LAUREN CROWLEY

for Campaigns & Membership

Delivering an election speech at NUS National Conference

Over my time at university and as a sabbatical officer I have ensured that my students union focuses on delivering change for students, engraining it in everything that Kent Union does. I want to be your National Campaigns and Membership officer to ensure that Labour Students have the tools and support to continue fighting on the front line for our education. To ensure that all Labour Students are active campaigners in our campuses and communities, I want to make sure that every voice is able to be heard, that clubs, whether big, small or growing, are supported and pushed to be even better, that we focus on member retention and that we build not only a membership organisation, but a movement.

Developing our Movement

Campaigning with Kent Labour Students

Through this election I have spoken to many Labour Students, who have told me that clubs need more support in their first year in engaging & retaining members. It is crucial that our recruitment of labour students turns them into active members who are on the doorstep & campaigning for change so that we can become the movement we aspire to be. I will use my experience from being part of a club that has grown in large amounts over the last year & from being a sabbatical officer to create accessible resources that clubs can use to keep their members engaged all year round. I will ensure that we always opt for the cheapest option, to ensure that national events are representative of all clubs, & making it easier & more accessible for both clubs & individuals. I will conduct an engagement review on involvement levels of clubs with national projects, events & elections. This will help identify clubs that are not getting the full benefits of membership & allow us to better understand what the real barriers to their participation are. Additionally this will help support smaller clubs. I will conduct an annual club satisfaction survey which will provide a benchmark by which we can measure clubs & members engagement & satisfaction levels. I will create a system to track interaction with members & clubs, working with other national officers to conduct a randomised telephone survey of ten members a week, auditing members satisfaction, experiences & to gauge opinion. I will produce F.E. specific recruitment materials & have an F.E. membership drive as well as working with the F.E. rep on national committee. I will look into hosting a forum specifically for F.E. clubs to identify the obstacles they face. I will make sure that as well as there being information available to help people set up new clubs, there will also be information on how to keep a club going throughout the first year & a more formal way for clubs & club chairs to share best practice. I will strengthen & develop the Best Practice awards & look into developing the ceremony & prizes to further celebrate our successes.

Lauren has always been incredibly supportive of both Kent Labour Students & myself. She is tirelessly hard working & dedicated to both the Labour movement as a whole & to its individual members. Matt Partridge, Chair, Kent Labour Students.

A national movement that works for its members.

Delivering training to young social democrats in Ukraine

Our policy process is clunky & difficult to navigate. I helped conduct a review of my students unions democratic structures & implemented a more accessible & transparent policy process thats engaged more students than ever. I will do the same for Labour Students & ensure that our movement is working for its members.

I will provide model policy & information on how to carry out Labour Students in your students unions to ensure that our values are leading the student movement across the country as well as NUS. I will produce a democracy toolkit that will guide members through all of our policy making events & conferences & how to write policy. We have a real opportunity to make the I will encourage & support the steering case for students on the next Party manifesto committee to engage with questions on & ensure that students voices are heard in democracy & the constitution from the the Party & this should be member-led. membership. I will look at ways to make it easier to hold I will work with the National Secretary to your officers to account & provide a way of ensure that there is more time allocated in doing it anonymously. Currently there is no national events for debating policy & ensure way of holding national committee to that members get regular updates on what account so I will establish termly written happens to policy & what progress has been reports & I will ensure that all manifestos are made with it. accessible on the website. Over the last year, Lauren has been an impressive member of National Committee, consistently looking for ways to challenge the status quo & improve our organisation. I believe that it is this attitude, & her undoubted commitment to Labour Students that makes her the ideal candidate for Campaigns & Membership Officer which is why she has my full support. Bex Bailey, London Regional Coordinator & Vice Chair (Campaigns) LSESU Labour

A movement as well as a membership

Delivering a session at Labour Students National Council While speakers events and debates can be an effective way of engaging members and sharing ideas, it is crucial that clubs get out on the doorstep & run campaigns. We can build on the work we have done with Movement For Change & the Living Wage this year to make clubs agents of community organising & change & instil Labour values in the universities & communities around them. As the biggest political student organisation in the UK we are an unrivalled campaigning force. I have spent the last 5 years campaigning for students & I can use this experience to help clubs develop effective, engaging & change making campaigns. Campaigns on our campuses bring clubs together and we can use campaigns as vehicles to involve and train members. I will develop more campaigns resources for clubs to use, such as how to get people involved, how to motivate volunteers, & a campaign checklist. I will continue the all member ballot for a priority campaign. I will work with the other national officers to develop summer training. We can provide bespoke training based on your role with experts providing training by utilising FOLS. I will develop a series of master classes throughout the year from professionals & experts. I will produce an accessible speakers list that smaller & newer clubs can use where they may not have as many contacts. I will focus on supporting clubs to get out on the doorstep in areas where there isnt a local Labour presence. Where the CLPs are inactive we can train club chairs and committee to use contact creator & get out & campaign themselves.

Im genuinely delighted to support Lauren for Campaigns & Membership Officer. Ive been knocking around Labour Students for a while now & I can tell you that Lauren represents the most progressive of our values & a clear loyalty to the Labour movement. She has shown leadership during her time as a sabb & knows how to get things done. Without doubt, Im voting Crowley! Luke Young, NUS Wales President

Liberating our members

At the London Reclaim the Night march with Labour Students women

Labours history in campaigning ensures that we are the only party than can claim to care about liberation. Whilst significant progress has been made in this area over the last century, the issues that now face these groups are in the undercurrent of society, & therefore much harder to spot, but very real. In my experience, some party members are still uneducated about why we are still fighting & why it is necessary. Liberation campaigns in Labour Students are crucial in ensuring that we represent the rights and needs of all our members. We must ensure they have the space and support they need to grow and develop, whilst protecting their autonomy. I am completely committed to this area of our organisation & have consistently fought for it to be at the heart of every organisation I have been involved in, & will continue to do so if elected as campaigns and membership officer. I will produce a guide to best practice on reaching out to under-represented students within our clubs, such as part time, postgraduate & mature. I will support the liberation campaigns to raise their profile within Labour Students. I will ensure that there is always an article from the liberation officers in the newsletter, & that experiences & debates are shared. Not all of our members understand the need for liberation campaigns or are sympathetic to the cause. We must make sure that all our members are educated about why we protect their autonomy, & how non-self-defining members can help & get involved by bringing liberation out of the caucuses. I will support the liberation officers to produce their own campaigns & recruit & retain volunteers. I will help the liberation officers to set up their own newsletter to stay in contact with self-defining members. I will help the liberation officers to develop resources, campaign specific materials and packs.

Lauren has been an incredibly active member of National Committee this year & is always on hand to support clubs & new members. Shell be the campaigning force your club needs, providing you with the tools you need to make real wins & bring in new activists throughout the year. Rhiannon Hedge, VP (Education) Swansea SU & Swansea Labour Students.

Labour Students at the heart of the student movement

Campaigning for the Labour Students candidate at NUS womens conference

Our presence within the student movement is a crucial part of our work as Labour Students. Students unions have a rich history of fighting for womens & LGBT rights, against apartheid & for education, it is no wonder that the Labour party is a natural home for so many student activists. It is essential we ensure that Labour values remain at the heart of the student movement as we navigate the recent damaging changes & we are able to protect & defend further & higher education. Many within Labour Students are ready made campaigners & have the skills to make change from being involved in party elections. It is more important than ever that Labour Students are elected to our students unions, NUS delegate positions, National Executive Council positions & full time NUS positions & we need to guarantee we as an organisation do what we can to make this happen. I will guarantee a member of national committee or the national office on your campus to campaign for you in elections, whether its a sabbatical or delegate election. I will work with the other national officers to ensure that elections candidates have access to best practice, guidance & if requested, campaign planning. I will expand on the networking & training provided by Labour Students this year for Labour Students sabbatical officers. Build on the current networks which are so valuable to us so that we can access them all year round, not just at national events.

Whether its in the Party, NUS or in Labour Students Lauren has been a phenomenal activist & asset to our organisation. Shes always stood up for our movement so Id be delighted to see her take a leading role in Labour Students. Mark Sewards, Communications & Internal Affairs Officer, LUU & Leeds Labour Students

The record to deliver

On the doorstep with Luciana Berger MP at Party Conference 2011

Some of my achievements...
200,000 for more books.
Developed & implemented the first student led

Rewritten & relaunched personal tutor system.

Secured a 18 million library extension at Kent & Doubled voter turnout in course representative

elections.

Developed & established the first postgraduate

teaching awards at Kent.

Mobilised 2500 students to write to local MPs in

representative system at Kent.

Developed & launched a new project focusing

Kent, resulting in Medway MP voting against higher tuition fees & Canterbury MP abstaining on the EMA vote.
Abolished Kent Unions mens officer. Won a Living Wage for cleaning staff at Kent SU Mobilised 800 students to email our Vice-

on helping students from low income backgrounds get into Higher Education.
Helped write guides with AimHigher to help

students navigate the admissions process into HE institutions.

Mobilised 500 students to go to the National

Chancellor in 4 days when she supported the rise in tuition fees.

Demonstration against higher tuition fees.

Prevented a rise in postgraduate tuition fees.

Some of my experience...
Vice-President (Education), University of Kent Students Union National Executive Council (NEC), National Union of Students Labour Students NUS Group Labour Students South East Regional Coordinator Kent Labour Students Member Kent Union Councillor Canterbury CLP Youth Officer National Union of Students Delegate Humanities Faculty Representative Keynes College President (JCR) Keynes College Education Officer

2010-Present 2011-Present 2011-Present 2011-Present 2010-Present 2008-Present 2011 2009-2011 2009-2010 2008-2010 2007-2008

Contact me...

On the doorstep with Kent Labour Students in the Dover local elections

Some of my supporters include... Sean Ruston, Warwick, Daniel Stevens, Surrey, Matt Partridge, Kent, Mary Roberts, Edinburgh, Jess Leigh, Aberystwyth, Estelle Hart, NUS NEC, Ben Butterworth, LSE, Lisa Whitehead, Kent, Godfrey Atheune, Portsmouth, Tom Grandjouan, Manchester, Jack Storry, Hull, Callum Munro, Labour NEC, Darren Young, Scottish Young Labour, Sally Jameson, Nottingham, Danielle Grufferty, NUS NEC, Dan Harrison, Birmingham, Andrew Robinson, Leeds Met, Michael Rubin, Leicester, Furquan Naeem, Bradford, Mitchell Theaker, Swansea, Nes Cazimoglu, NUS NEC, Joe Vinson, Cornwall College, Ruth Brewer, Liverpool, Dan Derricott, Lincoln, Joe Ferreira, Kent, Sam Woodcock, Manchester Met, Peter Smeed, Surrey, Anya O Shea, Edinburgh, Grace Skelton, Manchester, Pearl Sangha, Swansea, Jonty Pryor, Leeds, Ben Dilks, York. I hope to speak to as many Labour Students as possible during my campaign about what you would like to see from Labour Students, what you think of my manifesto and to answer questions that you may have. Phone: 07983382476 Facebook: Lauren Crowley Email: l.crowley@kent.ac.uk Twitter: Lauren_Crowley