York Young Labour

A group for all 14-25 year old labour supporters in the York area; we campaign, debate and socialise in a friendly, open atmosphere.

[yorkyounglabour-blog]

YYL Committee Members' Profiles: Kathryn Woodroof, Chair

Hi there everyone, as part of our Members' Profiles feature, this week we catch up with Kathryn Woodroof, our lovely chair.

Position on Committee: Chair

Duties: To provide leadership and direction to the group, manage meetings and support other young members in getting more involved in the Labour movement.

Occupation: Systems Support Analyst at University of York

Why Did You Join Young Labour?: I have been a member of the Labour Party for six years and have become more involved in Young Labour since moving to York.  I started attending local Party meetings for the first time and it was difficult to meet other young members. I think the best way for young members to increase their involvement in local and politics and communities is to meet and learn from their peers.  So I joined York Young Labour with the aim of making it a more active group.

[yorkyounglabour-blog]

What we've been reading

This week we've been reflecting on the 'bedroom tax' and how this and other cuts to housing benefit will push more young people into poor living conditions and homelessness.

In 2011-12, local charity SASH helped 33 young people who needed an emergency nightstop or supported lodgings.  This figure will surely increase as the full force of government cuts is felt across the region.

We are planning to make youth homelessness a priority campaign for York Young Labour - more on this soon.  In the meantime, here's some background reading:

MP speaks to York teenagers struggling with homelessness

Bishop Semantu launches York's 'No Second Night Out' campaign

York City Council cabinet to vote on 5-year homelessness prevention strategy on 5th March

- Kathryn, Chair

[yorkyounglabour-blog]

YYL Committee Members' Profiles: Alex Osborne, Student Organiser

Hi everyone, and Happy Monday from York Young Labour. As part of our initiative to get our name out there and put names to faces, we're working on making profiles for all our committee members so you can see our beautiful mugs and get to know what each of us does and is about. This week it's me, Alex Osborne, YYL Student Organiser.

Name: Alex Osborne

Position on Committee: Student Organiser

Duties: To engage students in the Young Labour cause, be it through campaigning, debates, school visits, social media or other methods.

Occupation: Student (English Literature, Second Year)

Why Did You Join Young Labour? : Having been a Labour member since I was 16, I've always wanted to further engage in politics and really feel like I'm making a difference. I was particularly interested in involving young people in the Labour cause as it's the best time to get involved. Call me an idealist, but I believe that if we don't engage young people in politics, then there's no reason for them to take an interest in it. By getting bright, enthusiastic young people in to the Labour Party we create a gateway for these people to innovate, debate and change things up. If there isn't change at the grass roots, then there's no home of changing the situation much further along the political line. This is why the role of Student Organiser appealed to me so much: I want to hear your opinions, I want you to voice them and I want all of us to make a change together in a progressive and dynamic party that strives for equality and social justice.

[yorkyounglabour-blog]

What We've Been Reading

Hi there comrades,

For our first What We've Been Reading section, we've chosen the theme of Women, and we've got three great links to get your cogs whirring:

Women in frontline service provision play a vital role and must be protected : http://bit.ly/XDFCzX

This article, from the Guardian, details the crucial role of female health workers in countries such as Pakistan and Nigeria. These women are often greatly endangered in their jobs because of prevalent sexism towards women in public spaces.

BBC Radio 4's Women Hour - Power List : http://bbc.in/14WUIXv

Women's Hour have compiled a list of the UK's 100 most powerful women. There are some wonderful and inspiring figures here, so do take a look.

More Jessica Ennis, less Paris Hilton : http://bit.ly/12Zk4p6

Here's a piece which takes an interesting look at the sexualisation and 'pornification' of our society, and how improvement of sex education and the role models we promote to our children could help increase self-esteem and promote good values.

That's all for this week, hope you enjoyed these and do leave your suggestions for future themes. Much Labour Love x

[yorkyounglabour-blog]

Hello & Welcome from YYL!

Hi everyone, and welcome to our brand new, shiny Tumblr!

York Young Labour is a group for any 16-25 year old people in the York area who'd like to get involved in an active campaigning, debating and socialising group. We hold monthly meetings, the details of which are given via our emails - if you'd like to be on our mailing list just drop us a line at [email protected].

We've recently relaunched and are really keen to engage new members, so on this page we'll be posting news, what we've been up to, what we've been reading, and opinions from various of our committee members. So watch this space - if any of this sounds interesting to you, check out our Facebook and Twitter and get involved in our work - we'd love to meet you.

Stay cool comrades,

Alex Osborne, YYL Student Organiser