+   An International Young Labour for all members "I want to build an International Young Labour which provides all members the opportunity to pursue their interests in other countries and organisations, ensuring that Young Labour is an active and engaged member of the international young socialist and social democrat community.”

Manifesto for Young Labour International Officer Ben Murray

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+  Proposal  for  an  International  Young  Labour  

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1) I will create Young Labour Ambassadors and Country Groups

I will work to establish a network of Young Labour

working groups in each country for which there

exists interest. These groups will elect a chair who

will act as our Ambassador to our sister

organisations in the given country.

2) I will ensure that Young Labour plays a

prominent role in the debate about Britain’s relationship with the European Union

Whether we like it or not, debate about the

European Union is not going away. We need to

ensure that we are involved with the progressive

defence of cooperation.

3) I will deepen relations between Young

Labour and our sister/cooperation organisations

I hear time and time again from our friends across

the world – particularly in Europe – that they want

to see more of us. I will deepen our relationships

with the youth sections of our sister parties,

improving attendance at their events and

congresses, and also those of ECOSY and IUSY. I

want it to be the norm rather than a novelty that we

are attending these events.

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4) I will develop inward campaign exchanges

Having helped campaign with our friends in Europe,

and hosted others from New Zealand, I have seen

the great benefit that campaign exchanges can have.

We need to develop this further.

5) I will open Young Labour’s international work

to all members, both in terms of awareness and participation

Too few members know anything about the

international side of Young Labour. That needs to

change. As an internationalist party, each and every

member should have the knowledge of how we

conduct our international relations.

Each and every member should also have the

opportunity to engage in this area of Young Labour

activity. I will investigate the potential for funding

support for those who would rule out participating on

the grounds of cost.

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+  Ambassadors  establishment  of  Country  Groups  

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Why create Country Groups and Ambassadors?

This will massively increase the engagement of

Young Labour with our sister parties and their

countries.

It’s also an effective and accessible way of engaging

all members with countries and member organisations

in which they have an interest.

How would it work?

To ensure accessibility, the Country Groups would

exist primarily on Facebook. Eventually, the groups

could have their own space on a Young Labour

International website, or section of the new Young

Labour website. I will create an online questionnaire,

asking which Country Group members would like to

join. Having compiled the results, I will set up

Facebook groups for the countries that were

requested.

• All members will be encouraged to join any

country group that they wish

• The group will elect a chair who will serve as

the Young Labour Ambassador to that country

• In liaison with their group, and the IO, the

Ambassador will be responsible for co-

ordinating relations between YL and the

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respective member organisation(s) in those

countries

• Young Labour/Labour conference would be a

useful opportunity for each Country Group to

meet

• The ‘Group Chairs/Ambassadors’ will meet with

the IO to report back and share ideas

• The Group, led by their ‘Ambassador’ will have a

major role in organising the inward exchange of

their respective member organisation for the

2015 short campaign, and potential outward

exchanges

• At IUSY/ECOSY festivals, members of the

Country Groups will be encouraged to participate

in bilateral meetings between YL and their

respective countries

• In Country Groups that contain just one member,

that person will become Ambassador. This

provides both the opportunity for the individual to

pursue their interest, and also deepens our

relations with those organisations

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+  Europe  defending  cooperation  

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Debate on Britain in Europe

Barely a day passes without comment on Britain’s

place within the European Union. As progressive

internationalists, we support the principle of

cooperation across borders – knowing important

issues require such cooperation, and the

formalised institutions to ensure the effective

delivery of agreed policies. We also know that our

position is not one that is heard often in public. As

the debate steps up a gear, we, as the Youth

section of the largest political party in Britain, need

to be at the forefront of that argument. It’s our

future that would be adversely affected should we

leave.

Defending the principles of cooperation

Whether we like the current form of Europe or not,

we cannot deny that the principle of pooling

sovereignty is a necessary one, considering the

globalised world in which we all strive to effect

positive change. I will launch a Young Labour

campaign to defend our role in the European

Union.

Championing reform

Defending the principles of cooperation that lie at

the heart of the European project does not mean

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we can’t be critical of the current model or policies,

which come from Brussels. We should call for greater

democracy in these institutions, and challenge the

Commission to offer an alternative strategy to

imposed austerity, which has seen the tragic

suffering of many of our friends on the continent.

Campaigning for a social Europe

With colleagues from across Europe, we must fight

for a Union in which our cooperation focuses on

improving people’s lives and supporting the

vulnerable. Within ECOSY, we’ve called this vision a

social Europe. This is a vision of sustainable

economic growth where profits are shared equally,

‘guaranteeing the best achievable living and

working conditions to all’. The purpose of our

movement is to to ‘empower and enable every

European to have a decent life, a life filled with

opportunities for self determination and self-

expression, participation in the democratic life of a

society in which knowledge, services, prosperity and

power are equally shared.’ Young Labour must join

our colleagues in campaigning for this social Europe

in the 2014 European Parliamentary elections across

Britain.

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+  Deeper    involvement  with  our  community    

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Deeper relations with our sister organisations

I hear time and time again from our friends across

the world – particularly in Europe – that they want

to see more of us. Last September I was lucky

enough to participate in a campaign exchange with

the PvDA (Dutch Labour Party). Friends I have met

at previous IUSY and ECOSY events were

surprised to see British campaigners, rather

expecting us not to attend. The recent improvement

in our engagement should be celebrated, and used

as a springboard to further involvement, both for

further exchanges, and also attendance at their

party congresses. Our German colleagues, for

instance, are organising a camp to celebrate the

150th anniversary of their mother party’s founding

(www.workersyouthfestival.org). Sister

organisations from all over Europe will be sending

their members to join in the celebrations, and

participate in the workshops and seminars that

have been organised. We should be doing exactly

the same.

Improved attendance at ECOSY and IUSY

in 2009. For different reasons, UK attendance was

virtually non-existent.

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This photo, from IUSY World Festival, Hungary, 2009

says ‘Great Britain - Young Labour - 4 participants’.

Since then we’ve made progress. In 2012, we took a

delegation of 40 to Croatia. This might seem

impressive – and is certainly a welcome increase –

but other countries, such as Sweden, France, Austria

and Germany frequently take delegations exceeding

200. Our low attendance has not been due to a lack

of interest – after all, who wouldn’t enjoy a low-cost

summer holiday with international comrades and

never-ending parties? It’s been a lack of awareness.

Should you elect me, I will keep reminding every

member of the fantastic week available in Turkey this

summer.

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Outward exchanges

Campaign exchanges are great fun. In September

I, and four others, helped the PvDA (Dutch Labour

Party) campaign in their general election campaign.

It’s a brilliant way for Young Labour members to

immerse themselves in the politics of another

country, to meet like-minded people, share

campaigning best practice and to build

relationships with both the sister organisation, and

their members. These relationships can prove

incredibly valuable – for instance, if you find

yourself stranded in Amsterdam, there’s a good

chance that one of our friends from the PvDA will

put you up!

This is a photo of all who participated in the

+  Campaigning  exchanges  

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campaign exchange. I know many of our members

would want to be involved with exchanges, and I

would arrange similar and regular exchanges to other

countries. I envisage the Country Groups also being

involved with arranging these exchanges.

Inward exchanges

Just as it’s great to participate in outward exchanges,

we should invite our international friends to support

our electoral campaign efforts. Based upon my

experiences, I have drafted proposals for how an

inward exchange might operate. Again, I would look

to involve the relevant Country Group with the

organisation of the exchange. During the 2010

campaign, I hosted a Kiwi in my home constituency

of Waveney, while others hosted a young US

Democrat. Not only did this deploy keen campaigners

onto the streets of Lowestoft, it helped generate a

buzz within our campaign. Members of the local

campaign – particularly young – enjoyed talking to

them about New Zealand and US politics, and we

shared best practice ideas with them. Many

international colleagues have expressed an interest

in coming to Britain to campaign, and as engaged

members of the international young socialist and

social democrat community, it’s right that we should

facilitate this.

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+  Opening    international  to  every  member  

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Increased awareness of Young Labour’s international work amongst the membership

I’m fully aware that I may have been using

acronyms in this manifesto that have made little

sense to many members. So, for those who do not

know what IUSY or ECOSY mean, let me explain.

Both are what I’ve referred to in this manifesto as

cooperation organisations. IUSY, or the

International Union of Socialist Youth, is the global

organisation for cooperation between socialist,

social democrat, and Labour party youth sections.

It is closely related to, although its membership

differs slightly from, the Socialist International.

ECOSY, or the European Community of Socialist

Youth, is based upon the same idea, but its

membership is European, and it is the official youth

section of the Party of European Socialists (PES).

ECOSY is a member of IUSY.

Both organisations arrange regular events, the

highlights of which are IUSY’s World Festival and

ECOSY’s Summer Camp. Both comprise a week of

workshops, seminar, rallies, bilateral meetings,

sport, sunbathing, and, of course, parties. I’ve been

fortunate enough to attend two IUSY festivals in

Hungary and Austria, and one ECOSY festival in

Croatia. Prominent speakers from the host

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countries have addressed each event. Prime

Ministers and others usually address, and then

engage with, the delegations.

I make no apologies for using a page of my manifesto

to explain the international cooperation organisations

of which we are members. I hope this brief summary

will have instilled some interest in members, so that

they will join us in Turkey this summer for ECOSY

Summer Camp, 2013.

Too few members know anything about the

international side of Young Labour. That needs to

change. As we are an internationalist party, each and

every member should have the knowledge of how we

conduct our international relations. I will ensure that

opportunities to participate in international activities

are communicated properly to all members.

Investigation into potential funding support

I cannot promise that I will realise a solution to this

problem, but I recognise that it’s not right that we

have members who would otherwise love to attend

international events, but because of cost, exclude

themselves from enjoying the benefits that

engagement with our international colleagues brings.

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+  Supporting  an  International  Young  Labour  

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“What I respect most about Ben is his commitment to our members and the innovations he deploys in their aid. When I found myself stranded in Amsterdam one night his IUSY couch-surfing site linked me up with a local comrade who kindly put me up for the night. It is this commitment and forethought he puts into our international movement which makes him an ideal candidate for this role”

Tony Richards, Coventry South CLP & Communications Officer, LSE Labour

“It's great to see Ben running for YL International Officer because he really gets what the role is about. Ben has been one of UK Labour's most prominent representatives at ECOSY and IUSY over the past few years, and he's enthusiastic about making sure other YL members get the chance to get involved too. This might be a new role for Young Labour but it's not a new concept - we need an experienced candidate to make sure even more young members participate in ECOSY and IUSY events. Ben has great ideas to enable more people do that.”

Caroline Hill, Tewkesbury CLP, UCLU Labour & TU Officer, YLNC 2013-15 “Over the last few years I have seen Ben prove his

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dedication to getting more young people involved in the work our sister parties are doing in ECOSY and IUSY.” Hazel Nolan, Secretary, SERTUC Youth & Trade Union Officer, London Young Labour “I'm supporting Ben Murray for Young Labour International Officer because he's passionate about strengthening our links with Europe, which I believe is vitally important. It's also great to know that he will work to widen participation at international events, something which really needs doing.” Alice Smart, Vice Chair, Leeds Labour Club “I met Ben at the IUSY summer festival in 2011, where he led the UK delegation, and again this year at ECOSY with a considerably larger delegation in tow! Ben is well known among international comrades thanks to his stellar efforts setting up the young socialist and social democrat couch-surfing network, and general likeability. If you want an excellent international officer who has and will reach out to international comrades, I couldn’t recommend Ben more for the position.” Ciara Leena, Irish Labour Youth To read all endorsements, visit Ben4YL.info

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+  Supporting  an  International  Young  Labour  

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Bob Blizzard, PPC for Waveney, MP 1997-2010, Government Whip 2007-2010 Chelsea Torrance, Chair of VicLabour, New Zealand Rajen Giri, President, Youth Organisation of Bhutan Pavel Melendez Cruz, International Secretary, Party of the Democratic Revolution & Former Vice President of IUSY Brando Benifei, Vice President of ECOSY James Sleep, former LGBT Coordinator, IUSY Bart van Bruggen, Amsterdam President, Dutch Young Socialists Tore Sinding Bekkedal, Norwegian Workers’ Youth League (AUF) Jauke Lodder, International Secretary, Dutch Young Socialists Guy Bromley, Brent Central CLP & Brussels Labour Cllr Chris Carter, Charnwood Borough Councillor & Loughborough University Labour Society Conrad Landin, Associate Editor, Left Futures & Cambridge CLP Stuart Benson, Former Australian Young Labor (Tasmanian Branch) President Raed Debiy, International Secretary, Fatah Youth Movement Nimrod Barnea, IUSY Vice President, Israel Tim Barnett, General Secretary, New Zealand Labour Party

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Robert Steenbergen, Vice President, Dutch Young Socialists Jakob Esmann, Executive Committee, Danish Social Democratic Youth & Presidium Member, Nordic Youth Council Thomas Messenger, President, Warwick Labour Club Dominic Curran, Coventry South CLP & Associate Editor, Left Futures Andrea Campos-Vigouroux, Streatham CLP; Treasurer, Manchester Labour Students

Curtis McLellan, International Officer, Labour Students Richard Howitt MEP, Member of the European Parliament for the East of England & Labour’s spokesperson for Foreign Affairs in the European Parliament

Kirstin Hay, Hammersmith CLP Benjamin Butterworth, LSE Labour Club Stephen Fulham, Bristol East CLP & Acting Chair of Bristol Young Labour

Daniel Warham, Islington North CLP, President – UCLU Labour

Cllr Cris Drew, Penzance Town Council, St Ives CLP

Colm Flanagan, Blackley & Broughton CLP, Young Fabians Political Education Officer

For a full list of supporters, or to pledge your support, visit Ben4YL.info

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+  Facebook.com/BMYLIO

www.Ben4YL.info

@Ben_Murray

IUSY World Festival & ECOSY Summer Camp – Austria 2011, Croatia 2012. Dutch campaign exchange.

Don’t forget to sign up to IUSYCouches.com – the couch surfing network for young socialists across the world!