About me a while ago
Along with my four younger sisters I was brought up in Walsall by my mom and grandparents. I’ve been a Labour supporter all my life and joined the Party at the age of 16. I got more involved with feminist, LGBT and environmental politics while I was a student at the University of York from 2003-2007. I was also Labour’s candidate in the 2007 City of York local elections in Heslington ward, which was a valuable if ultimately unsuccessful experience.
About the name thing
Someone left a comment on this blog once referring to me as the middle-class daughter of a Hertfordshire gynaecologist. I’m not – I suggest you click on the word ‘Walsall’ above for geographical and sociological insight – but I can see how you might think it. To clarify: ‘Fletcher’ is the name of one of my grandads and ‘Hackwood’ is the name of the other one. Neither of them is a gynaecologist, and I doubt they’ve ever met one.
About the Students’ Union thing
In my time at the University of York I held various positions in the Students’ Union (YUSU). In 2008 I was subject to a vote of no-confidence as YUSU’s Academic & Welfare Officer because one night I stupidly got involved in an argument with a student I knew and – in the heat of the moment – in a state you could describe as ‘tired and emotional’ – I slapped him. He then ran a campaign to force me out of my job. I lost the confidence vote by eight. I’m ashamed of having been reduced to violence. But I paid the price, not least in losing a job I loved dearly and (I think) was pretty good at. But you move on and you learn lessons. I learned things about which friends you can really trust, about the media, about how to rebuild your life from the ground up, and other things I never thought I would need to know at the age of 22. I will never be proud of what I did, but I am proud that having lived through a local media shit-storm, one lesson I won’t ever learn is not to speak up for what I believe in.
About me now
I moved to Manchester in 2008 and now live in Rusholme with a cat and a succession of housemates named Matthew. I work for an advice service and I’m the Manchester Young Labour Women’s Officer. I have been described as a cross between Harriet Harman and John Prescott. I’m OK with that.
About the Grandad thing
My Grandad is my personal and political inspiration. He’s been a Labour supporter for a lot longer than I can remember. He’s also fiercely anti-corruption, and so angry with his local Labour MP about his expenses claim that he swore earlier this year never to vote Labour again. I have an ongoing project to change his mind – check out Project Grandad.
Any questions?
If you want to get in touch with me for any reason you can leave a comment, follow me on Twitter or email me on g.fletcherhackwood@gmail.com.
