My encounter with Young Labour makes me fear for the party’s future

To understand the decay of the Labour Party since 2015, look no further than its London youth wing. London Young Labour (LYL) is the Momentum-controlled home of the capital’s under-27 Labour members. It is also a sparkling example of the worst kinds of regressive identity politics popping up on campuses across Britain.

As a 26-year-old Labour member, albeit of a more moderate persuasion than those now running the show, I decided to go along to LYL’s Annual General Meeting last weekend. People talk of Labour as the party of young people. I hoped that the event might make me grow a newfound respect for a party I am quickly losing confidence in. Unfortunately, I left disappointed.

I joined the Labour party after moving to London from Australia six months ago, hoping to get more involved in grassroots politics. I identified as a centrist supporter of the Australian Labor party, which is more moderate than its British iteration, however I thought I could get on board with Jeremy Corbyn’s socialist vision of the party.