Jonathon Morris, Andrew Shearwood, Jodie-Louise Kane, Hetty Wood and Steph Dickinson heading into the London underground. Photographs by James Roberts.
On the 15th January a group of Fabians from the Liverpool Universities woke up bright and early in a flat somewhere in central London in preparation for the New Year Conference. A group of five had travelled the five hour coach journey down from The Regions, linked up with another two members, and went to see what the conference had to offer.
Wristbands appropriated in the lobby (and at this point a big thanks really must be given to Adrian Prandle, chair of the Young Fabians, for ensuring that all of the delegation were made to feel welcome!) the day started off with the keynote by Ed Miliband. A somewhat long and methodical oratory was given by the leader; competent but rather lacklustre and lacking in any emotional resonance. Having witnessed Miliband raise his game and actually speak with a spark of passion previously – the Manchester leadership hustings springs to mind (from 1:26:00 for a case in point) – it was rather disappointing to listen to a speech which gave the impression of being ‘just enough’, whilst preaching to the converted. Nevertheless it was coherent, persuasive and offered a realistic vision for the future of social democracy in this country, and even included his ‘too technocratic and managerial’ buzzword combination which we have all grown fond of over the course of his leadership bid.
All seven slipped into the first panel of the day, the fourth on the list, ‘Winning the argument: what can we learn from the right?’ which was over-attended and left many standing, and sitting, around the edges of the room. Still, an interesting debate emerged with Laurie Penny (always interesting to listen to, but perhaps sometimes a bit too quick to speak without thinking) and Tim Montgomerie somewhat taking over the first half of the session talking about whether or not Tories ‘cared’. Insights from Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, and well thought out points from Chuka Umunna MP, left the room with a wealth of ideas on just what we on the left can take from how the right acts and campaigns.
Wristbands appropriated in the lobby (and at this point a big thanks really must be given to Adrian Prandle, chair of the Young Fabians, for ensuring that all of the delegation were made to feel welcome!) the day started off with the keynote by Ed Miliband. A somewhat long and methodical oratory was given by the leader; competent but rather lacklustre and lacking in any emotional resonance. Having witnessed Miliband raise his game and actually speak with a spark of passion previously – the Manchester leadership hustings springs to mind (from 1:26:00 for a case in point) – it was rather disappointing to listen to a speech which gave the impression of being ‘just enough’, whilst preaching to the converted. Nevertheless it was coherent, persuasive and offered a realistic vision for the future of social democracy in this country, and even included his ‘too technocratic and managerial’ buzzword combination which we have all grown fond of over the course of his leadership bid.
All seven slipped into the first panel of the day, the fourth on the list, ‘Winning the argument: what can we learn from the right?’ which was over-attended and left many standing, and sitting, around the edges of the room. Still, an interesting debate emerged with Laurie Penny (always interesting to listen to, but perhaps sometimes a bit too quick to speak without thinking) and Tim Montgomerie somewhat taking over the first half of the session talking about whether or not Tories ‘cared’. Insights from Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, and well thought out points from Chuka Umunna MP, left the room with a wealth of ideas on just what we on the left can take from how the right acts and campaigns.
Jonathon Morris and Steph Dickinson.
A Lunchtime Fringe event was hosted by the Young Fabians themselves, and so satiated with pizza and after having a quick glance around at the stalls outside the conference hall, the issue of ‘Squeezed Youth: how can Labour reconnect?’ was tackled. Although worthy, the debate was somewhat dry in places and didn’t truly address the issue, indeed as has been pointed out ‘Youth Politics’ is often too narrowly defined and patronising in its outlook. Dr Maurice Glasman stole the show somewhat with his opinionated comments on how worthwhile such meetings are, but as a whole the session was well conceived and implemented.
Splitting into two for the afternoon panel, ‘The Democracy Challenge: what really needs to change?’ took the interest of five (hardly surprising with the upcoming debate being organised by the group) with the others going across to ‘Green Gloom: how do we win the argument for the planet?’ Somewhat lacking in a voice from the No Campaign, or indeed any delegate seemingly supporting such a side, the debate on AV was one-sided but achieved its aim moderately well and was very capably chaired by Jason Cowley of the New Statesman. Democracy is not something that should be taken for granted, nor that should be immune from improvement, and indeed the main point that came out would be the need for education of the public on the very nature and benefits of AV with even some in the room unaware of its specific workings (it was over an hour before one member of the audience felt it worthwhile to ask ‘what exactly is AV?’). The panel on climate change was also interesting and whilst some of the suggestions were controversial, the consesus was that Meg Hillier MP’s talk on volunteering to help direct policy left a definite impression on many in the room.
James Benton and Andrew Shearwood.
This was followed by the much talked about ‘Democracy Dragons’ and a small meeting with Preth Rao, Young Fabian Membership Involvement Officer, about how best to evolve and continue with the University Society. The end of the Conference was marked by the obligatory reception at which everyone got the chance to opine over the day with a cool drink in hand. Some felt that ‘what can the left learn from the right’ was good, although the debate about increasing democratic access was also liked. Agreement was reached that it had been a very interesting, worthwhile and pleasant day all around. Debate continued well into the small hours for the Merseyside delegation, and as the five made their way north up the M6 on the Sunday, there was tiredness, but also a sense of optimism.
Authored by Hetty Wood and James Roberts.
No comments:
Post a Comment