Politics and Hope: Stories from the Alumni Network
Almost ten years ago, I was sitting in a pub in Oxford with four others who had played a role in setting up Just Love Oxford, the very first Just Love group. Following contact from students in Durham and Bath, we were talking about a plan to take Just Love beyond Oxford. Our dream was that the Just Love movement could catalyse a whole generation of Christian students into action - a wave of people bringing innovation and vision to the charity sector, radical generosity and social responsibility to business, and integrity and change to politics.
After recent years, that political change feels needed more than ever. Political leaders around the world have implemented policies and acted in ways that have been further from Christ-like compassion and humility than we could have imagined. Political parties in the UK have had periods of turbulence in recent years, with 2022 culminating in a cost of living crisis, dizzying rates of leadership turnover and news of lockdown parties.
But away from the spotlight of Westminster drama, hope is emerging from the Just Love Alumni Network. Two of the five people who were sitting in that pub in Oxford in 2013, David and Dan, have been selected as parliamentary candidates in the next UK General Election, with a reasonable chance that both of them could become MPs.*
David was a first-year student when Just Love began. He was part of the founding team in Oxford and then President of Just Love Oxford in its second year. He was also an integral part of Just Love’s politics alumni group in its early years. Since graduating, David has been involved in local community organising, worked for an MP, and lobbied for trade justice. He has helped protect Sunday trading hours and been part of efforts to prevent parts of the NHS being sold to private companies. He has set up several new initiatives including the New Diplomacy Project and Labour for the Long Term, while also serving as part of Just Love’s Advisory Board. Now he is returning to Basingstoke, where his parents worked and where he spent some of his childhood, hoping to become their first Labour MP.
Dan also won an impressive campaign, and will be a great representative of his local constituency. But it isn’t just David and Dan who are doing exciting things in politics.
Across the UK and across political parties, we have seen Just Love alumni committing to doing politics with integrity and working to see change both locally and nationally that is genuinely good news for those who are marginalised. Jenny ran for local council and has spoken out against bullying and abuse in Parliament in her role leading a trade union for MPs’ staff. George spent 5 years working in the housing sector, before standing for local council on an affordable housing platform in Kent. Johnny founded Hong Kong Watch and has supported the UK Government to develop the British National (Oversees) visa scheme - a scheme which has enabled thousands of Hong Kongers to come to the UK. Jacqui is pursuing PhD research on international peacemaking after working with the UN in East Africa. In the civil service, Alex led the UK’s tariff negotiation team in the UK-Japan trade deal and now works on animal welfare standards, while Sophie helped lead global efforts to secure commitments on phasing out coal power at COP26. Curtis works as a policy advisor to an MLA in Belfast, while Naomi has advised the UN on global transport access in the Majority World. Miriam and Frankie are community organisers in East London, developing leaders from a range of backgrounds to achieve community priorities like affordable housing.
And these are just a few examples. There are many more Just Love graduates pursuing radical justice through politics, bringing integrity and hope to a divided and polarised space .
While so many of today's problems seem utterly intractable, we believe that the politics of hope can win out. We want to see a wave of Just Love graduates catch the vision for political transformation and enter every level of politics to make a difference. And we want to see them do that with radical integrity and Christlike character. With the first handful of Just Love alumni only now about to hit 30, this is just the beginning. As hundreds more graduate each year from universities around the country, our hope is that many will follow in the footsteps of David, Dan and others, becoming agents of change in the world of politics.
*After setting up a really strong campaign that re-energised the local party and gave Labour a strong chance of their first ever win in Basingstoke, David sadly had to step back from his candidacy for personal reasons, but will be continuing to do great work in the political space. Dan's campaign is continuing to look strong in North London.
Interested in exploring the link between faith, politics and hope more? We would love to invite you to our Just Love Politics event, where we will be in conversation with David Lawrence on the 7th of September 2023. Find out more here.
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