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Anas Sarwar: We can beat the SNP by harnessing the talents of our younger members

Labour MP and candidate for the deputy leadership of Scottish Labour outlines his intention to encourage more participation from young people.

It’s not surprising that young people in our country find themselves politically prominent just now.

Rocketing youth unemployment: the tuition fees rise; a reduction in the funding of higher and further education; the removal of the Education Maintenance Allowance; rising living costs combined with wage stagnation; and the inability of many to get on the property ladder, meaning that an unassisted buyer is likely to be in their late thirties before owning their first home; have disproportionally affected young people.

Youth unemployment will be the key issue of this Parliament – both in Scotland and the UK – and my growing fear is that it may be the issue of the next Parliament. Young people are now looking to their future and instead of deciding what line of work they want to pursue, they are trying to find any line of work they can pursue.

Youth priorities are often the same priorities as everyone else in our movement. Employment, access to services, security and equality of opportunity are things that we all want. However, although young people in our movement invariably have the same principles and ideals, they often have a different and fresher approach.

I recently chaired a policy commission for the Young Fabians entitled Building Stronger Communities which held sessions in London, Manchester and Glasgow taking contributions from a mainly youthful audience. The assembled audience were asked to pitch us potential policies to appear in a fictional manifesto: but what struck me about the commission was how willing and engaged the young audience were and how progressive their policies were.

That is why one of my key messages during my Deputy Leadership campaign has been the need to cultivate the talents. We need to recognise, cultivate and promote the young and old talented individuals within our party and the wider movement.

The SNP may currently be ahead in financial resources but in terms of potential, ideas and energy, we can beat them if we use the collective talent of the wider movement.

Young members should never be seen as only being there to make the phone calls, stuff the envelopes and  knock the doors, but as our resource pool and the advocates of Labour values whether in their workplaces, college or university campuses and in their local communities.

We have to harness the ideas, the skills and the enthusiasm of our younger members and use it to help drive our party forward. Social media and using the internet to effectively campaign is two of the many examples where the input of our youth movement has already made an impact, but where it also has a huge amount to offer.

If elected as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party I will take it upon myself to lead meaningful engagement with the younger members of our movement. During my campaign I have met with almost every student group, right across the country and if elected I will seek to make this a formal part of our party structure, harnessing this energy and ideas and feeding them directly into our parties decision making process.

This contest is about the future of our Party and our country. Our young people are just that.

Editor’s note: The Young Fabians welcome posts from other candidates in the Scottish Labour deputy leadership election. Email mzarb@youngfabians.org.uk if you would like to contribute.

Delivering for young workers

In this Guest Post, Director of Unions21 and former Young Fabian Executive Committee member Dan Whittle, highlights the work Unions21 are doing to promote the role of unions to young people.

Whilst Young Fabian Trade Union Liaison Officer some years ago I realised that there was a growing need for young people to look to the protection of unions.

The interns movement was just beginning, social mobility was emerging as a key issue. The need for young people to seek the legal protection and effective campaigning power of unions was evident.

Since then the situation has spiralled in ways all reading this blog know all too well – yet only around 1 in 20 young people are union members.

Unions21 commissioned focus group research which uncovered a number of distinct and clear barriers that prevent young people from joining the union movement. These were categorised into four main themes:

  1. Lack of awareness – i.e. low visibility and/or understanding of unions.
  2. Lack of ‘push factors’ – e.g. many young people stated that they were happy with their workplace and did not feel they had come across any issues which might lead them to need a union’s support.
  3. Lack of ‘pull factors’ – e.g. young people found it difficult to articulate anything that would attract them to join a union.
  4. Repellent factors – e.g. cost of membership is off-putting for some, and some young people find it difficult to identify with union members.

I was pleased this year to work with a number of trade union members including Young Fabian Chair Adrian Prandle to produce a paper that offers fresh thinking on how we address these four themes with a focus on achieving benefit for young people in a time of cuts and economic stagnation.

In the publication: Delivering for Young Workers Michael Wheeler focuses on USDAW’s successes in making gains and communicating to young people the relevance of the union to their lives. Adrian Prandle and Paul Campbell see ATL’s ability to offer opportunities for professional development as key. Dannie Grufferty from NUS and Councillor Richard Watts from Islington Council explain how many of their organisations’ values and objectives for young people are shared by unions, and offer ideas for improved joint-working. Dannie Grufferty makes a timely argument for a student TUC card.

Each of the authors gives an insight into how they believe young people are being adversely affected by the policy decisions of the government and the unique role unions can play in limiting the damage and providing an alternative.

Alongside it, we launched a video made with a group of young trade union reps from across Britain: http://youtu.be/x-C9vZkoeUk The young people featured in the film – Jake, Sam, Tom, Kirsty, Ruth and Helen – share our concern that too many young people lack the support and protection of union membership.

Dan Whittle is Director of Unions 21.

Labour Conference – Young Labour makes its mark

In this guest post, Susan Nash and Callum Munro reflect on the activity by Young Labour activists at last week’s Labour Party Conference.

Everywhere you turned at Labour Party Conference last week there were references to the promise of the next generation; the importance of protecting the futures of young people who are being priced out of education and left isolated and unemployed by this Conservative-led coalition.

But what was refreshing at Conference were the faces leading these debates.

It was young members themselves – affected by the betrayals of the Lib Dems and Tories – who took to the stage.

For the first time ever, Young Labour held a Youth Conference at Annual Conference. Packed with fringes, an exciting array of speakers and a lively reception, it was a huge success. Reduced conference passes helped boost the numbers of young people flocking to Liverpool’s ACC, as well as the jammed packed agenda.

The Youth Conference began with an explanation of the radical and fundamental reforms that were passed as part of Refounding Labour, which amongst other things grant Young Labour affiliate rights. But discussions didn’t just focus on the past but centred on the tasks ahead; looking at the policy review where delegates got an opportunity to showcase their ideas to Liam Byrne MP.

The busiest session of day was the lunchtime fringe which included Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls and Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee. The room was so packed some were turned away, and the debate didn’t disappoint with rousing speeches and questions on how to tackle youth unemployment, looking at both the Coalition’s failure to act, and what we could do from opposition.

As a party we have strong international links. This too is true of our youth wing. Young Labour was honoured to have fraternal greetings at our first youth conference from Eskil Pedersen, the President of AUF; the Norwegian Worker’s Youth League, which was so tragically attacked on the 22nd July on Utoya island. Eskil spoke with eloquence and deep heartened thanks and gratitude to all those across the world who had shown solidarity in action, and supported him and his members through those challenging times.

Young Labour is the largest youth wing of any UK political party, with over 20,000 members aged 26 or under, but we recognise this conference is just the start of the continuing important work of building and strengthening our movement.

At conference we discussed the challenges of engaging young people on politics and we know there is a lot more work needed to train our activists, to develop young labour groups across the country, and to build effective campaigns which reach more young people beyond our party members.

This week was just the start but an important and significant one. These developments would not have been possible without the leadership of Ed Miliband and the support of both the outgoing and incoming General Secretaries: Ray Collins and Iain McNicol. The success of this week also pays testament to the dedication of our volunteers and the support of the newly appointed National Youth Officer.

As we look to build on from this success we hope Young Fabian members will continue to play a central role in transforming Young Labour into a even greater, more powerful and effective organisation. An organisation at the heart of our party. A party which has and will continue to offer real hope and prosperity for young people.

Susan Nash is national Chair of Young Labour and a former Young Fabian executive committee member.
Callum Munro is the Youth Representative on Labour’s National Executive Committee.

Middle East Delegation Travellog – Palestine’s UN bid

As part of our Middle East delegation 2011 travellog, Roxanne Mashari explains why she now supports Palestine’s UN bid for independent statehood.

September 21st 2011 is not just the day I turn 25, but also the day that the Palestinians will take their bid for independent statehood to the United Nations. You can see faces of the Palestinians that we talk to light up with a sense of hope and energy at the prospect of the bid succeeding and there is a real sense of excitement in the air in the Palestinian Territories.

Dr Sabri Saydam, technology and science advisor to the Palestinian Prime Minister, beamed into our meeting with Fateh Youth this morning clutching a tiny cube in his hand. Taking his seat, Dr Saydam held the cube up for the delegation to see. Inside was a miniature blue chair with a tiny Palestinian flag. The message on the cube reads ‘Palestine’s Right, A Full Membership to the United Nations’.

The overwhelming sense of optimism and pride radiating from Dr Saydam as he speaks is contagious. It’s hard not to get caught up in the energy surrounding the preparation for the bid and sitting here with the Young Fabians, Fateh Youth and Dr Saydam, it becomes difficult to contemplate a down side to the September bid.

We have been reminded throughout our trip of the potential dangers of such a move by the Palestinians. Mark Regev, Spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister, put to us yesterday that the Palestinian bid was unilateral in nature and that granting statehood to the Palestinians in this way would allow them to avoid some of the more tough concessions that would have to be made in order to secure a mutually acceptable bilateral agreement with the Israelis. Peace, Mr Reghev argued, must be secured before Palestinian Statehood and not the other way round

As far as I can see, opposition to the Palestinian bid rests primarily on three main points:

  1. While raising expectations, the bid will do little to change the reality on the ground for the Palestinians.
  2. This is an unilateral move by the Palestinians which seeks to undermine Israel’s role in the peace process.
  3. Any UN agreement for the Palestinians will make negotiations with the Israeli’s far more difficult as the Palestinians will be unwilling to deviate from the UN agreements.

Until yesterday I was intrigued but sceptical of the Palestinian bid for statehood. Today, my doubt turned into support.

Putting our concerns directly to Dr Saydam, Dr Mohammad Shtayyeh and members of Fateh Youth, counter arguments to the bid were refuted in a measured and comprehensive manner.

I was particularly concerned that if the Palestinians were granted statehood via the UN that Israel may be undermined or side-stepped in any future negotiations. Between them, Dr Saydam and Dr Shtayyeh were clear that this bid was in no way a substitute for negotiations with the Israelis, that the reality of any borders would need to be decided face to face with the Israeli authorities, that an independent Palestinian state would be a demilitarised in the interim with an invitation to Nato or the UN to remain within Palestine in order to ensure the security of the Israelis.

The Palestinians believe that the bid this month will ‘transform the nature of the peace talks’ and grant the Palestinian people basic state rights and recognition that will place them in a far stronger and clearer position to negotiate a lasting peace settlement.  A clear narrative behind the reasons for the bid began to emerge throughout our various meetings today. The Palestinians claimed that unilateralism hasn’t worked, bilateralism has failed again and again and so the last port of call must be a multinational route.

The quartet, the UN, America and Israel have all backed the concept of an independent and fully functioning Palestinian state. If the Palestinians are committed to ensuring Israel’s security through demilitarisation and the presence of NATO forces as well as clearly stating that this bid is in no way a substitute for tough talks with Israel (as we heard today) I see no reason why the Palestinians should not take this non-violent multinational route to self determination and statehood.

Dr Saydam said today that he would put off his own daughter’s marriage if it fell in the month of September due to the bid. He is right in his measurement of the scale and unique nature of the opportunity in front of us. Today, every concern we have heard about the bid by the Isrealis was answered and answered convincingly by the Paslestinians we spoke to today.

If this is backed up with action, this bid for statehood could very well be a monumental and non-violent victory for the moderates within the Palestinan Authority and breathe new life into the peace process.

Roxanne Mashari is a member of the Young Fabians and a delegate on the Young Fabian Middle East Trip 2011.

Middle East Delegation Travellog – Securing peace

As part of our Middle East delegation 2011 travellog, Siobhan Randell reflects on whether Israeli security measures will help achieve lasting peace.

Second day on the delegation, already – by the amount of information I have absorbed – it feels like I have been here a lot longer! I’ve felt impressed by the variety of perspectives, both Israeli biased and Palestinian, we’ve heard so far in the programme. Each one an impressive speaker, I’ve felt like my opinion has altered slightly after every meeting and discussion.

Yesterday, I ended the day with the opinion that, at least for the moderates, there was a consensus that they wanted peace and a two state solution. The Palestinian UN bid did not seem to be the biggest deal, as on the ground it wouldn’t change anything, and would simply act as a motivator for further progress in achieving that two state solution.

However, after today visiting Hebron and hearing from Al Haq (who document Human Rights violations – including through very engaging Youtube/Google Earth presentations), followed by a lively discussion with Mark Regev, Spokesperson for the Israeli PM, I am beginning to understand the complexity of the conflict and the final status of borders in particular.

I found the situation in Hebron really unnerving. It felt as if the Palestinians were secondary citizens, that the security wasn’t there to protect them and that the effort by the Israeli government was completely and entirely dedicated to ensuring the ability for the Jews to live in settlements, regardless of the effects it would have on the lives of the Palestinians.

Palestinian shops and livelihoods were closed down, streets cornered off and Palestinians banned from driving on 10km of road in their own city, and even walking on 800m of road, meaning that some people had to enter their houses through their roofs, or leave their house entirely. Their appeared to be no sympathy towards the Palestinians or recognition of their right to be able to get into their own house, or walk along a route to work that was quicker than the one they were told to use by the Israeli’s. Simple things that made their lives so difficult were imposed, and, yet, I couldn’t see how it helped secure the state of Israel.

The main thing I took from Hebron was that although the Jewish population needed protecting, all Palestinians were treated as ‘threats’ instead of human beings and thus had fewer rights.

And yet, after speaking to Mark Regev, I understood more fully the Jewish narrative, history and need to have security. I learnt that ‘the wall‘ was (justified as) only a temporary measure and that it had reduced suicide attacks against Israeli’s by 90%; Regev claimed this saved Palestinian lives as Israel had reduced need to protect itself using violence and killing. After hearing this, the wall, which infringes internationally recognised borders for the West Bank, isolating Palestinian villages and separating Palestinians from their farmland and each other, seemed almost to be for the best.

In my opinion, the key issue is whether the wall really is temporary or whether it is an attempt by Israel to take land that has internationally been recognised as Palestinian.

I’m looking forward to my opinions being altered, dashed and/or developed over the coming days.

Siobhan Randell is a member of the Young Fabians and a delegate on the Young Fabian Middle East Trip 2011.

Middle East Delegation Travellog – Two sides of the coin

As part of our Middle East delegation 2011 travellog, Natalie Breslaw explores two contrasting opinions of the conflict.

What a day! Following a briefing over coffee, we were taken around the poverty ridden streets of Hebron with Al Haq, a Palestinian human rights NGO, concluding the day with a meeting with Mark Regev, the Israeli PM’s official spokesperson.  As I write this, we’re sitting in the beautiful terrace surrounded by trees and flowers with a gorgeous breeze in the Yitzhak Rabin youth hostel in Jerusalem.

During our time exploring Hebron, Al Haq showed us examples of many human rights violations allegedly being made by the Israelis on an everyday basis to the majority Palestinian population. What they showed us was appalling and shocking, and I say this as a pro-Israeli.

I am certain that the majority of Israelis are not aware of the troubles of everyday life for many Palestinians. For example, to gain access to their own houses, many have to climb the roofs of other housing, or climb through windows, as access to their own front doors has been shut off by Israeli authorities. This is done for the protection of the minority – 1,000 Israelis in the city compared to 200,000 Palestinians.

And the violence between the two groups – with murders on both sides and other attacks, such as rock throwing – shows the urgent need for peace, which is only likely to arise from a two state solution.

I’ve not been convinced by those who argue that Zionism is the problem and with the removal of such a concept the conflict would be solved. My opinion was later reinforced by Mark Regev. Our evening was spent throwing a barrel-load of unanswered questions at the poor man! His answers were direct and honest, and often sympathetic. And bringing together my thoughts for this blog has helped me develop a much clearer opinion following such a busy day.

Time, now, for a drink!

Natalie Breslaw is a member of the Young Fabians and a delegate on the Young Fabian Middle East Trip 2011.

  • You can follow updates from our Middle East delegation via Twitter by searching for #yfmep. And find out more about our Middle East programme by clicking here.

Middle East Delegation Travellog – Justice For All

As part of our Middle East delegation 2011 travellog, Joani Reid reflects on a an unexpected image of unity.

It’s easy to look at Israel and Palestine through the narrow prisim of the confilct; to define the people and their communities as being on one side or the other.

What I’ve found most surprising since arriving here, albeit less than 24 hours ago, is that the hot issue off the press isn’t a recent explosion or failed peace talks but rather an explosion of social protests.

Jewish and Arab Israelis alike recently united in their demand for social justice, better housing, better prospects and an end to hardship. It seems to be a demonstration which involves the middle and upper classes, but classes across the community divide. It may seem ironic or crude but I find the idea of over 430,000 people coming together, some Rabbis and some Israelis Arabs, in their outrage at lack of affordable housing, over priced health care and sub-standard education, promising, even romantic.

Joani Reid is a member of the Young Fabians and a delegate on the Young Fabian Middle East Trip 2011.

  • You can follow updates from our Middle East delegation via Twitter by searching for #yfmep. And find out more about our Middle East programme by clicking here.

Middle East Delegation Travellog – The Muslim Room

As part of our Middle East delegation 2011 travellog, Shazia Yamin reflects on her personal experience of entering Israel.

My first experience of Israel, as part of the Young Fabians Middle East Delegation, was not a positive one.

I’m accentuating the point in this blog to help provide an insight about what it feels like to be racially profiled and to have to endure a three hour long security interview process. I understand the need for Israel to contain security and terrorist risks. However, I fear that my small glimpse of ‘security assessment’, and the slight on my time and dignity, may just be the smallest fraction of what Muslims living in Israel and the OPTs endure on a regular basis.

As I sit in a little room in Ben Gurion airport, I begin to wonder about the justification for my detention. The room, as I am later told by a young Muslim man from London who joins me, is commonly referred to as the “Muslim room”. He describes passage through this room and the interrogation which accompanies it as rite of passage for any Muslim wishing to enter Israel. To my left sits Sara Ibrahim, my alleged co-conspirator and vice chair of the Young Fabians. It turns out that our co-detainee is an old hand at this; having been stopped a number of times as he travels to visit his fiancé in Ramallah. He explains that my initial interview was only the start of the process and what awaits me behind the other door is ‘Big Brother’. ‘Big Brother’, he continues, will confront me with lots of information that he will have obtained about me from their extensive ‘databases’.

As I sit in the room I reflect on my journey. The experience started at Luton airport; whilst I was still on British soil. I spent 15 minutes being asked questions about my Pakistani heritage. After being allowed to check in into the flight, I notice a large post-it note which has been stuck to the inside of my passport and the yellow tag attached to my case. I also notice that my fellow Fabians have not been allowed access to yellow tag club. I decide at this stage to remove the padlock I had lovingly applied to my case only a few short hours ago. I, after all, have nothing to hide. Predictably, when boarding the aircraft I am taken into a side room where my hand luggage is searched and my shoes are swabbed for what I assume is explosive residue.

As the hours tick away in the Muslim room, I begin to feel like more of a Muslim; almost as if an invisible nikab has started to grow across my face fertilised by the anger within me. The reasons for my detention soon become apparent to me. The only other members of the delegation who are in the room with me are those with Muslim or Muslim sounding surnames. There is no getting away from the fact that this is racial profiling, of the type that would cause an outcry on BBC Question Time were it a UK authority involved. My mind moves to consider the paranoia which no doubt underlies my treatment and the affect that living with such paranoia has upon the psyche of a nation. I also feel an overwhelming sense of empathy with those who have to deal with such treatment at the hands of the Israeli authorities on a daily basis. Whilst the Muslim room is no doubt an annoying inconvenience for me, I begin to appreciate exactly how annoying the ‘Muslim checkpoint’ would be as I go about daily life.

Sadly, I was unable to keep my date with ‘Big Brother’ as I was rescued from the Muslim room by an angel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tasked by the Israeli Embassy in London who very kindly responded to the pleas of the delegation organisers.

As I leave the Muslim room after just over three hours, I make peace with my time there and re-arrange my date with ‘Big Brother’ for the date of my departure. A heightened sense and application of security is something I’m sure we will experience more of during the visit… I’m interested to know from our meetings whether, in any way, the Israeli response to the security threat might be of a nature that actually exacerbates the very threat it seeks to contain.

Shazia Yamin is a member of the Young Fabians and a delegate on the Young Fabian Middle East trip 2011.

  • You can follow updates from our Middle East delegation via Twitter by searching for #yfmep. And find out more about our Middle East programme by clicking here.

Blueprint for a New Economy

In this Guest Post, Bren Albiston, a member of the Young Fabian Renewing and Reforming Our Economy Policy Commission, explores the ways in which we can change the way the country does business.

We have a big decision to make as to what future we want for this country.

Do we want to continue ever further down the road of an economic system that rewards rent-seeking more than productivity? Do we want to sustain an unfair system that generates friction between the Square Mile and the rest of the economy?

No. We can, and need to, improve this sorry state of affairs.

We have to grow our economy at more than 3% a year until 2035 in order to make up the losses incurred from the double-whammy of the credit crunch and recession. If we fail, we will lose something in the order of £4 trillion of productivity* . The task may seem insurmountable, but we must work to secure as much of that 4 trillion as we can.

Our capitalism is broken. This has been made clear by years of recession and static growth. We continue to pay the price of other people’s hubris; those who thought they could predict the unpredictable.

Despite this, we are still over-reliant on a financial system that is too cautious to invest. At the same time, the government is scaling back the public sector, our most potent means of inducing social mobility. We must reinvent the way we do business and the way that we create and encourage growth, not just because we need to recover economically, but because we need to recover socially as well.

Britain should not be afraid of taking the lead in reform. There are many ways in which the nation could change the way it does business. The establishment of a properly funded and empowered ‘Green’ investment bank is one option. As Will Hutton suggests, we should explore the benefits of a ‘Knowledge Bank’, a ‘Life Sciences Bank’ and perhaps a ‘National Infrastructure Bank’.

Through these institutions, we can invest in the technologies and expertise required to rebuild our economy. A new lending infrastructure will incentivise innovation, while benefiting traditional funding streams at the same time.

The new system would channel funds to those areas that are thought to be risky bets by orthodox lenders. However, it would need the backing of the state to succeed. It alone can provide the security and effective strategic direction needed, alongside a highly autonomous set of investment apparatus to keep its influence in check.

Fairness and just desserts should be the foundation stones of our new capitalism. In many ways, small business does more for this country than big business. At present, we neglect the small- and medium-sized businesses and leave them exposed to the predatory practices of our largest firms.

These giants operate largely unchallenged by both smaller competitors and government watchdogs. A study in 2005 revealed that the more competing firms were matched in terms of performance and productivity, the more they tended to register new patents** . We need a competition framework that actively promotes competition rather than protecting incumbent corporations.

Unfortunately, the balance between today’s consumers and tomorrow’s is too heavily in favour of the former. In consequence, there is little room for innovation and even less for emerging companies to replace those which are uncompetitive. We need an infrastructure capable of sustaining new corporate growth and innovation.

Britain is, in many respects, a world-leader in high technology and services. Yet as our manufacturing sector continues to decline, we remain over-reliant on financial institutions as the engines of growth. As the state retreats from its key role in encouraging social mobility, we are faced with a huge task: we need to reconstruct our capitalism to benefit society, and we need new institutions to help us do that.

  • You can learn more about what the ‘Renewing and Reforming Our Economy’ Policy Commission has been doing by clicking here.

* H.M Treasury (2009) Pre-Budget Report: Securing the Recovery: Growth and Opportunity, HMSO. See Also: Will Hutton (2010) Them and Us. Little, Brown.

** Phillippe Aghion, Richard Blundell, Rachel Griffith, Peter Howitt and Susan Prantl (2005) ‘The Effects of Entry on incumbent Innovation and Productivity’, CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP5323.

Labour in the World – Reflections on the Arab Spring

In this guest post, Debbie Moss, Chair of the Young Fabian Labour in the World Policy Commission, reflects on our webchat with young Egyptian activist Hannan Abdalla.

On Tuesday, the Young Fabian Labour and the World Policy Commission held a web chat with a young British-born Egyptian activist, Hanan Abdalla.  When the Cairo uprising began Hanan took a break from her career as a film-maker to support her compatriots in transforming their nation.  She has since been charting progress in the region via Twitter, amongst other media.

In a week which has seen the world transfixed by the apparently imminent demise of Gadaffi at the hands of NATO-backed rebels, Hanan offered a fascinating perspective on events in the Arab World, focussing on social media, the role of the young generation, prospects for future stability and the role of the West.

We in the West inevitably experience world events through the prism of our predominantly inward-looking media outlets.  When a foreign dictator’s power comes under threat our thoughts quickly turn to the domestic political implications and the impact on our national self-interest.  Hanan’s responses were particularly refreshing because of her focus on the lives of people living in the Arab world.  This was encapsulated in her opening remark: “What’s been happening in Libya has been exceptionally moving and for me serves as a real testament to the strength of the will of a people and how they will stop at nothing for change.”

Predictably, Young Fabian members wanted to know about young people and social media.  Yet Hanan cautioned against the temptation evident in much of the Western media  to view technological advance as the cause of revolution, rather than a means of organising against anachronistic regimes. The “sexier” aspects of recent events have received disproportionate attention, detracting from other, more significant aspects.

Similarly, our focus on speculation that the Muslim Brotherhood could gain power was challenged.  Western fear of the potential rise of extremist Islamic groups distracts the world’s attention from the more immediate enemies of human rights – in this case the Egyptian army, supported, Hanan emphasised – by the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel.  These uprising do not just challenge rulers – but global power structures.

And what of the role of the West? First of all, we should remember that it’s not all about us.  The uprisings were initiated by and remain the property of oppressed peoples forging a new political and social path.  But recent events, especially in Libya, do have significance for NATO and the international community, providing an opportunity to rehabilitate the doctrine of “liberal interventionism” and free it from the legacy of Iraq.

The Labour Party and all those who believe in progressive foreign policy should, all being well, draw on this to articulate a new formula for future interventions abroad.

Debbie Moss is Chair of the Young Fabian Labour in the World Policy Commission.

  • Replay the webchat with Hannan Abdalla here. Find out more about the Young Fabian Policy Commissions here.

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