Welcome

Socialist Youth Network

The Socialist Youth Network (SYN) was formed in summer 2006 by young members of the Labour Representation Committee, a group which fights for socialist ideas within the Labour Party.

SYN is for anyone who wants to fight for a working class voice in British politics if you are a member of the Labour party or of no party at all. It is open to people under the age of 30 and to students of any age.

We want to reach out to young people in the student movement, in trade unions and in precarious jobs, those who feel disillusioned and marginalised by the lack of opportunity for socialist debate in British politics. We aim to be a vibrant campaigning force on a number of fronts, revitalising youth activism, sweeping away apathy and creating a strong sense of class consciousness.

Previously, we supportedJohn McDonnell's bid to become leader of the Labour Party. We have now launched a campaign for a living wage and are organising protests against the state visit of the Saudi dictator King Abdullah al-Saud.

There will be a full web site here soon. In the meantime, why not join our discussion list? To subscribe, simply send a blank message to socialistyouth-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

SYN Annual Conference 2008

Socialist Youth Network
Youth wing of the Labour Representation Committee

[b]Reports on the conference here, here and here

Annual Conference
ULU
Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HY
Saturday 29th March
10am – 4pm

GUEST SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Bob Crow RMT General Secretary
John McDonnell MP
Joanne Parry TUC Young Members pc

Fed up with New Labour?
Want to join other young activists in the fight for socialism?
JOIN US ON 29TH March[/b]

Nominations for motions to the conference and to stand for the SYN exec are open now if you are interested email SYN chair marshajanethompson (at) yahoo.co.uk

Who are we?
SYN is the youth wing of the Labour Representation Committee, a movement which fights for socialism within the Labour Party and trade union movement.

SYN is for anyone who wants to fight for a working class voice in British politics, whether or not you are a member of the Labour Party. It is open to young socialists and trade unionists under the age of 30 who are not members of other political parties.

We want to reach out to young workers and students who are disillusioned with New Labour’s policies of war and privatisation and want to fight for a working-class voice in British politics. We will fight for workers’ rights, free education, peace and the environment.

What have we done?
In the first year of our existence we have held discussion meetings on Prostitution and Islamophobia, protested against the Saudi state visit, launched the COFUP (Coalition Fighting Unfair Pay Campaign) and played a leading role in John McDonnell’s campaign for the leader of the labour party as well as many other things!

Come along on Saturday 29th of March and be a part of the biggest and most exciting national young socialist movement for a generation.

JOIN ONLINE

Posted on Friday 29 February 2008 - 01:00:00 |

Protest the Saudi state visit!

Wednesday 31st October, 6pm - 8pm
Saudi Embassy, 30-32 Charles Street, W1J 5DZ (next to Green Park station)

Speakers: Yahya al-Alfaifi (Saudi trade unionist), Katy Clark MP, John McDonnell MP, Marsha-Jane Thompson (SYN Co-Chair), Sandy Mitchell (former British prisoner in Saudi Arabia), Murad Qureshi AM, Peter Tatchell

See map here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=W1J+5DZ&ie=UTF8&ll=51.508075,-0.145741&spn=0.008641,0.010235&z=16&om=1

SYN is organising a demonstration against the Saudi dictator Abdullah al Saud who is on a state visit to Britain at the invitation of the Government between 30th October - 1st November.

Saudi Arabia is one of the most repressive dictatorships on earth. There are no political parties, free elections, trade unions or independent media. Human rights abuses are rampant - including torture, floggings, amputations and public execution. Women are deprived of their most basic rights while gays face the prospect of death.

The British Government continues to prop up this regime at the behest of the oil and defence industry while hypocritically preaching about democracy and human rights abuses abroad.

Join the demonstration and make clear that British support for this vile dictatorship will no longer be tolerated!

Posted on Tuesday 16 October 2007 - 15:12:37 |

JOIN SYN AND FIGHT FOR SOCIALISM!

The Socialist Youth Network brings together socialists aged 30 or under to fight for socialism in the Labour Party. It's open to party members or people who are members of no party.

We were at the forefront of John McDonnell's leadership campaign. Gutted as we are that we were denied the opportunity to vote for him by the PLP, we're building on the successes of the campaign to fight for progressive policies.

We'll soon be launching a Campaign for a Real Living Wage without exemptions for young people. More news to follow!

To get involved, drop the Co-Chairs an email:
Marsha-Jane Thompson - marshajanethompson@yahoo.co.uk
Owen Jones: o.p.jones@gmail.com

Joining costs just £3 unwaged / £5 waged. You can do it online here:

JOIN NOW!

Posted on Saturday 02 June 2007 - 19:25:54 |

Torchlit March for Abortion Rights

Following a call by the Feminist Fightback conference, there will be a torchlit march for abortion rights in London at 6pm, 3rd March 2007 as part of International Women's Week.

Please come along, advertise it on lists and pass a motion of support to your union branch/ student union/ women's group.

The march is organised by an autonomous women’s steering committee but men are welcome to march alongside us on the day and help us out along the way.

For more information please go to www.fightback.org.uk or contact Laura Schwartz at laura_schwartz2003@yahoo.co.uk.

The marchers will call for
- The right to abortion on demand (this means an end to having to get the consent of 2 doctors) up to the legal times limit.
- The extension of abortion rights to women in northern Ireland
- Abortion to be integrated into the NHS as an ordinary medical service
- An end to privatisation and fragmentation in the NHS; increased public funding to guarantee access to abortion
- Improved access to and increased choice of publicly funded contraception
- Clear, honest, comprehensive and confidential sexuality and relationship education for all children which addresses issues of consent and domestic violence
- A real 'right to choose' which also means the right to have a child free from economic and social pressure. This requires a living wage or equivalent in benefits, publicly funded childcare and an end to the stigmatisation of single mothers.

You can download posters and flyers from here.

Posted on Friday 02 February 2007 - 12:42:12 |

Socialist Youth Network launched!

Up to a hundred young people attended the launch conference of the Socialist Youth Network on 13th January. The conference marked the foundation of the young Labour left. Delegates heard speeches from Tony Benn, John McDonnell and Katy Clark.

You can see who was elected and which motions were discussed and passed using the buttons on the left.

SYN will be at the forefront of campaigning for John McDonnell's leadership bid, trade union rights and a real living minimum wage among other issues. Check back soon for more details!

To join SYN, please click here. Membership is open to members of the Labour party or of no party at all who are aged under 30.

JOIN ONLINE

Posted on Thursday 18 January 2007 - 11:45:46 |

Official launch of Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Council youth network

BWTUC is one of the strongest and most active, campaigning trades councils in the UK. On Tuesday 19th September, it will be launching a youth network for young trade unionists in South West London to get involved.

When? 6.30pm, Tuesday 19th September
Where? Bread & Roses pub, 68a Clapham Manor Street
(Clapham Common, Northern Line, or Clapham High Street, national rail)

Food, drink and live music as well as speakers from a variety of Latin America solidarity campaigns including Bolivia Solidarity and Hands Off Venezuela.

For more information, contact Julia on 07940 578 219 or email young@bwtuc.org.uk.

Posted on Thursday 24 August 2006 - 12:10:49 |

SYN Message Board now running

Debate and discussion are the life blood of our movement, which is why we have set up an online message board.

Do you want to discuss the burning issues of the day with other young socialists? Want to let us know what's happening in the labour movement in your area? What you're doing to support John4Leader? Don't bottle it up, talk about it!

The board can be found here.

See you there!

Posted on Saturday 19 August 2006 - 18:21:31 |

SYN supports Feminist Fightback conference

The SYN meeting on 15 August agreed to sponsor Feminist Fightback, a feminist activist conference that will take place in London on 21 October. Click here to visit the conference's website.

Read on for the Feminist Fightback launch statement.

FULL STORY

Posted on Wednesday 16 August 2006 - 12:26:10 |

Stop the killing! Israel out of Lebanon! Solidarity with the left in the Middle East

The following statement was agreed by the SYN meeting in London on August 15 as a basis for discussion.

The Israeli blitz on southern Lebanon has resulted in some 1,000 civilian deaths, many of them children, and threatened the lives of hundreds of thousands more through the effects of mass displacement. Israel's aggressive, expansionist policy in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon - the very opposite of a legitimate war of self defence - is making a peaceful and democratic settlement in the region impossible. That is why SYN stands among the thousands of young people in Britain who have protested against what Israel is doing.

SYN believes that anti-war campaigning should go hand-in-hand with pro-active solidarity - with workers, women, youth and the socialist left in Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, and other genuinely progressive movements in the Middle East, including the new labour movement in Iraq. We stand in solidarity with the thousands of Israeli anti-war activists, Jewish and Arab, who have demonstrated in Tel Aviv and other cities against the Olmert government.

We remain totally opposed to the threat of a US/UK attack on Iran and Syria, while continuing to build solidarity with the left opposition in these countries, such as the Tehran busworkers struggle for an independent union. And we support actions in Britain seeking to prevent the shipment of arms and the provision of military support to Israel, including by workers refusing to handle military materials.

Please post your comments below!

Posted on Wednesday 16 August 2006 - 12:20:57 |

Misc

•	SYN Annual Conference 2008

•	Protest the Saudi state visit!

•	JOIN SYN AND FIGHT FOR SOCIALISM!

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Youth Section of the Labour Representation Committee