Sydney University Labor Club is the oldest political society in Australia. It is one of the most influential Australian university political societies. Many of the club's alumni have gone on to prominent political careers. The club has traditionally been associated with a radical left-wing political agenda rather than the Australian Labor Party as its name would suggest.
History
In early 1925 a Labor group began orienting around University of Sydney Union debate nights, however the club was officially formed with a visit to Sydney University by a son of Ramsay MacDonald in the April of that year, when the club usurped an official Union dinner to host the visiting party first. The inaugural president was H.V. Evatt, however this first incarnation proved short-lived, ceasing to function after a split between Jack Lang and Peter Loughlin in the NSW ALP in 1927. In 1931 the club was reformed and affiliated to the Labor Party sending one delegate to its state conference, but again there were problems with the figure of Lang and disaffiliation followed in 1934, the club renaming itself the "Socialist Club". The 1939 constitution of the club was written by future governor-general John Kerr. In 1940 the club came under the control of the Hughes-Evans executive of the ALP, and in 1944 followed the State Labor Party into the Communist Party. In 1949 students wary of communist influence split to form an alternative ALP Club, more closely aligned to the Australians Labor Party, which still exists today. The Labor club has been involved in both activist struggles and more institutional means of achieving change. Club members were prominent in the Freedom Rides, anti-Vietnam War protests and the establishment of the political economy department throughout the 60's and 70's. From 1965 club members organised over 100 branches of High School Students Against the War in Vietnam in Sydney high schools. In late 1965 the club briefly changed its name to the Socialist Club, before returning to the original name in 1968. The communists retained control until the annual general meeting on 29 March 1966, when New Left ALP activists, including Jennie George, Sandra Levy and Jim Percy, were elected in a vote 19 to 14. In early 1969, the club set up a shop front at 67 Glebe Point Road in Glebe to co-ordinate its anti-Vietnam War activity. The strength of the club in the new millennium was evidenced by every president of the Students' Representative Council from 2001 to 2013 having been a member of the Labor Club. However its influence in campus politics has dramatically declined with only 5 of 33 student councillors coming from the club at the 2016 student elections. The Club continues to participate in activism, particularly around educational quality and National Union of Students campaigns. From 2013 the Club was rocked by internal strife over political direction. A splinter club formed in 2016 called The Young Workers' Club which was run for one year with low membership before being deregistered by the Union due to inactivity. More recently, the Club has regained stability and boosted its membership and activity.
