Oxford University Labour Club disaffiliates from national Labour Students organisation

LabourList carries news that one of the biggest groups of Labour students, Oxford University Labour Club, has voted to disaffiliate from the party's national student organisation Labour Students.

In an open letter to Labour Students, the Oxford group criticises its lack of internal democracy and appeals for reform, while suggesting that under current structures such reform is "near-impossible".

The whole of that letter can be found on LabourList:

This year’s elections ... which saw every single position on the Labour Students Exec elected unopposed, showed that the problems that had initially concerned us had become worse not better.

One of Labour Students’ worst kept secrets is the prominent role of the outgoing Exec in choosing and encouraging a chosen group of candidates to run for positions, with little to no attention focused on encouraging others to enter the race. This practice is clearly in itself wrong, but also serves to stifle debate and discussion about how Labour Students can be reformed to serve the clubs who need it most.