Standing up for Croydon North

 Standing up for Croydon North

Over the last month I have volunteered to create a couple of Labour Party by-election videos for the Party’s YouTube and website. The first one, for Andy Sawford in the Corby and East Northamptonshire by-election was released three weeks ago for the election that took place on Thursday. The second was for Steve Reed in the Croydon North by-election and that was released yesterday for the election on the 29^th of November. These two videos are very different, not least because the constituencies themselves are very different. The Corby constituency is an area split between the rural villages of East Northamptonshire that traditionally vote Tory and the old steel town of Corby that tend to vote Labour. Croydon North, however, is an entirely urban seat and the demographic of voters is very different. Despite that there is a general consensus on the key issue that matters most to the people of both Corby and Croydon. It’s the same issue that remains the number one concern for people across the UK and that issue is employment. In Croydon unemployment is far higher than in any of its neighboring constituencies and youth unemployment has doubled. With the Tories neglecting Croydon residents in the town hall, city hall and Whitehall, these people need a champion who will be a voice for them in this time of difficulty.

Travelling to Croydon and going street to street with Steve and Labour activists really showed me the strength of our Labour movement. Not only by the huge support for Labour on the doorstep, but also by the hundreds of people who flock from around the capital to campaign in the constituency for the election. It gives an activist like myself quite a warm feeling to drive down a high street and see that every other shop has a Labour poster in the window. Not just because it shows that the local people support the party and the candidate, but because it shows a community that has faith in the political system and that apathy is not a disease that has spread to all corners of society.

Malcolm Wicks was a fantastic MP for Croydon North, it comes with great regret to the people of the constituency to know they have lost such a strong voice in Westminster. To match this quality in Parliament would be difficult even for the best of politicians. But having campaigned with Steve over the last couple of weeks I am certain that he will carry out his duties as the Member of Parliament for Croydon North with his utmost determination for the local people. As the leader of Lambeth Council he has shown great leadership in introducing schemes such as the Living Wage. I can see that Steve will be a champion on pushing forward more schemes like this in Croydon once he is elected MP on November 29^th.

Below you can see the video for the Croydon North by-election. In this election a strong Labour result will come down to turnout, for turnout to be high we must get people talking to make sure they know when they need to cast their vote. Please share it to help spread the word for Steve:

On Your Side – Filming the Corby By-Election

On Your Side – Filming the Corby By-Election

Last month I traveled to Corby and East Northamptonshire to film the parties official by-election video. I spent the weekend going around the constituency with Andy Sawford, the Labour parliamentary candidate.

This weekend away provided me with the perfect opportunity to hear the thoughts of the local people on the big issues of the economy, immigration and employment. The state of the national economy has really hit hard on the people of Corby. Levels of unemployment in the area are rocketing with unemployment amongst young people being one of the worst in the country with one in four young people out of work. My family has also suffered from the high levels of unemployment in the area, my brother, a master’s student who lives in the neighboring constituency of Kettering has just this week had to sign on. Immigration was also a hot topic on the door step, with many people worried about the current situation and many feeling let down by the last Labour Government with the sheer numbers of Eastern Europeans moving into the area.

Andy Sawford has promised to be a champion for local people, standing up for them on the issues that matter most. Like fighting against any potential cuts to the Kettering General Hospital and by helping young people into employment.

I think Andy would be a dedicated and powerful advocate for the people of Corby and East Northamptonshire. I hope that my video reflects his determination to provide leadership, hard work and experience for the constituents.

Bellow is the video I made for the by-election:

Thameslink: All Change at Blackfriars?

Thameslink: All Change at Blackfriars?

As I am sure many of you living in South London are aware the future of our key Thameslink service, used by thousands of residents in Streatham and the surrounding constituencies, is under threat. The Conservative/ Liberal Democrat coalition Government have announced plans to terminate services at Blackfriars in 2016, meaning there will no longer be a direct connection with Kings Cross St Pancras and Luton Airport.

This vital lifeline is tremendously essential for the future of so many people’s lively hoods in South London. It is important to remember when reflecting over this thameslink issue why so many people choose to live in Streatham, Wimbledon, Sutton or Tooting. The obvious answer is the excellent connection to North London, within 30 minutes you can be at Kings Cross St Pancras getting on the Eurostar or wait a little longer and you can be at Luton Airport entering the terminal. Be that as it may, with the removal of this direct connection commuters will have to face a journey time up to double what it is at current. Therefore, in the interest of thousands of residents in South London and potential future dwellers, it is fundamental that we work to keep our city closely connected. Except, we don’t have long to work, in fact, in less than a week the consultation period from the Conservative/ LibDem Government will be over. And unless we raise more awareness about the issue and build support, we will lose and the Government plans will go ahead.

That is something that we cannot afford to happen, during these difficult economic times these services and those who use them ensure the survival of our local businesses. They are the blood flow of the South London economy, to sacrifice these services is to sacrifice potential growth in our local communities.

Recognising the importance of this city link, I organised a huge campaign morning in the Streatham constituency for Labour Party members. The objective, to explain to people the issue and gather support. The result was overwhelming, members flooded out to stations within the constituency and the response from commuters was clear, people both want and need their connection with the city, North London and Luton.

Aside from leafleting and speaking to commuters, I also filmed the morning and interviewed one of the local Labour councilors, Marcia Cameron on her thoughts on the issue. Below is the video of the morning of campaigns with the petitions below that.

The Government is currently going through a consultation period that will end on the 14^th of September. It is so important that we stand up against these plans and now is our last chance to do it. We have less than 7 days to spread the word. Please sign these petitions and forward them to friends, colleagues and family to help save our Thameslink.

PETITIONS:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/36932
http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/moderngov/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=302&RPID=16058526&HPID=16058526

I think fighting this campaign and others like it is so important, not only because it is vital for constituents that we maintain our close connection with the city. But also it demonstrates to the public that we as a party are fighting the issues that mean most to them, that we are on the side of the people, to ensure the best possible outcome for the people.

Landmark Day!

Landmark Day!

Yesterday afternoon I accepted a commission to make a film for a charity called Jo’s Friends.  Jo’s Friends seeks to raise awareness, provide information and support those affected by the Cancer of Unknown Primary, or CUP. The work Jo’s Friends does is so important, because every year more than 10,000 people are diagnosed with the condition. When a patient is diagnosed with cancer that has spread within the body, the primary site of the disease is not always obvious. Finding the origin of the cancer is vital to define appropriate treatment. When the origin cannot be identified it is described as Cancer of Unknown Primary site. For more information on the charity and what they aim to achieve please go to their website: http://www.cupfoundjo.org

 This will be the first major video for the organisation and I aim to ensure that this will get more people involved with the charity. But, also to get the message out about the cancer and the support available. 

I have been interested in film for a few years now, but over the past 12 months I have taken up filming as a key part of what I do outside of education as well as within. Only eight months ago I made my first film for the Labour Party, called ‘Tulse Hill On The Campaign Trail’, a video I volunteered to make to try engage more of the local Labour Party members in campaigning. It proved to be very successful and within weeks of it going on YouTube there was a clear rise in our campaigns turnout. Less than four months after completing this first film I had released a video for the Ken Livingstone for London mayoral campaign. Though the overall outcome of that particular election was disappointing, the successes the party achieved locally were astonishing. Since the Ken campaign, I have worked with Movement for Change and The Labour Women’s Network on their videos. However, this film for Jo’s Friends is one of the major landmarks in my filmmaking career, as for the first time I will be completing a film as a professional.

You can check out all my videos for in the menu on the right hand side of this website.

National Labour Youth Conference

     National Labour Youth Conference

         Youth Conference was fantastic and a great opportunity to contribute in a debate on policy, to network and to learn.

         Conference began with speeches from our shadow chancellor Ed Balls and Tom Watson MP, the deputy chair of the Labour Party. They both spoke on the progress the Youth wing of the Labour movement has made since its creation in 1993.
         Instead of just being a sub-section undermined by the national party, for the first time the party’s ears fell to us listening to a truly wide range of views. From bringing back EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance) to transforming our economy into a wholly “communist system” as one eager member phrased it. To those who say our party is firmly ideologically central, I would have to disagree after last weekend. Though many stood by the party on issues like cutting tuition fees, many argued that our opposition and future Government needs to take a firmer and more radical approach.  
         Conference divided policy debates into separate workshop groups. I attended the Education debate group where pages of suggestions were given as ideas for our next manifesto. I suggested that our party re-establishes the BSF (Building Schools for the Future) program. I had the full support from my workshop and therefore, the re-establishment of BSF was put forward to youth conference as one of three main policies on Education. On the Sunday, it was then up to the Youth Conference as a whole to decide whether policies would go through to the NPF (National Policy Forum). I said a few words to conference stating that I was lucky to have been part of the first BSF program and that not only has it given students great environments to learn in, but it also provided many construction jobs across the nation. Construction jobs that are deeply needed in our current economic situation. Conference then passed this motion and it now may become the policy of our party. This on its own showed that our party is finally becoming the more open party we have all wished for. Youth Conference also passed for votes for 16 year olds with a landslide, with one member stating: “If at 16 you can sleep with your MP, then surely you should be able to vote for him or her”.
         The Young Labour National Committee also filled the weekend with some fantastic classes giving members a chance to clean up on preparing for presentations, debating and even speech writing. They also provided us with key material on how to establish young labour networks locally and I will be using this information over the next few months as I plan to engage more young people in the constituency and establish a functioning Youth Forum.
         When I was on my three hour journey to Newcastle, the home of this year’s conference, I did not know what quite to expect. But, I have gained much out of attending what was the first annual youth conference where members had the power to discuss policy as part of Ed Miliband’s refounding Labour. I would also push for young members to attend next year, what truly was a great opportunity. 

Biography

Jack Slater

Jack Slater, 18, an active member of the Streatham Constituency Labour Party, BRIT School student and an aspiring filmmaker. 

He joined the Labour Party in May 2011 because of both his anger towards the coalition Government for tripling tuition fees and scrapping EMA, but also because he wanted to influence the party and its policies. Since becoming a member he has helped the Labour Party with films for the Ken Livingstone for London Mayor campaign, Movement for Change, the Labour Women’s Network and is now working with Shadow Business minister, Chuka Umunna.

Jack has been a keen runner with Parkrun, Britain’s free 5K weekly run, for four years. He relates the motivation, hard work and determination it takes to succeed in sport with the motivation needed to succeed in life.

At The BRIT School Jack is studying a media course, BDC (Broadcasting Digital Communications). This course has advanced his technical understanding of film, radio and photography. However, it is not just media Jack is reinvigorating his understanding in, but also history and politics.

David Lloyd George once said: “Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated; you can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps?” Jack follows this philosophy through both his work and his politics.

This picture was taken of Jack while filming a One Direction parody video with his friends from The BRIT School. The video can be found on YouTube.