Amber Khan, Anticipations Editor

To briefly introduce myself, I’m Amber and I am this year's Antics editor. I am currently studying for an LLM in public international law and work part-time as a commercial law paralegal. Aside from the Young Fabians, I volunteer with the Manchester legal advice clinic, Lawyers Without Borders and Samaritans. In my spare time, I enjoy painting, sketching and badminton.

I am really excited for what this year holds, and I want to ensure that Antics showcases the talent, passion and creativity of our members. I have really enjoyed engaging with members and I’m always interested to hear the thoughtful and considered ideas of our members; I want to make sure that these big ideas are reflected in all the work I do this year.

My priorities for the year are:

• To ensure that urgent issues such as the climate emergency, equality and the post-Covid-19 recovery are at the forefront of all the work I do.
• To ensure that the Young Fabians continue to be a transformative force for good within politics.
• To ensure that underrepresented groups and people are given a platform to showcase their ideas and talent in a variety of ways.
• To ensure all members have an inclusive safe space and are afforded equal opportunity.
• To work towards wider engagement and increased membership.

I am really keen to hear from members, and I know that the past year has been a difficult time for many people. Please get in touch if you have any concerns, have any ideas that I lend a hand with, need someone to talk to, or just to say hello! My email address is [email protected].

Emma Stevenson, Blog Editor

Hi all, I’m Emma, and I’m delighted to have been elected to the Young Fabians Exec this year as the new Blog Editor. I’d like to pay tribute to my predecessor Amber Khan, who will be doing phenomenal things as our amazing new Antics Editor. Amber transformed the blog into a vibrant place for conversation and debate – a true training ground for fresh thinking on the left – and I hope to continue in that same spirit.

I only joined the Young Fabians last December upon the advice of my MP and former Chair of YF Seema Malhotra. After attending the New Year Conference – my first ever Fabian event – I knew I’d made the right decision. From there I became more active and was fortunate enough to be elected as the Parliamentary Liaison Officer for the Health Network.

In a short time, I’ve experienced how transformative getting involved can be. I’ve been fortunate to participate towards a written briefing on health inequalities for Jonathan Ashworth, contributes to Fabian Perspectives on Mental Health alongside an article from Andy Burnham, and appear on a panel with Dr Rosena Allin-Khan. I’ve led engagement with the Shadow Health team, from organising and co-hosting an event with Justin Madders, securing Jonathan Ashworth for our Labour Connected panel, and co-chaired a fabulous event on Covid-19 and women’s Health with our outgoing women’s Officer, Emily Batchelor.

I want to ensure all Young Fabians have similar opportunities and starting with the blog I hope it can be a safe and collaborative space for our members to share and challenge ideas. This year I am determined to see even greater diversity from regular contributions and takeovers by our networks, regional groups, and especially our fantastic advocacy groups – ensuring that no matter who you are or where you live you have the opportunity to contribute to and shape the blog.

If you would like to pitch an idea for an article, a blog series or takeover, or have any questions at all please do contact me via [email protected] or Twitter @_ELStevie.