RED SURGE: 12x more Freshers than ever join Cambridge Universities Labour Club

The Cambridge Universities Labour Club has now been flooded with a deluge of keen, bright eyed new recruits as the signup rate increases by more than 1000% on previous years, making the club almost four times larger than it was before term began.

• The swamped society, founded in 1905, has welcomed 81 new lifetime members from the University of Cambridge so far this term.
• Chair Rory Weal told The Tab that by contrast, in previous Freshers’ weeks only “about half a dozen” Cambridge Uni students would pay the £4 membership fee.
• This comes as more than 400 sign up to the society’s mailing list.
• The club has also had 95 member signups from Anglia Ruskin University, compared to just one last year.
• This brings the Labour Club’s number of active (i.e: currently studying here) members from 31 to 112 in barely two weeks.

By way of explanation, Weal said “I think it’s an incredibly interesting time to get involved in Labour Party politics – the election of Jeremy Corbyn has certainly opened up a space for clubs like ours to discuss the future of the left honestly and allow members’ voices to be heard.

“I think students in Cambridge have recognised that fact and want to be a part of it.”

Is it the audacious charisma of it’s new MP?

Utopian zeitgeists aside, he also accredited “a pretty diverse termcard, from Tristram Hunt to the Editor of the Morning Star” and a general push within the club to get attendees to join officially.

Josh Jackson, a Fresher who recently joined, told The Tab “The Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn has truly inspired me to get out and join up with CULC so I can help in whatever way possible to create a community that works together for a brighter future.”

“Not to mention Corbyn has made it damn cool to be a socialist again.”

CULC campaigning for the Living Wage back when it was a Labour policy

The Conservative Association (CUCA), who historically have a far higher paid membership than their political rivals, declined to comment on their own signup statistics, but stated they were “very pleased with the numbers of people we signed up, a high percentage of them have gone on to participate in our recent events”.

The Cambridge Liberal Democrat Society have been approached for comment, but have thus far not responded.