“We are not just here to manage capitalism, but to change societyand to define its finer values.” - Tony Benn

Welcome from the Chair,Sam Tarry

www.samtarry.com

Send your inspirational andhumorous political quotations toyoutheditor@compassonline.org.uk

April 2009www.compassyouth.orgA GUIDE TO IRRESPONSIBLE AND IGNORANT ENVIRONMENTALPOLICY-MAKING

By Ruth Walker-Grice

Want to lead the world in environmental hypocrisy and idiocy by build-ing a third runway at Heathrow? Just follow these simple steps below:1. Raze all of Sipson, and parts of Harlington and Harmondsworth to theground (overall destroying 700 properties, many acres of greenbelt land,wildlife and animal habitats)2. Increase CO

and NO

levels (don’t worry that Heathrow alreadybreaches EU regulation on NO

levels)3. Put Londoners’ health at risk and breach current noise pollution limits4. Increase road congestion in and around the London area5. Make Heathrow solely responsible for one fifth of UK emissions by 20506. Make UK climate change targets a near impossibility

Go on, do it, the environment can always take one more hit. Besides,think of the money you’ll get from the airlines for all those extra flights!

Compass Youth is fast becomingthe most active and influentialpolitical youth organisation in theUK. With the Labour governmentstill lacking a radical social de-mocratic policy agenda despitethe departure of Blair and thehuge popular demand for an al-ternative to neo-liberalism, aspace has opened for organisa-tions which provide a voice for politically and socially consciousyoung people. Inspired by its par-ent organisation, Compass Youthseeks to provide activists with thetools, contacts and support topursue single-issue causes andmore generally a left-of-centreagenda in tune with both thegeneral public and the electoralbase of the Labour Party.Other youth organisations affili-ated with the Labour Party con-centrate on providing opportuni-ties to socialise, network and can-vas. Compass Youth recognisesthat collectivism, environmentalismand democracy must be pursuedin the here and now. Many mem-bers will no doubt go on to gaininfluential positions in government,public services, NGOs and businessin years to come. But in the meantime there is a huge pool of en-ergy available to fight for changeand the Good Society as advo-cated in the Compass Programmefor Renewal. Compass Youth pro-vides the necessary umbrella tobring together and empower campaigning groups from acrossthe political left.Frustrated by many politicians’continuing inability to realise thatpower and principle are two sidesof the same coin, ambitious butconscientious young activists andthinkers have been attracted toCompass Youth in large numbers.To be part of this movement, visitwww.compassyouth.org In recentmonthsCompassYouth hasraised itsprofile andcontinued tobuild linkswith tradeunions,NGOs, politi-cians andfellow social-ists in the UK and Europe.In December, a delegation of20 visited the European Parlia-ment in Brussels. We met MEPs todiscuss working time legislation,the Party of European Socialists tohear about the upcoming cross-EU elections, along with the Soli-dar NGO umbrella organisation.Compass Youth had a notablepresence at February’s Progres-sive London conference with aworkshop and debate around‘progressive future’ campaigningideas. We also held a popular ‘Obama Campaigning Workshop’in Parliament and produced a‘Living Wage Toolkit’ to assist cam-paigners across the UK.The coming months will be cru-cial in building our presence in thedebate about what kind of soci-ety can be constructed from therecession. If you’re interested ingetting involved with CompassYouth, please do get in touch.

LET US BE THE CHANGE

By Luke Pearce