hate for my colleagues to feel isolated when they are going through the same things I am (simply because they aren’t young enough) and when we have the ability to help and support each other.
It’s also important that we acknowledge that councillors in their thirties and still suffer from the same attitudes that members in their teens and twenties receive whereby colleagues think just by dint of age qualifies experience, skill and ability. I’m now 27 and many of the people I went to school with fit into one or more of the categories you mention (married, with children, with a job or with their own house) but these factors don’t make them any less young (in the grand scheme of things).