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OULC launch #2015hours campaign for upcoming election

The Oxford University Labour Club (OULC) have kick-started this General Election year with a pledge to put in 2015 campaigning hours on the doorstep.

On Monday night, about fifty OULC members gathered in Corpus Christi for a drinks event to mark the start of the campaign. In attendance were Andrew Smith, MP for Oxford East and former Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Work and Pension Secretary, as well as Victoria Groulef, the Labour candidate in the party’s target seat of Reading West.

OULC announced they would be out in Oxford East every Sunday this term, as well as travelling three times to Reading West. Campaigning would include leafleting, canvassing, and doorstep encounters with voters.

In a speech at the gathering, Andrew Smith MP lambasted the Coalition government for bringing about “food bank Britain”, introducing “the wicked bedroom tax” and implementing ‘“cuts to council support”.

He urged assembled members to campaign with “purpose, principle and passion”.

Speaking to Cherwell he stressed, “There’s everything to campaign for, and OULC have a vital role to play. The more people we talk to the more people will vote for us.”

The MP reminded OULC campaigners, “Never take a vote for granted”, but emphasised their record of speaking to between 30,000 and 40,000 voters a year as exemplary.

Hannah Lovell, co-Chair of OULC, told Cherwell, ‘‘OULC are really excited to announce our #2015hours campaign. The election coming up is one of the most important in a generation, and only a Labour government can protect and support students and young people.’’

Lovell encouraged students to register to vote at the event, reminding OULC members it was only “15 weeks and counting”.

Groulef also spoke at the event, thanking OULC for their support over the past two and a half years. She commended Andrew Smith as “the best campaigning MP in the country” but argued this will be an essentially local election, fought over local issues.

Given that the national Labour Students group aims to deliver 10,000 campaigning hours, OULC’s campaigning would constitute over a fifth of its doorstep activities.

The OULC termcard shows that former Chancellor and Chair of the Better Together campaign Alistair Darling will be visiting the club on Saturday as part of the election campaign pledge.

Members of both the Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA) and the Oxford University Liberal Democrats (OULD) have responded to the news.

“We’ve a full campaigning termcard in place for Hilary. This does not frighten us,” an OULD member remarked.

One member of OUCA suggested OULC’s pledge would be dwarfed by the Conservatives’ Team2015 campaign. Conservative campaign leaders said, “Team2015 volunteers are working together to win a Conservative majority at the next election.”

Reportedly, students consumed alcohol at this drinks event. 

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