Cara McDade for Scottish Young Labour Vice Chair

Together.

Cara McDade for Vice Chair poster with Cara McDade on the right doing a two fingers peace sign. Cara McDade logo on the left showing a squared Scottish Flag and Cara for SYL Vice Chair, underneath is the slogan "Together" with a Share This call to action underneath. All around are scattered, coloured versions of the Cara logo

I coordinated Cara McDade’s successful campaign to be elected as Scottish Young Labour’s Vice Chair.

Our campaign started as the underdog: our main competitor was a Councillor with many connections and strong campaign experience.

I worked with her to form a campaign strategy and messaging to motivate and unite left and centrist voters behind her campaign. We used social media platforms to collect data and allow members to ask questions to the candidate. Posts on her social media feed had clear policy proposals but also focused on her personality.

The campaign messaging was “Together”. We wanted to highlight Cara’s stance as a unity candidate but also emphasise her Regional Groups policy, which would shift organising away from the executive committee to regional groups across the country, decentralising campaigning and bringing regions together.

By the end of the election, while it was close, our campaign had the most momentum, and Scottish Young Labour members elected her to be their Vice Chair.

Launch carousels with policy images

Cara McDade candidate statement - Picture of Cara on the left in a circle with "I'm Cara McDade, I'm standing to be your Vice Chair" and on the right her candidate statement "I’m Cara McDade. Last year, I was elected as your Under 19's Officer. I came into the position inexperienced yet excited to get started and determined to get the job done. I'm now in a position of more experience and enthusiasm to represent the party and, most importantly, you. The 2021 committee made a lot of progress, as did the party, but there's still more to do, which is why I'm putting myself forward for Vice-Chair. To win elections and grow our movement, we need enthusiastic young members across the country to knock on doors and share our message. One week after I was elected, I took the initiative to lead the regional group policy. Since last year, we have created regional groups in Glasgow, Central Scotland, and The Highlands and Islands and made links with youth officers in all regions. With more time and dedication, this policy will be an asset to us, CLP's and the party. It will facilitate more accessible communication and organisation across the country for campaigning. We will also be able to raise concern and awareness on issues that we care about as young people to the party. Active participation is the most important task for the committee, which is why we need to create more events. Regular civil debating groups will be a practical educational experience for young members, allowing them to see and discuss all viewpoints within our party. I will also encourage more social events because politics isn't just about getting a point across; it's also about learning from and connecting with people. I will lead with transparency through constant communication through social media. Working for you and meeting you online and at events such as Conference has been a pleasure. I hope to keep working with all of you as Vice-Chair."

You can vote Cara now: Your ballot should now be in your emails Vote for Cara McDade for Vice-Chair, Here’s what I will do for our movement: More regional groups, Political education for young members, More accessible social groups, Subsidising Travel Costs, Leading transparently and listening to you, Share the message with your friends

Cara McDade in front of wall of text that says Vote Now which has a purple and red background. Red bar on the bottom that says Ballots close at 12

Iona MacDonald - Scottish Young Labour Vice Chair - endorses Cara for Vice Chair. "As a key member of Scottish Labour’s youth movement, Cara is the ideal candidate to be SYL’s next Vice Chair. A tireless campaigner, she is keen to get involved in all areas of the party. Her strong principles will help lead the committee and ensure that young people’s voices from across the country are heard. Her contribution to the committee over the last 18 months as U19’s Officer has been invaluable; Cara played a crucial role in setting up regional groups across Scotland to improve SYL’s operation out with the Central Belt, something I know she’s keen to continue working on over the next year."

(C) Copyright Clark Narvas 2024