Prior to 2019, Labour Students was a '
socialist society', affiliated to the
Labour Party. This means that, whilst its aims were broadly in line with the wider party, Labour Students was an independent organisation and was entitled to democratically determine its own policy and governance. Labour Students members were entitled to vote in the affiliates section of Labour leadership elections. The refounded National Labour Students is a formal branch of the Labour Party, and as such is not responsible for its own governance. Any Labour Party member who is a student is automatically a member of National Labour Students
National Events Generally, before the organisation's relaunch, Labour Students held four main national events each year, attended by club members from institutions across the country. ; Summer Training : Summer Training is primarily intended for members entering their second and third years of study. There is often a focus on preparing Labour Clubs for recruitment drives at the beginning of the new academic year. The event is usually structured with a variety breakout sessions and workshops, led by industry experts, trade unions and other campaigning organisations. In recent years Summer Training has included sessions led by Matthew Doyle (former deputy director of Communications,
10 Downing Street),
Kirsty McNeill (former adviser to
Gordon Brown) and community organising group Movement for Change. There is also usually a heavy emphasis on training from the four liberation campaigns. ; Political Weekend : Political Weekend is usually the event where Labour Students welcomes its new members each year. Labour Students usually hosts a number of high-profile speakers, including government ministers during periods of Labour government and members of the
Shadow Cabinet in times of opposition. ; Liberation Conference Liberation Conference sees the election of Labour Students’ four Liberation Officers (see ‘Liberation Campaigns’). It also includes panels and sessions around issues of particular importance to Liberation groups, for example mental health services or tackling antisemitism on campuses. ; National Conference : National Conference sees the election of the Labour Students National Committee for the following year, as well further policy debate. Though nominally described as an "election", only a small number of delegates vote, along lines pre-determined by their nominating clubs. National Conference is often held in conjunction with
Young Labour Conference, to help reduce members' travel costs.
National Committee The National Labour Students Committee convenes regularly and works together to ensure the organisation runs smoothly and works effectively to represent members.
National Committee Liberation Campaigns Within Labour Students there are four autonomous liberation campaigns. These were the
Women's,
Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Trans,
Disabled Students and
Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) Students campaigns, all of which are entitled to elect an officer to the National Committee. Labour Students holds caucuses for each of the liberation groups at every national event, has an equal opportunities policy and ensures all events are fully accessible.
Scotland and Wales There are separate organisations for Labour Clubs in the devolved nations, known as
Welsh Labour Students and
Scottish Labour Students respectively. The Chairs of these two organisations also sit on the committee of Labour Students as full members. ==Campaigning==