Upload
young-fabians
View
212
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
A report summarising our activity over the 2009/10 Executive year.
Citation preview
The Young Fabians
The Young Fabians are the under-31’s section of the Fabian Society, Britain’s foremost centre-left think tank. Set up in 1960, we remain the only think tank run by and for young people. Our Membership numbers over 1,400 and in-cludes young professional, students, parliamentary researchers, political activists and academics. The Young Fabians promote policy debate through seminars, conferences, pamphlets, and online through our website and blog. To find out more about the Young Fabians, visit www.youngfabians.org.uk.
The Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is Britain’s leading left of centre think tank and political society, committed to creating the political ideas and policy debates which can shape the future of progressive politics. Fabian publications, events and ideas reach and influence a wider audience than those of any comparable think tank. The Society is unique among think tanks in being a thriving, democratically constituted membership organisation, affiliated to the Labour Party but organi-sationally and editorially independent. For more information, visit www.fabian-society.org.uk.
First published November 2010.
Fabian Society11 Dartmouth StreetLondon SW1H 9BNwww.fabian-society.org.uk
Elected positions:
DAVID CHAPLINChair
ADRIAN PRANDLEVice-Chair
REBECCA RENNISONTreasurer
PRETH RAOSecretary
JAMES GREENEditor, Anticipations
ALEX BAKERNew Media Officer
CLAIRE LEIGHReform Officer
SARA IBRAHIMEmbassies Officer
BRIAN DUGGANInternational Officer
STEVE RACEFundraising Officer
RICHARD LANEOfficer without Portfolio
SHAMIK DASSocial and Membership Officer
Co-opted positions:
MARIE LOEWEEqualities Officer
ANNA-JOY RICKARDWeb Officer
NICK MAXWELLNetworks and Schools Officer
VINCENZO RAMPULLAMembership Development Officer
PAMELA NASH MPParliamentary Officer
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE2009/10
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
4
This year has been exciting for the Young Fabians, but hugely disappointing for Labour. I’d like
to thank this year’s Young Fabian Executive who all give their time voluntarily and have shown
outstanding energy and commitment; ensuring our members have had more opportunities than
ever to get involved in our work through events, publications, campaigns and online debates. They
have helped lead a regeneration of our Society. In this report you will find a summary written by
each member of the 2009/10 Executive, I hope you find this report useful and that it is able to
encapsulate the breadth of activity we have undertaken this year.
The Young Fabians turned 50 years old in 2010. We began our fiftieth year with a speech from a
former member, Lord Mandelson, who urged young progressives to join the Young Fabians and help
shape the future of centre-left politics.
This year saw a professionalization of our new media output, with a new media strategy developed
by Alex Baker including the management of our Twitter activity, new web-chats, Blog, and adding a
consistent approach to our online image. This has successfully positioned the Young Fabian brand
as a truly distinctive voice.
In March we launched Young Fabian Equalities Month in partnership with Unison. This saw a month
of blogs and commentary from our members and from high-profile contributors including Alistair
Campbell. We also launched Young Fabian Women to boost engagement with our female members
and to enhance our offer to young women interested in progressive politics. We pioneered new
Young Fabian Networks to involve and engage our members with professional expertise in specific
fields such as finance, technology and science. Lord Drayson launched our Networks at a packed
event in the City in March and the Networks continue to offer a collaborative space for the Fabian
Society to attract new members.
In the run up to the General Election in May we launched ‘Campaign Corner’ to promote Young
Fabian campaign days. Our Membership Development Officer, Vincenzo Rampulla organised
successful campaign days in a number of key seats and worked closely with Hope Not Hate to
support their day of action against the BNP. We were proud to have three Prospective Parliamentary
Candidates on the Executive this year and through our Young Fabian Candidates Network we
supported many more candidates across the country.
Following on from the Young Fabians Fast Forward pamphlet published last year, we set up four
Policy Development Groups this year on a range of key themes, including Labour Party reform.
The groups have offered our members the chance to have their say on topical debates, expressing
views about Labour’s future agenda. A number of these debates have taken place online – allowing
members across the country to take part. This resulted in our flagship publication this year – ‘The
New Generation’.
James Green has taken our magazine Anticipations from strength to strength this year with three
fantastic editions and a huge range of member contributions alongside articles from all the Labour
Leadership candidates, Sarah Brown, Neil Kinnock, Oona King, Rachel Reeves, Matthew Taylor,
Patrick Diamond and many more.
DAVID CHAPLINCHAIR
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
5
We also gave our members a unique platform to engage with the Labour Leadership candidates
including a live web-chat with the candidates, I particularly enjoyed chairing the web-chat with
David Miliband. While our biggest event of the year was the Young Fabians hustings event for
the Labour Party Leadership elections in Bristol which over 400 people attended which was
masterminded by our International Officer Brian Duggan.
Thanks to our Embassies Officer an impressive embassies programme was re-established this year
including events at the American embassy on the mind-term elections. Equally, strong links with the
Indonesian Embassy look set to continue.
I was also very clear this year that the Young Fabians needed to change. We were able to take
the opportunity throughout this year to update our own structures through the appointment of our
first Reform Officer to refresh our way of working and our interaction with members. Through this
agenda I have been working hard to ensure that we continue to best represent our member’s views
and needs, and that we continue to improve transparency, accountability and diversity on our
Executive.
I hope to continue supporting the Young Fabians as a newly-elected member of the Fabian Society
Executive. In particular I hope to work with the new Executive to finish a project that I started this
year to digitise the Young Fabians back-catalogue of pamphlets with the LSE archive.
This has been the busiest Young Fabian year since I have been on the Executive. It was a year that
presented many challenges, which as a team we were able to overcome together. None of this
work would have been possible without the support of my Vice Chair, Adrian Prandle, who offered
constant advice throughout the year and who coordinated all our Policy Development Groups and
edited The New Generation.
It’s been a privilege to be Chair, and I wish next year’s Executive the best of luck.
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
6
Over the last twelve months I have supported work across the executive committee, from helping
new colleagues – including those out of London – settle into their role to meeting regularly with the
Chair to plan activity and discuss strategy.
Start of the Year•
I took on three tasks shortly after becoming Vice Chair. Firstly, I organised an event in the House
of Commons to launch the Young Fabian blog. The event was addressed by John Wood from
TUC’s Touchstone blog, Jessica Asato, later to become David Miliband’s new media lead, and Alex
Smith, then editor of LabourList before joining Ed Miliband’s office to run online activity. We ran
coordinated activity online at the same time, targeting members outside of London, and encouraged
people to get more involved in the Young Fabians. Secondly, I helped create a lunchtime event
to celebrate the Young Fabians’ 50th anniversary, at the Fabian Society New Year Conference
which was addressed by former Young Fabian Lord Mandelson. Thirdly, I put together the annual
member’s survey, increasing the number of members that took part and using the feedback to guide
our work over the year, and to help determine the main areas of policy the Young Fabians would
delve into.
Main Focus - Policy Development•
My primary role this year was to lead the Young Fabian policy work. I built upon the policy forums
which ran in previous years and developed some new ways to engage our members.
I established four Policy Development Groups (PDGs) and recruited young experts to chair the
groups and encouraged as many members as possible to take part, offering numerous ways online
and offline for them to do so. Jessica Studdert chaired our special project PDG, ‘Transforming our
Party’, Josie Cluer led the Work & Families PDG, Adam Short took on development, the global
economy and energy in our Livelihoods & Resource Security PDG, and teacher and trade unionist
Carla Powell looked at education policy with the Aspiration & Equality PDG.
Hundreds of members participated in meetings with guest speakers, discussed issues amongst
themselves, and contributed ideas via the YF blog and Anticipations magazine. The PDGs ran the
first Young Fabian online meetings, experimented with wiki-policy development and facilitated the
participation and policy ideas of members from all over Britain.
A new Young Fabian pamphlet•
In October I turned the excellent work the PDGs had undertaken into a publication, the Young
Fabians’ 50th anniversary pamphlet, The New Generation. I worked to develop a narrative for the
pamphlet to show what it sought to offer the Labour movement and how it would fit in with current
thinking.
I also spent time guiding the authors of the chapters on how to focus their contribution; editing
drafts; liaising with printers; meeting with the sponsors (TU Fund Managers); visiting Royal Mail and
ADRIAN PRANDLEVICE-CHAIR
Sponsored by
The NewGeneration
Participating inchange for the next50 years
Young Fabians 50thAnniversary Pamphlet
Edited by Adrian Prandle
Young Fabians|57
FABIAN SOCIETY
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
7
stationers’ website to help price the pamphlet; coordinated the printing and stuffing of over 2000
pamphlets; organised a launch event in parliament; and planned blog-posts across the major
left-wing blogs. Oh and luckily I didn’t forget to write my introduction for the pamphlet amongst
everything else.
I am very proud of the pamphlet and was delighted that Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP launched it
in Parliament. I couldn’t have done all this without the tremendous support of a significant number
of Executive Committee colleagues.
Other activity•
I have attended almost all Young Fabian events this year, including our campaign trips during the
general election. I have regularly contributed to the YF blog, and have written for Anticipations.
I helped to initiate our relationship with archivists at the London School of Economics and
represented our organisation at various political conferences. I co-organised the YF reception at
Labour’s annual conference and chaired our online webchat with Labour leadership candidate, Rt
Hon Andy Burnham MP.
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
8
The Young Fabian’s international work builds on our reputation for exploring international policies
and practicing international campaigning.
Within a few weeks of taking office we sent two representatives to Vienna to undertake a project
with the Foundation for European Progressive Studies bringing together young people from across
Europe writing and researching on topics of interest to social democrats. Executive Member Marie-
Noelle Loewe and I presented the findings of our International and Security Policy Development
Group to Alfred Gusenbauer, former Austrian Chancellor and the other attendees. The project
group has since expanded to include Executive Member Preth Rao who attended the follow up
meeting and the group continues to grow from strength to strength with Young Fabians driving the
policy agenda.
The largest international event undertaken this year was to run the only Labour Leadership hustings
on International affairs. The Young Fabians hosted the Labour in the World hustings with support
from the Labour Campaign for International Development, SERA and Co-operative Party Youth. The
Labour in the World hustings took place in Bristol with an attendance of over 450 members and
received coverage on BBC Newsnight. The event was an enormous success in ensuring Labour’s
Leadership candidates talked firmly about world affairs ranging from the principles of ethical foreign
policy, to development policy and defence.
Aside from policy the Young Fabians ensured again we are campaigners as well as thinkers, by
sending a joint delegation with Young Labour of 15 members to campaign for the Swedish Social
Democrats in their general election. Our members campaigned in Stockholm Central district and
received briefings from the Social Democrats as well as the SSU, the party’s youth wing. We were
also invited to the official results reception where we met with the British Ambassador to Sweden
as well as the Leader of the Social Democrats, Mona Salin. Although the result was not what
we had hoped for, the experience of campaigning in another country, learning new tactics and
engaging with challenging policy arguments as well as combating the rise of the far right were
great opportunities for our members. Our experiences in this election are being drawn together to
be shared with other Young Fabian members, the Labour Party and our colleagues in Sweden. The
Young Fabians also lent support through telephone canvassing with Young Democrats Abroad for
the US Mid term elections.
Lastly, the Young Fabians have been invited by the Overseas Development Institute to send
delegates to a round table discussion bringing together leading think tanks working on and
engaging with international development.
Our reach on international policy and campaigns this year has again proved extremely valuable to
our membership and to those with whom our members lend their expertise and abilities. From the
Labour Party, to UK and international think tanks and political parties our work in the international
field remains high calibre as well as highly respected.
BRIAN DUGGANINTERNATIONAL OFFICER
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
9
This year the Young Fabians have worked towards building long term relationships with the
Embassies and High Commissions in London. A range of events were organised which explored
areas of policy where we could learn from other countries and also how we could work together to
solve global problems.
The first event was with the Swedish Embassy on 27 May, where in the region of 50 Young Fabian
members attended to debate the issue of ‘gender and equality’ from the Swedish perspective. It
was of interest to hear the Deputy Head of Mission explain the Swedish system of ‘parental leave’
and the impact of not dividing childcare into maternity and paternity leave as is the custom in this
country. Perhaps the most striking part of the evening was in spite of overall better parity between
the sexes in Sweden, that there seemed to be a greater ambition to resolve existing gender
inequalities than in the UK.
Before Labour Party Conference, the Young Fabians held two further events: one with the Indonesian
Embassy and one with the US Embassy. In view of Indonesia’s position as the most populous Muslim
country, it was decided to debate the compatibility of Islam and Democracy. Two speakers attended
the event, Dr Sukma (a visiting academic from Indonesia) and Dr Hargey (a liberal Imam and chair
of the Muslim Educational Centre in Oxford) to offer their insights. Given the publicity received by
countries with predominately Muslim populations such as Iran and Pakistan, it was timely to focus
on other examples.
This event was followed by a joint debate on the approaching US mid-term elections and the
anticipated impact on Foreign Policy with the youth branches of the Liberal Democrats and the
Conservatives. Professor Thomas Mann attended as a speaker (senior fellow from the Brookings
Institute) as well as MPs from all three political parties including Chris Bryant MP.
Additionally, as the Young Fabian Embassies officer I have attended Italian Day celebrations at the
Italian Embassy and also had a meeting with the Brazilian Embassy staff.
SARA IBRAHIMEMBASSIES OFFICER
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
10
There has been lots of hard work behind the scenes on the Young Fabian website this year to keep it
up-to-date and at the forefront of Young Fabian activity. In the last year traffic to the Young Fabian
website has grown from around 1,000 unique users viewing 4,500 pages per month to an average
of around 1,500 unique users viewing 5,500 pages per month across the year.
The face of the website has been given a refresh, and its content has expanded significantly. New
content added this year have included pages dedicated to:
Young Fabian Networks•
Young Fabian Women•
People who are new to politics, and •
Young Fabian members outside of London. •
The Policy Development Groups Hub on the website has been central to the 2010 Young Fabian
policy work, and the first year that online web chats have been used to facilitate the participation of
members outside of London.
I’ve also played a key role in facilitating the Aspiration and Equality Policy Development Group,
and over the year I have given particular support to Young Fabian Women activities and our
Reform work. Based in Nottingham, I’ve endeavoured to bring the perspective of members outside
of London to the Executive table and create a model of active, sustainable exec involvement from
outside of London.
ANNA-JOY RICKARDWEB OFFICER
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
11
My goal this year was a fairly modest one – to improve our the content offer on our website, and
bring the benefit of emerging technology to Young Fabian activity. I also wanted to continue the
work I started as Anticipations editor between 2007 and 2009 in professionalising our published
material, both online and offline.
I’ve made significant progress in delivering my objective this year, including:
Blog. Readership of our multi-author blog has grown over the year, with around 1,000 unique •
users a month now accessing the site. We regularly feature contributions from Young Fabian
members as well as guest writers, such as Alastair Campbell who wrote about mental health
during Equalities Month. We were also voted amongst the Top 100 Labour blogs in a recent
Total Politics survey. This is a considerable success given the blog only launched a year ago.
Social Media. We’ve made better use of social media this year. For example, this year is the •
first the Young Fabians has had a Twitter account, which we use to market our events and
publications – @youngfabians is now followed by getting on for 1,000 people. And we’ve
encouraged the use of “live-tweeting” at events.
Webchats. This year we’ve incorporated online discussions as part of our broader activity. We •
held a number of online discussions as part of the Policy Development Group activity, and
webchats with three of the Labour leadership candidates – Ed Miliband, David Miliband and
Andy Burnham.
Podcasts. We’ve brought you audio from a number of events this year – the Labour Leadership •
hustings event in Bristol, the launch of The New Generation pamphlet, the Emergency Budget
debate, our new members’ reception, and the launch of Young Fabian Women.
Antics:Lite. This year saw the launch of a new Young Fabian publication – Antics:Lite. A •
sister publication to Anticipations, the journal of the Young Fabians, Antics:Lite is a shorter
e-publication which is designed to be more responsive to current events. We published two
editions in the last few months, on Copenhagen and the Robin Hood Tax.
Archive. We began the process of building an archive of published content online in •
celebration of our 50th year with the development of the Anticipations archive. Editions from
as far back as 2001 are now available to read on the Young Fabian website, with plans to
add other publications in the coming year.
More targeted communications. We now send separate e-mail updates to members and non-•
members and have recently started e-mailing MPs with a special digest of our activity.
Design. I’ve overhauled the design of the blog, updated design elements on the website and •
provided design support to other colleagues throughout the year. In addition, the email update
was redesigned at the turn of the year and I’ve provided extensive support to Preth to deliver
the weekly updates and other mailings to our email lists.
A lot of my work has been focused on supporting my colleagues on the Executive ‘behind-the-
scenes’ to ensure their activity is as successful as possible, which has often entailed long hours and
late nights. Importantly, this activity has allowed us to better involve members who live outside of
London, or who otherwise may not have participated.
It’s been a challenge to effect a culture change in the way the Executive approach Young Fabian
activity, but increasingly new media forms an important – and sometimes central – component to
our activity.
ALEX BAKERNEW MEDIA OFFICER
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
12
Over the course of this year Anticipations has gone from strength to strength. The quality of its
content and profile of its guest contributors is testament to the success not only of the magazine but
also of the Young Fabians more widely. Anticipations has included contributions from top politicians,
leading journalists and key opinion formers including the new leader of the Labour Party Ed
Miliband, RSA Chief Executive Matthew Taylor and the chair of Britain’s first ever televised leaders
debate, Alastair Stewart. The Young Fabians have also created more ways than ever before for our
members to contribute with a wide variety of new features and sections.
The Young Fabians would like to thank the many politicians who have written for the magazine
over the course of the year. We received contributions from all the leadership candidates, many of
Labour’s new MPs (Emma Reynolds MP, Rachel Reeves MP, Pamela Nash MP, Gloria De Perio MP)
and a good number of Labour stalwarts (Gordon Brown MP, John Prescott, David Blunkett MP).
We also included contributions from key opinion formers including Ben Page, Sarah Brown, Adam
Boulton and Patrick Diamond.
In addition to securing strong content, we have led a number of notable innovation during this year
including:
A full redesign. Anticipations has been redesigned and our new look magazine has been well •
received by politicians, opinion formers and Young Fabian members;
The first ever colour Young Fabians magazine. For the first time in its history Anticipations was •
printed in full colour this year;
The first ever online edition. For the first time Anticipations was published online. The online •
‘taster edition’ allowed the Young Fabians to reach out to a wider audience, increasing our
influence and reach;
An online Anticipations archive. Past copies of Anticipations are now available to read and •
download in full on the Young Fabians website;
Posting Anticipations with Fabian Review. This shared mailing strengthened the Young Fabian •
brand, built a stronger relationship between us and the Fabian Society and led to significant
cost savings;
A wider distribution. Anticipations is now sent to a wide range of key opinion formers from •
politics, thinktanks and the media. It was recently referenced by David Aaronovitch in his Times
column.
For further information about Anticipations, to view the magazine archive and to read the latest
edition online, visit www.youngfabians.org.uk.
JAMES GREENEDITOR, ANTICIPATIONS
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
13
As Young Fabians we should constantly seek ways to improve how we operate. In this spirit and to
coincide with our 50th Anniversary, last year our Chair decided to create the new role of Reform
Officer within the executive committee.
As Reform Officer I was tasked with taking a fresh look at the functioning of the Young Fabians
to consider what changes we could make to become more relevant, transparent, democratic
and inclusive. Through the annual members survey conducted by Adrian Prandle and other
consultations, many Executive members came up with brilliant ideas for improving the way we
work. Using these suggestions I produced a discussion paper, which you can now read on our
website [Can we hyperlink this?], which presented a range of options for opening up meaningful
participation in the society. In particular the paper looked at the way YFs recruit and elect the
Executive Committee.
This paper informed a range of initiatives that took place the year and will continue to affect our
work, such as publishing a mission statement at the beginning of the year and actively explaining
our constitution and internal structures to our members. Many of the proposed changes were
adopted and some implemented ahead of this year’s Executive election, but a host of other reforms
will be introduced over the coming year under the leadership of the incoming committee. So watch
this space!
We will be at our most effective if Executive members bring a range of backgrounds, experiences,
networks and opinions to the table, as well as the talent and dedication to leverage these. Diversity
has not been our strongest asset in the past, and it is vital we address the issues that underlie this.
CLAIRE LEIGHREFORM OFFICER
This year the Young Fabians provided a number of ways for its mem-bers - and others - to get involved in the Labour leadership contest.
Web-chats - we hosted web-chats with almost all of the Leadership •candidates. They attracted hundreds of participants and allowed members across the UK to put their questions directly the the can-didates.
Hustings - we co-hosted a unique hustings event in Bristol along-•side WWF, LCID and SERA titled ‘Labour in the World’ to focus on issues of international development and environmental change. Over 400 people attended and the event was opened by Young Fabian International Officer Brian Duggan. We also co-hosted a hustings event in London, with the Fabians, LabourList, Progress, Labour List, Left Foot Forward and Compass.
Anticipations - the Summer edition of our magazine featured •contributions from all of the Leadership candidates. They answered a series of questions such as ‘What is your vision for Britain?’ and ‘What are the lessons of the last 13 years?’
FOCUS ON...LABOUR LEADERSHIP CONTEST
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
16
In our 50th anniversary year, we dedicated an entire month to one subject: March became the
Young Fabians Equalities Month. For four weeks, we held events and dedicated most of our blog
content to the Equality Bill, Women in Parliament, and for the first time ever, we raised the issue of
Mental Health.
Our panel debate “What’s next for Equalities” with panellists Nia Griffith MP, then PPS to Harriet
Harman MP, Seema Malhotra, Founder of the Fabians Women’s Network, Tom Copley (LGBT
Labour) and Tulip Siddiq, BAME Officer for Young Labour, spoke to a packed room about the
achievements of the last Labour Government and the next big challenges the Left had to take on to
create a fairer society.
Our panel debate “Equalties and Mental Health” with panellists Lynne Jones MP (Chair of APPG on
Mental Health), Dr Rachel Perkins (South West London and St Georges Mental Health Trust) Janet
Davies (Time to Change) and Victoria Walsh (Rethink) saw an engaged and often passionate debate
about the stigma people with Mental Health issues often encounter, as well as the lack of support
from health services and employers they often experience. As one of the best known campaigners
for Mental Health issues, Alistair Campbell wrote a very personal contribution to our blog.
The highlight of Equalities Month was the launch of Young Fabian Women (YFW) in Parliament:
with the support of UNISON and with our guest speaker and host Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP.
Young Fabian Women provides a space on the left for young women to get involved in progressive
politics, and encourages more young women to make their voices heard by joining the debate, on
and offline or standing for public positions. At our YFW event in June; “Learning Lessons from the
Election” our guest speakers Tulip Siddiq, then newly elected Councillor in Camden, Young Fabian
Executive member Rebecca Rennison, a former PPC, and Young Fabian Executive member Pamela
Nash MP shared their experiences with a packed room of women.
MARIE-NOELLE LOEWEEQUALITIES OFFICER
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
17
As secretary for my main role has consisted of collating and writing the weekly email update to help
inform our members of all the upcoming Young Fabian activities.
In addition, in the year I organised three events. The first was a “Standing for the Young Fabian
Executive” event, a follow-up from last year which aims to encourage members to stand for election
or co-option to the Young Fabian Executive, dispelling myths and providing transparency on the
process, this was informed by Reform agenda which was a priority for the Executive this year and
will continue to be.
I also organised an event with Young Fabian Women after the May election with local government
and Parliamentary candidates (both elected and defeated) to ask them about their experiences in
standing for political office, exploring barriers and discussing strategies to overcome them. This
was a ‘Chatham House’ rules women only event and aimed to encourage more young women to
stand for political office in the future, addressing the representation gap. This is one of the many
objectives of the Young Fabian Women.
In October I also organised an event entitled “Power to the People” with Cllr Steve Reed, Leader of
the London Borough of Lambeth, Jonathan Cox from London Citizens and Young Fabian member
and academic Dr Claire Russell to debate what can the progressive left expect of people with
political focus and discourse centring on the concept of the Big Society and community organising
which requires different expectations from individuals and society.
PRETH RAOSECRETARY
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
18
This has been a great year for member development, with the Executive working flat out to increase
opportunities for Young Fabians to get involved. We have moved to not just being the pre-eminent
membership think-tank for young people on the political left, but we have opened up ways to grow
the ‘do-tank’ side of what Young Fabians membership offers.
The Executive as a whole has worked together across the year improving opportunities for our
members across the UK to take part in activities and members have shown their support though a
larger and growing membership, as well as an increased participation in Young Fabian events both
on and off-line. This means that we enter the new Young Fabian year with an increased expectation
on the Executive to develop our work to include more members and open up the the society in
future years.
As well as delivering some of the permanent fixtures of the Young Fabian calender: the new
members’ reception, the annual dinner and the annual boat party, I have shown an appetite to
branch out into delivering new social events for members. This year, before General Election fever
took hold, I developed a Young Fabian Film Night focusing on racism. It was popular enough to
ensure that we look forward to developing this type of social event in 2011.
The General Election took up a huge amount of the year but also provided an important
opportunity to show that Young Fabians as campaigners too. Our series of campaigning days in
London, for parliamentary and local candidates who have shown particular commitment to issues
of importance to Young Fabians: housing, international development, community action, anti-
racism, to name a few, were both popular and successful. The turnout for these events showed that
Young Fabians are interested in campaigning and these sessions were allowed new members to get
involved and meet other members in non-policy focused activities.
This year we also showed our ability to bring together political groups together, and organise
events outside of London. We took the lead with other organisations to deliver three Leaders TV
debate watch-and-campaign-parties, with a further one organised in Manchester. Members from
throughout the UK were able to take part in these events through our on-line work supporting the
debate screenings. Excitingly we able to show that we can empower non-Executive members to
organise successful events and build activity outside of London. We have learned from this work,
looking at how we can integrate on-line access for all our events to widen participation.
This was particularly evident in the Leadership webchats delivered during the Labour Leader contest.
With the three candidates talking to Young Fabian members throughout the UK, we were able to
attract hundreds of interested young people to take part.
More generally we have continued to ensure that members have been able to contribute their ideas
through regular guest content on the Young Fabian blog, including the ‘Campaigner’s Diary’ guest-
post series.
There has been more. As testament to our membership work we leave 2010 in the envious position
of having had an unprecedented 44 candidates put their name down to be part of Executive in this
year’s election. It will be a tough act for next year’s Executive to beat.
VINCENZO RAMPULLAMEMBERSHIP OFFICER
1,380Nov 2009:
1,720Nov 2010:
MEMBERSHIP FIGURES:
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
19
After being elected to the Young Fabian Executive in November 2009, I took the role of Officer
without Portfolio. As part of this role I have been involved in organising a number of events and
helping co-ordinate Young Fabian activity throughout the year.
To mark the launch of the 50th year of the Young Fabians I secured us a special weekend of guest
editing LabourList to coincide with the Fabian Society New Year Conference.
In March I organised an ‘In Conversation Event’ between Oona King and Lord Kinnock in Portcullis
House, Westminster, which was attended by almost 80 Young Fabian members. Lord Kinnock
spoke about a wide range of topics including reflecting on his own experience of the 1992 general
election and offering parallels with the General Election that took place in May 2010.
Furthermore I helped organise the Young Fabian presence at both the Progress and Compass
Annual Conferences in May and June 2010. At both events we had a strong presence and
promoted our latest work to attendees allowing us to sign up new members in the process.
I have recently organised the first Young Fabian pub quiz of 2010 where we welcomed over 50
people to compete for the top prize.
Finally, alongside Vincenzo Rampulla, I have been organising the Young Fabian Annual Dinner
which took place on Friday 12thNovember where we welcomed guest speaker Stella Creasy and
over 50 Young Fabian members.
Over the past 12 months we have held many events, and seen a significant rise in our membership.
I am particularly proud that we have branched out of London and held a number of events outside
the capital.
The annual Young Fabian Boat Party attracted nearly 150 guests and our events in Manchester
at the Fabian Conference and during the Leaders TV debates also attracted big crowds, many of
whom had never been to a Young Fabian event before.
I also helped set up the Young Fabians PayPal account, which will hopefully enable us to collect
payment for events and advertise our events online more easily in the future.
I contributed regularly to the blog, which has flourished this year, and I believe will continue to do
so.
RICHARD LANEOFFICER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO
SHAMIK DASSOCIAL AND MEMBERSHIP OFFICER
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
20
In March 2010, the Young Fabians launched a new series of online collaborative Networks
to enable specific professional groups to better engage with the work of the Young Fabians.
We established a ‘Future of Finance’ Network and a ‘Technology and Society’ Network, which
- together - aim to connect socially-minded individuals from finance, research, technology,
engineering, and scientific communities with progressive politics.
Our hope was that the Networks would provide an empowering opportunity for progressives, of all
shades, to contribute their expertise to the effort to respond to global policy challenges. Network
membership is not limited to Young Fabian members, but open to all individuals who identify as
socially-minded.
Since the launch we have had a number of successes. Through the Network steering groups, we’ve
created a new body of active members who are in regular contact with me as the YF Networks
Officer. The concept and mission of the Networks has received wide support from the Chair and
YF Executive, the steering groups, our members and interested stakeholders – including the Labour
Finance and Industry Group and prominent MPs. Membership of both Networks has grown steadily,
including bringing in members who were not previously Young Fabians, and in particular, the
Networks have secured the £2,050 in sponsorship from organisations that the Young Fabians did
not have a previous relationship with.
In short the networks have brought in members and funding and, through events, special
publications and high quality blogs, increased our ability to comment on social and economic
issues. The current Executive has produced a handover document for the next Executive to help
ensure that the existing member and sponsor engagement around the Networks is not lost.
Our schools work in 2010 included a series of discussions on ‘Fabianism’ and modern politics
in schools within and around the London area. A number of schools were visited and talks given,
including providing the John Locke lecture at Westminster School, however with more dedicated
resources there is ample opportunity for the Executive to engage with school students in a more
effective and comprehensive way in 2010/11.
NICK MAXWELLNETWORK AND SCHOOLS OFFICER
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
21
The Young Fabians Candidates Network has become an important resource for Labour candidates
up and down the country. Set up last year, the network aimed to provide a space for Labour
candidates to get advice, explore ideas and share best practice with each other. To foster this
sharing, the network moved online at the beginning of this year. This marked an important turning
point, shifting control away from the Young Fabian executive and giving ownership of the network to
the candidates themselves.
There was a clear demand for the network. Within two weeks of launch 75 parliamentary and
council candidates had joined the network and by the time the General Election came around
nearly 10% of Labour’s Parliamentary Candidates had signed up. Based online, the network
allowed candidates to upload videos, blog posts and leaflets, participate in discussion forums and
post any questions that they had.
A great deal of innovative work was shared on the network and the Young Fabians updated network
members on the latest content on a frequent basis (bi-weekly during the short campaign). Network
members such as Kevin McKeever, who fought for Labour in Harborough, discussed how social
media could be used to its full potential. Others such as Jonathan Todd, Labour’s candidate in
Westmorland and Lonsdale, shared their experiences of hustings and working with the media. And
candidates such as Howard Dawber in Bexleyheath and Crayford uploaded great leaflets that went
far beyond traditional efforts.
During the General Election the network offered invaluable support to Labour candidates across
the country. Candidates often had similar aims, tasks and challenges and yet have few, if any,
opportunities to learn from each other. In the time-pressured environment of a General Election
the network allowed them to collaborate, learn from each other and share their experiences of the
campaign trail.
For further information and to view the network visit http://youngfabians-networks-candidates.ning.
com/.
JAMES GREENCANDIDATES NETWORK OFFICER
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
22
This year has been another challenging financial year, with the significant drop-off in regular
sponsorship we have often struggled to fund all our activities. Whilst the Young Fabians are run by
volunteers and many of our events are hosted at no cost, we do need money to print Anticipations,
pamphlets, and ongoing costs such as our website and mailing provider, and ideally to provide
social and reception events such as the launch of Young Fabian Women. The Young Fabians is run
on a very small budget and whilst we receive some money from the senior society this alone is not
sufficient for us to put on a full range of events and publications and fundraising is a key part of
Young Fabian activities.
Unfortunately, the recession mean tough times for left-wing organisations seeking sponsorship.
However, thanks to the efforts of Executive members and the generosity of our sponsors we have still
managed to put on a full range of Young Fabian events throughout the course of the year and finish
the year with a healthy bank balance.
I’d like to thank our sponsors this year:
WWF•
TUC•
Unison•
TU Fund Managers •
Jersey Finance •
Prospect Magazine•
Egon Zehnder•
REBECCA RENNISONTREASURER
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
23
As stated by our Treasurer, this year has continued to present challenges on the fundraising front,
the economic conditions exacerbated for us by the General Election result.
Specifically this year I co-ordinated a write-round to all Labour MPs to ask for financial support
which generated a welcome sum of money. In addition I sourced raffle prizes for events including
the boat party – our most successful, raising over £200. We also received ongoing donations from
Rt Hon Ben Bradshaw MP.
I was pleased to have helped our International Officer organise the Young Fabian ‘Labour in the
World’ Labour leadership hustings. I sourced and booked the venue in Bristol, the Passenger Shed,
which provided an impressive backdrop for the hustings and over 400 Young Fabian and Labour
members in the South West. It is important that the Young Fabians organise events outside of
London, and this proved our commitment to doing so.
I worked closely with the Chair to help organise our event at this year’s annual Labour Party
Conference. Specifically I organised and provided briefings for the speakers: Glenis Willmott MEP,
Stella Creasy MP, Hazel Blears MP, and Sadiq Khan MP. I’d like to thank all the speakers who took
time out of their busy conference schedules to speak to the Young Fabians.
I organised an event in November titled ‘Selections & Elections: New MPs talk about the General
Election 2010’ and was pleased to have Emma Reynolds MP, Luciana Berger MP, Gavin Shuker
MP and former Harborough PPC Kevin McKeever on the panel. It provided a forum for MPs to talk
candidly with Young Fabian members who may be PPC’s in the future. The event was chaired by
former PPC and Young Fabian Executive member James Green.
On December 6th I have planned an event with Lord Adonis to discuss the coalition negotiations in
May of this year, and the implications for future collaboration with the Liberal Democrats.
Finally, I have been very happy to co-ordinate the booking of rooms in Parliament for our events,
and thanks again to Ben Bradshaw MP for being our principle sponsor on this front. It is only with
this access that we are able to put on such a full and broad programme of policy panel events. I’ve
endeavoured to be as useful as possible to Young Fabian members and Executive colleagues in
organising their own work, and wish the 2010/11 executive all the best for their term.
STEVE RACEFUNDRAISING OFFICER
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
24
53 events – excluding all the Policy Development Group meetings which are not individually listed
From the Webbs to the Web: The official Launch of the Young Fabian Blog
Wednesday 18th November 2009, the House of Commons
Young Fabians 50th Year Launch with Lord Mandelson – at Fabian Society New Year Conference
Saturday 16th January 2010, Imperial College, London
Young Fabian Film Club launch
Monday 25th January, Birkbeck Student Bar, London
Young Fabians/Young Labour - First-time voters telephone campaigning
Tuesday 9th March, Labour HQ, Victoria Street
Young Fabians New Members Reception
Tuesday 9th March, Westminster
Young Fabian Social at Fabian Society Conference
Saturday 13th March, Manchester
Young Fabians Equalities Month: “What next for Equalities?”
16th March, House of Commons
Young Fabians Equalities Months: Reception to celebrate the launch of Young Fabian Women with
Patricia Hewitt MP
18th March, Portcullis House
Young Fabians Equalities Months: “Mental Health and Equalities: What more can he Government
do for young people?”
23rd March, House of Commons
Young Fabians campaign with National Volunteer Taskforce
Wednesday 24th March
Launch of the Young Fabian Networks - “Technology and Society” and “Future of Finance”
Networks
Thursday 25th March, Association of British Insurers, London
Young Fabians 50th Year Event - election Special with Lord Neil Kinnock
Chaired by Oona King
Monday, 29 March, House of Commons
Young Fabians campaign with National Volunteer Taskforce
Wednesday 31 March
Young Fabian community campaigning with Stella Creasy MP and Cllr Mark Rusling, Waltham
Forest
Saturday 3rd April
EVENTS DIARY2009/10
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
25
Young Fabian community campaigning with Cllr Kate Groucutt and Conor McGinn, Islington
Saturday 10 April
Young Fabian community campaigning in Islington South and Finsbury with Emily Thornberry
Sunday 11th April
Young Fabian Women and Unite4Labour “Winning 4 Women” Phone Banking Day
Wednesday 14th April
Leaders’ Debate Campaign Event and Launch of the Labour LGBT Manifesto
Thursday 15th April, Old Compton Street, London
Young Fabian community campaigning in Barking and Dagenham with Hope Not Hate
Saturday 17th April
Young Fabian community campaigning in Islington South and Finsbury with Emily Thornberry
Sunday 18th April
Young Fabians Phone Canvassing and Leaders’ TV Debate event
Thursday 22nd April, New Oxford Street, London
Young Fabian community campaigning Westminster North
Saturday 24th April
Young Fabian Women and Unite4Labour “Winning 4 Women” Phone Banking Day
Wednesday 21st and 28th April
Young Fabians Phone Canvassing and Leaders’ TV Debate event
Thursday 29th April, The Strand, London
Young Fabians Phone Canvassing and Leaders’ TV Debate event
Thursday 29th April, Manchester
Young Fabian community campaigning in Bethnal Green and Bow
Saturday 1st May
Young Fabian community campaigning in Harrow West
Monday 3rd May
Young Fabian Post Election social gathering with David Miliband and Ed Miliband
Wednesday 19th May, The George, London
Young Fabian event at the Swedish Embassy – ‘The Swedish Model of Equality’
Thursday 27th May, Swedish Embassy, London
Young Fabian Boat Party 2010
Friday July 9th, Westminster Docks
Young Fabians co-hosted Labour Leadership Hustings
Monday June 14th, London
Young Fabian Women: Learning Lessons From the Election
Tuesday June 15th, House of Commons
The Young Fabians Budget Debate: Cutting waste or wasting potential? Co-hosted with Progress
Tuesday 22 June, House of Commons
Young Fabian Campaign Session: Chadwell By-election
3 July
YOUNG FABIANSANNUAL REPORT 2009/10
26
Young Fabian London Theatre Outing
Thursday 15th July, Tricycle Theatre, London
Standing for the Young Fabian Executive
Monday 19th July, House of Commons
Young Fabians next Leader web-chats: Ed Miliband MP
Friday 13 August
Young Fabians next Leader web-chats: David Miliband MP
Friday 27 August
Young Fabians next Leader web-chats: Andy Burnham MP
Thursday 2 September
Young Fabians co-hosted Labour Leadership Hustings - Labour in the World
Thursday 9th September, The Passenger Shed, Bristol
Young Fabians and Movement for Change special Community Organising Workshop
13th September, Westminster
Young Fabians Campaigning trip to Sweden
16th -20th September
Young Fabians Embassy event: ‘Indonesia - Islam & Democracy’
Thursday 16th September, Indonesian Embassy, London
Young Fabians ‘Future of Finance’ Network event - “Balance in the boardroom: How to get more
women leaders in the City?”
Wednesday 22 September, London Stock Exchange, London
Young Fabians Embassy event: ‘US Mid-term Elections and Foreign Policy - Discussion and
Reception’
Thursday 23rd September, U.S. Embassy, London
Young Fabians Labour Party Conference Rally
Sunday 28th September, Manchester Centre
Young Fabian Pub Quiz
Tuesday 12th October, Old Star Pub, Westminster
Launch of ‘The New Generation’ pamphlet
Thursday 21 October, , House of Commons, London
‘Power to the people’ - a debate on co-ops, mutualism and community organising
Monday 25th October, House of Commons
‘Protected or pilfered? - What the CSR really means for R&D and science in the UK?’
Wednesday 27 October, House of Commons
‘Selections and Elections: New MPs talk about the General Election 2010’
Monday 8th November, House of Commons
Young Fabians Annual Dinner
Friday, 12th November, The Rose, Albert Embankment, London
Young Fabians AGM
Saturday 13th November, London