Scottish Labour Students (SLS) is a student society affiliated to Scottish Labour, and part of the UK wide organisation Labour Students.
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| Scottish Labour Students | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair | Emma Russell[1] |
| Vice Chair | Debbie Boyd |
| Secretary | Jamie McGuire |
| Treasurer | Lucy Penman |
| Communications Director | Daniel Cameron |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Preceded by | Scottish Association of Labour Student Organisations |
| Colours | Red |
| Mother party | Scottish Labour, Labour Party (UK) |
It aims to bring Labour values to campuses and represent students within the Labour Party throughout Scotland. SLS hold regular Scottish events including SLS Conference in November and SLS Council in February. In addition, its members are often invited to hear major speakers at Labour Party events throughout the year. Glasgow University Labour Club and Edinburgh Labour Students are the two biggest clubs within SLS, and the newest club is the University of the West of Scotland Labour Students.
History
The organisation was founded as the Organisation of Labour Students (SOLS) in 1970/1971, however it is a direct descendant of the Scottish Association of Labour Student Organisations (SALSO) which had existed since 1946. In the 1960s SALSO's UK equivalent, the National Association of Labour Student Organisations (NALSO), was taken over by Trotskyists and disaffiliated from the Labour Party. SALSO, however, successfully resisted any take-over attempts.
SOLS remained famous for its hostility to Trotskyism and its members were key to recovering control of the National Organisation of Labour Students, NOLS, from the Militant tendency in 1975 and the following year SOLS members took the famous "icepick express" (a bus with an icepick - the weapon used to kill Leon Trotsky - attached to the front) to that year's NOLS conference at Lancaster University. This incident is recalled in some detail in Michael Crick's book on the Militant tendency. (see Clause Four Group.)
In 2023, Scottish Conference voted unanimously to re-affiliated SLS after a campaign by incumbent Chair Solomon Cuthbertson.[2]
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Internal organisation
SLS is made up of affiliated Labour Clubs at universities across Scotland:[3]
- Glasgow University Labour Club[4]
- Edinburgh University Labour Students[5]
(Also includes members of Edinburgh Napier University, Heriot-Watt University, and Queen Margaret University) - Strathclyde University Labour Club[6]
- Stirling University Labour Society[7]
- St Andrews University Labour Society[8]
- Dundee University Labour Students[9]
- Aberdeen Uni Labour Students[10]
- University of the West of Scotland Labour Students[11]
- University of the Highlands and Islands Labour Students[12]
SLS has an executive committee, elected on a yearly basis, currently including:
- Chair: Emma Russell
- Vice Chair: Debbie Boyd
- Secretary: Jamie McGuire
- Treasurer: Lucy Penman (Co-Opted Mid-Term)
- Social Media and Communications: Daniel Cameron
- Women's Officer: Lauren Harper
- Disabled Students' Officer: VACANT
- BAME Officer: Bibi-Anne Latief-Shinki
- LGBT+ Officer: VACANT
- Student Union Liaison: Lucy Penman
All positions are elected at the annual SLS Conference held at the conclusion of each academic year.
Liberation groups
The SLS committee includes representatives from each of the 4 liberation campaigns recognised by Labour Students: Women's, LGBT+, Disabled Students and Black Minority Ethnic. Each campaign is autonomous and hold events and discussions designed at highlighting issues relevant to them to the wider Labour Students movement.
Campaigning
SLS members are involved in election campaigning in Scotland and across the UK, and the organisation mobilises its members to take part in campaigns in marginal seats across the country.
In addition to this, for the first time in 2007/08 SLS ran its own issue-based priority campaign. 'Changing Perceptions - Homelessness' intended to challenge the perception young people have of the homeless in Scotland.
In 2008 SLS ran a pro-choice lobbying campaign against attempts during the passage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill by Conservative Party MP Nadine Dorries to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks from the current 24 weeks of pregnancy. Her amendment was defeated by 332 votes to 190, with a separate 22-week limit opposed by 304 votes to 233 - with MPs continuing to support the 24-week limit.
SLS are also actively involved in opposing the Scottish National Party plans to introduce a Local Income Tax which SLS claim would hit students who have to work to support themselves while studying.
As of 2014 SLS officially supports the return of the post-study work visa and free education.
As of 2019, the SLS officially supports further unionisation of workers in students' unions across Scotland.
In the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election, SLS officially endorsed the Campaign for Socialism-backed candidate, Monica Lennon, who subsequently lost to Anas Sarwar by a margin of 58 to 42 per cent.[13]
List of Chairs
| Term | Chair |
|---|---|
| 1967 | Robin Cook |
| 1976 | Robin Wales |
| 1978 | David Smith |
| 1979 | Margaret Curran |
| 1980 | John Boothman |
| 1981 | Geoff Norris |
| 1982 | Paul Robertson |
| 1984 | Sarah Boyack |
| 1985 | Susan Deacon |
| 1986 | Pat McFadden |
| 1987 | Paul Greatrix |
| 1988 | Billy Halliday |
| 1992 | Jason Wassell |
| 1994 | Joanne Milligan |
| 1997 | Gregg McClymont |
| 1998 | Alex Foulkes |
| 2001 | Blair McDougall |
| 2002 | Blair McDougall* |
| 2002 | Gemma Doyle and John Woodcock |
| 2003 | Adam Hug |
| 2004 | Neil Bibby |
| 2005 | Kenny Young |
| 2006 | Kenny Young |
| 2007 | Victoria Jamieson |
| 2008 | Jillian Merchant |
| 2009 | Dean Carlin |
| 2010 | Ross MacRae |
| 2011 | Ross MacRae |
| 2011 | Mary Roberts |
| 2012 | Lewis Miller |
| 2013 | Stephen Donnelly |
| 2014 | Oliver Milne |
| 2015 | Erin Mulhatton |
| 2016 | Pippa Weaver |
| 2017 | Kate Shaw Nelson |
| 2018 | Kirsten Muat |
| 2019 | Andrew Wilson (resigned mid-term after majority of University Labour Clubs voted no confidence in leadership) |
| 2019 | Mariam Shaaban (elected following Andrew Wilson's resignation) |
| 2020 | Mariam Shaaban (resigned mid-term) |
| 2020 | Lottie Doherty (Interim Chair) |
| 2021 | Daniel Deery |
| 2022 | Solomon Cuthbertson |
| 2023 | Solomon Cuthbertson |
| 2024 | Emma Russell |
Note: Blair McDougall served two terms because the Youth and Student Conference was cancelled following the death of Scotland's First Minister, Donald Dewar.
References
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