Scottish Labour Students' Campaign

This is just a short post to note that at today's Scottish Labour Students' Council Meeting it was resolved that the priority campaign for 2009 will be entitled:

"The Campaign to End Student Poverty - A Response to the Scottish Government's [Higher Education] Support Review"

Which, briefly, is a campaign based on the belief that it is possible to secure a minimum income of £7,000 a year for students in Scotland. And that students should not have to live on the cusp of poverty, but should, through governmental support, be able to maintain a standard of "socially acceptable living" in line with research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

More details will be published as they arise. Also I would like to note that the Scottish Labour Students website is expected to be online in the not too distant future.

Scottish Labour Youth and Students' Conference

I just got back from Glasgow where I was part of a four person delegaion to this year's Scottish Labour Youth and Students' Conference. I think I'll start off by praising the running of the conference. There was a fantastic range of speakers (Jim Murphy, MP Secretary of State for Scotland; Iain Gray, Labour Leader in the Scottish Parliament; Johann Lamont [Aside: She's not pretentious like that old Tory Norman so please pronounce it correctly.], Deputy Leader of Labour in the Scottish Parliament; Catherine Stihler, MEP; Pauline McNeill, MSP; Alan Jamieson and Jenny Murdoch, Scottish Labour Party {Campaign Training}; Stephanie Peacock, NEC Youth Rep.; Drew Smith, Chair STUC Youth Committee; and two Union Representatives from GMB Scotland] all of whom I'd like to thank for first of all taking the time to come and speak to us, but more importantly making the effort to engage with young voters.

The meals provided were also fantastic and that along with the general running of the conference is a credit to Jillian Merchand and Kirsty Connell the respective Chairs for the last year of Scottish Labour Students' and Scottish Young labour, so here's a big thanks to them and good wishes to them in the future.

The Conference produced one exciting bit of news for me, in that I have been elected to an Ordinary Committee member post on the Scottish Labour Students' Committee. i hope to use this position to increase our web footprint and include the cohesiveness of our web strategy.

I would say more but I'm tired after two days of conference and a two and a half hour train ride, and Match of the Day 2 is on; so goodnight.

Scottish Labour Students

This years Scottish Labour Youth & Student Conference will take place from 28th-30th of November.It will provide a great opportunity for students and young members from across Scotland to come together to hear keynote speeches from top-level speakers, debate policy, participate in workshops and enjoy some great social events. This year we will be attending the STUC Anti Racisim March on the Saturday morning.Conference is open to all members of Scottish Labour Students and Scottish Young Labour.

Attending Conference is free and Youth Hostel accommodation can be booked in advance for members who require it at a subsidised rate of £25 for both nights. Please fill in the accommodation section of the registration form if accommodation is required. Glasgow-based members will also be able to provide limited accommodation.Scottish Labour Youth & Student Conference is the biggest event in our calendar and usually attracts a range of high profile guest speakers and delegates from across Scotland and beyond.If you would like any further information or if you have any questions please feel free to contact Kirsty or Jillian at:
Jillian Merchant - scottishlabourstudents@hotmail.com
Kirsty Connell - young_labour_scotland@yahoo.co.uk