James Potts - Chair

Tell us about yourself and your role:

Hello! My name is James Potts and I am the Chair of the Young Fabians. I’m originally from Wolverhampton but I’ve lived in London since 2015 and in my day job I’m a policy researcher at City Hall. Outside of work I’m a published author and writer. When I do get some free time, I enjoy reading, music and running.

Being Chair means I am responsible for the running of the society, chairing the committee meetings, managing the committee and looking after our membership of nearly 2000. I also get a seat on the Fabian Exec and I represent the views of members there.

What's your first political memory?

Well, I’m nearly 30 so I remember the last Labour government fairly well and being at school in that time I was lucky to see first hand the difference a Labour Government makes. Growing up in that era meant I saw a lot of Tony Blair on the news, in particular around the time of the Iraq War. 

A few years later I became chair of the school council and this was my first taste of politics and I could see the positive difference you can make. My teacher stood for Labour in 1987 and was sadly unsuccessful but he was a huge inspiration to me and encouraged me to be more political and I’m very glad he did!

What made you join and get involved with the Young Fabians?

I was at Sadiq Khan’s first manifesto conference at the end of 2015 and I met the then Chair of London Young Labour, Ria Bernard, who would then go on to become Chair of YF, she said I should come to the LYL Christmas Party which was the following week, which I did. From there I joined the Fabians in early 2016 as a way to meet new people and get involved more with the society as I liked the idea that the focus of the Fabians was on policy and not necessarily campaigning. I was active for a few years but really got involved in 2020 when I became a network chair, then I got elected to the Exec and became Treasurer in 2021, then Vice Chair in 2022 and now I’m Chair in my final year before I age out.

What are your aims for the year ahead in your position?

My priorities are to conduct a member’s survey to see what Young Fabians would like us to prioritise, this will then help shape the agenda going forward. I am also keen for our magazine, Anticipations, to go back to being quarterly and I am working closely with Jimmy (Sergi, Antics Editor) to ensure we deliver this. Beyond that a successful Boat Party in the summer would be wonderful plus to have helped organise other great events and opportunities for our members.

This year is crucial for the Young Fabians, Labour is polling well and we’ll be on the approach to a General Election in the coming year, so now is vital time to shape the party’s policy programme and I will be working with the Exec and our membership to ensure our views are heard.

If you could write and implement one law, what would it be?

I would pass a new Housing Act to build the homes we need to reduce the pressures on housing supply. Then and only then might our generation get on the property ladder…

What was the last book you read?

I recently read “Index, A History of the” by Dennis Duncan, which was a really brilliant look at how indexes developed. It was packed with lots of history which I hadn’t come across before, including how people would make fun of each other using their indexes. One such example even altered the outcome for the 1705 Election for the Speaker of the House of Commons! If you love your history, it’s well worth the read.

Finally, the most important question – dogs or cats?

Dogs, all day long! I think Haribo, the black Labrador at my Dads house, would growl at me if I said cats!

You can contact James via [email protected] or find him on Twitter @JamesPotts.

 

Amy Dwyer - Vice-Chair

Tell us about yourself and your role:

I’m Amy Dwyer, vice-chair of the Young Fabians. I work in transport policy promoting transport decarbonisation infrastructure and am an ambassador for 50:50 Parliament.

What's your first political memory?

I’ll admit, my first political memory might be slightly later than those of the other exec members, my first memory of politics was the Lib Dem back track on abolishing tuition fees. I was quite young and not really thinking about university but I still remember feeling angered by this. And then of course all the memes that followed the “I’m sorry” video. That stuck in my head as my first memory of politics at the centre.

What made you join and get involved with the Young Fabians?

I had quite a strange start with YF. I saw an event advertised on Facebook called ‘How to get involved in politics’, at the time I knew I wanted to go into policy and was actively looking at how to gain more experience. As someone without any connections in politics at the time, it seemed perfect! Then when I realised just how member-led YF is and the opportunities that our members have I was sold, and I haven’t looked back since.

What are your aims for the year ahead in your position?

My main priority this year is setting up the YF mentoring scheme. Our membership (current and past) have extremely wide networks and experiences. I think we can harness this to build the skills and confidence of our younger, less experienced members. We should be supporting each other and making sure that every Young Fabian has the confidence to pursue a career in policy/politics. I am hoping that through this we can also strengthen our organisation, everyone will hopefully know each other a little better. A long way off yet but I can’t wait for the end of scheme celebration where we can all come together and celebrate our achievements!

If you could write and implement one law, what would it be?

I’m going to be cheeky here and say that my one law has two aspects. I would introduce political and financial literacy as compulsory aspects of the secondary school curriculum. I really think that unless you have a genuine interest in politics, our political system is quite detached. Most people

who aren’t interested in politics know frighteningly little about how our government actually works, and that’s not their fault. I think we can do a lot more to demystify our politics and Government and make sure everyone knows how to engage with it. On financial literacy, I think it’s awful that young people aren’t taught about pensions or mortgages or loans. How can we hope economic prosperity for everyone without these basics. So I would definitely improve political and financial literacy for everyone. Make it compulsory in high school but also offer advice and support for those who have already left education. 

What was the last book you read?

The book I’m reading at the minute is called ‘ España: A brief history of Spain’. I studied early modern Spanish history for my A-level and I’m hugely enjoying going back and reading about that period but also filling in the gaps to modern day Spain too!

Finally, the most important question – dogs or cats?

Without a doubt dogs, and that’s not just because my parents recently got an adorable black Belgian Malinois rescue.

You can get in touch with Amy via [email protected]