Press wants no alcohol at party youth events!

The Press editorial:

But Labour’s internal processes and soul-searching are also important. Following a review, parents of future activists will be pleased to know that new parental consent and alcohol policies will be in place at future Young Labour events. In what should be a no-brainer, “at least one Labour Party representative [will] attend the entire event and be available throughout”.

Actually this is insulting to Young Labour. It’s saying they can’t ever be trusted. Young Nationals have been running events for decades and I’ve never known the senior party to have a representative there to “manage” it. A few may attend because they enjoy it, but the Young Nats are trusted to run events sensibly. The leaders are not 18 and 19 year olds but often people in their mid 20s.

And going forward, perhaps Labour could rethink whether it really needs to make alcohol available at all at youth events that include teenagers, even if the drinking is supervised by party representatives. The party should hope that its ideas and guest speakers are intoxicating enough. 

A rather silly idea. Young people are capable of enjoying alcohol without causing problems. Don’t punish everyone for one mismanaged event.