Delegates pass electoral reform motions including House of Lords abolition

Delegates at Labour’s annual conference have passed motions backing the introduction of proportional representation for general elections and supporting the abolition of the House of Lords.

Social care, composite motion six, was carried by delegates on a show of hands. The motion, put forward by Colchester Constituency Labour Party (CLP), calls upon the next Labour government to transform care provision, widen entitlement and reduce barriers to access.

The motion urges the party to raise the quality of care based on enforced national standards and shift the focus to prevention and early intervention with a new principle of ‘home first’ to ensure choice and control.

It calls on Labour to deliver a National Care Service with nationally mandated standards “but designed and delivered locally” and to introduce a new deal for care workers, which ensures staff are recognised for the work they do “with the pay, terms and conditions they deserve”.

Equalities, composite motion seven, was passed on a show of hands. The motion, put forward by Unite’s Jayne Taylor, states that conference believes the government has “deepened income and wealth inequality and systemic inequalities experienced by women, Black and Asian, disabled and LGBT+ people”.

The motion calls on Labour to commit to allowing cross-employer comparators in equal pay cases and “urgently” prioritising its commitment to establish a fair pay agreement in social care.

It urges the party to reaffirm its commitment to fully implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and to “appropriately” fund disabled benefits, housing, education and the care system to “underpin the dignity and living standards of disabled people”.

It calls on Labour to restore the rights of migrant domestic workers, commit to a new Race Equality Act, including actions to close the race pay gap, strengthen equal pay and pension rights for women and take action on disability and LGBT+ pay gaps.

Electoral reform, composite motion eight, passed on a show of hands. The motion, which was proposed by Ashford CLP, calls on Labour to make a commitment to introduce proportional representation (PR) for general elections in the party’s next election manifesto.

The motion urges the party to change the voting system for general elections to a form of PR in Labour’s first term in office and to convene an “open and inclusive process” to decide the specific proportional voting system it will introduce.

Electoral reform, composite motion nine, was carried by delegates on a show of hands. The motion, put forward by Blackpool North and Cleveleys CLP, calls for Labour to replace the ministerial code with a legally binding contract, with “clear consequences” for breaches.

The motion urges the party to increase the Electoral Commission’s powers to “hold political parties, candidates and MPs to account if they are found to have broken the rules”. It adds that MPs “shouldn’t ordinarily” hold second jobs and that any secondary income “can’t surpass” their MP salary, with some exceptions.

Electoral reform, composite motion ten, was also passed on a show of hands. The motion, which was proposed by Glasgow Anniesland CLP, resolves that conference believes that Labour should commit to the abolition of the House of Lords and its replacement with an elected second chamber or senate.

The motion adds that the new body should be “democratically elected and must reflect the makeup and identity of the United Kingdom”.

Below is the full text of the composite motions considered this evening.

Social care – composite motion six

Labour notes the crisis in social care and calls for a plan that would transform care provision and would empower those accessing care – and their families – to live the life they choose.

Our Social Care system is broken and in need of urgent reform.

Many years of Tory cuts and privatisation of public services have largely obliterated early help services and care for people at home. For want of such help more people are being admitted to hospital in an emergency, and more are stuck in hospital
because their needs cannot be met in the community.

Most care and support is marketised, much of which is charity-based, privatised and unstable leaving thousands of disabled people in poverty. Private equity companies are making money by stripping assets from care companies while paying poor wages and depriving care staff of the training and resources needed to provide safe and compassionate care. There is a staffing crisis as staff are being forced out of their jobs by poverty pay and poor conditions.

The contributions of eight million unpaid, overworked family carers, including children and older relatives, are unrecognised. Planned funding is dangerously inadequate, leaving those who draw on services, their families and unpaid carers facing increasing impoverishment, exclusion and harm.

Women are the main family carers for disabled children, working-age adults and frail older people at the sacrifice of careers, earnings and pensions.

Disabled people and carers face increased isolation, indignity, maltreatment and neglect and barriers to inclusion and independent living are in breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People.

The current system doesn’t reflect users’ needs, wishes and diversity. Conference calls upon the next Labour government to transform care provision, widen entitlement, reduce barriers to access, raise the quality of care based on enforced national standards and shift the focus to prevention and early intervention with a new principle of ‘home first’ ensuring choice and control.

Conference agrees Labour must deliver a National Care Service with nationally mandated standards but designed and delivered locally, which is:

• co-produced with service users
• guided by a taskforce on independent living
• democratically accountable
• publicly funded
• publicly provided
• free at the point of use, and
• not for profit.

Labour must ensure people get the care and support when and where they need it through national assessment criteria to avoid any postcode lottery for care.

Labour must deliver a new deal for care workers ensuring staff are recognised for the vital work they do with the pay, terms and conditions they deserve, tackling high vacancy rates, and transforming training.

Labour must fully recognise and support the contribution of eight million family carers. Labour should deliver a new partnership with carers and families so unpaid family carers get a generous allowance, proper information, advice and breaks and more flexibility in the workplace. Labour should provide investment to improve and expand on facilities for care provision within the public sector.

Mover: Colchester CLP
Seconder: Banbury CLP

Equalities – composite motion seven

Conference believes the Conservative government has deepened income and wealth inequality and systemic inequalities experienced by women, Black and Asian, disabled and LGBT+ people, who have been disproportionately negatively impacted by Tory policies.

Austerity disproportionately impacted disabled people living standards, the right to live independently and be included in the community, rights relating to work and employment.

Conference notes the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) was agreed in 2006 and ratified by the UK Government in 2009 but has never been fully passed into UK law.

The UN noted in 2017 that several of the measures taken by the UK government in enacting austerity ‘disproportionately and adversely affected the rights of persons with disabilities’.

Conference notes that:

1. Three quarters of the workers at highest risk of exposure to COVID-19 are women.
2. New Zealand’s Equal Pay Amendment Act 2020 allows for cross-employer comparators, which enables women workers to more effectively achieve equal pay for work of equal value and challenge systematic discrimination.

Conference recognises that low pay is an intersectional issue and progress in eliminating the gender pay gap is slow and the full-time pay gap rose in 2021.

Women are still paid 41% less on average over a lifetime and women are systematically underpaid in care and other sectors. Equal pay remains unfinished business in too many workplaces, from Asda to local government.

Conference condemns employers’ attempts to deny women fair pay; and resolves to support GMB’s Birmingham City Council equal pay campaign to put right the historic and structural failure to pay women what they are worth.

Conference believes that the UK should be a leader in human rights for all.

Conference further recognises that only an appropriately funded welfare system based on dignity can protect the rights of disabled people.

Fighting for equal decent pay must be at the heart of Labour’s agenda. The undervaluing of women’s work is historic, structural and will be enduring if Labour in government does not act.

We must build on past achievements: the Equal Pay Act, Race Relations Act, first steps towards LGBT+ and disabled people’s equality, the Equality Act, national minimum wage, maternity and family rights, action on gangmasters and much more.

Conference resolves that advancing and achieving equality must be at the heart of all Labour’s policies, actions and demands.

Now we must make new policies for the next Labour government, strengthen and prioritise those already made, including;

• Learning lessons from the pandemic, with equality impact assessments of all employer and government policies to promote equality;
• Fully implementing the Equality Act, including the socio-economic equality duty on class and tackling dual discrimination, such as that faced by Black and Asian women;

Conference therefore resolves that Labour in power must commit to:

• Allow cross-employer comparators in equal pay cases; and meet the moral, political and legal obligation to settle outstanding equal pay injustices.
• Urgently prioritise its commitment to establish a fair pay agreement in social care in light of conference 2021’s vote for at least £15 an hour;
• Reaffirm its commitment to fully implementing UNCRPD
• Appropriately funding disabled benefits housing, education and the care system, to underpin the dignity and living standards of disabled people and their rights under UNCRPD, protect their right to assets, ensure all benefit and work assessments maintain the dignity of those undergoing them
• The employment rights green paper commitments on fair pay agreements, sectoral collective bargaining, stronger maternity and caring rights at work, with effective childcare support and employers obliged to prevent all forms of harassment;
• Statutory rights for union equality reps;
• Restoring the rights of migrant domestic workers;
• A new Race Equality Act including actions to close the race pay gap;
• Strengthening equal pay and pension rights for women, and action on disability and LGBT+ pay gaps;
• Implementing ILO Violence and Harassment Convention and Unite’s ‘Get me home safely Campaign’
• Meaningfully involve disabled people in decisions about them and ensure access to justice by funding legal advice for disabled people seeking redress and reparation for alleged violation of their rights
• Commit to uphold the right of disabled children to an inclusive education on an equal basis to non-disabled people

Mover: Jayne Taylor
Seconder: GMB

Electoral reform one – composite motion eight

Our political system has catastrophically failed to represent people’s wishes, needs and votes.

No one voted for housing food, heating or transport to be beyond the means of ordinary people.

No one voted for our health, education and justice systems to be underfunded past breaking point. To build a better society address distrust and alienation in politics and to safeguard the union, everyone must have an equal voice.

First Past the Post (FPTP) does long-term damage to the health of our democracy. Labour must commit to fixing it, In the 2019 general election, there were: 38,264 votes for every Tory MP elected; 50,836 for every Labour MP, 25,882 for every SNP MP.

Devolution was a major achievement of the last Labour government. Labour is already committed to extending democracy, from strengthening devolution to Lords reform. But our democratic system will remain broken – until we replace FPTP with a form of proportional representation.

There are systems of PR that retain a strong constituency link between MPs and their electorates, while ensuring that votes count equally and seats match votes.

Conference resolves that:

Labour must make a commitment to introduce Proportional Representation for general elections in the next manifesto.

During its first term in office the next Labour government must change the voting system for general elections to a form of PR.

Labour should convene an open and inclusive process to decide the specific proportional voting system it will introduce.

Mover: Ashford CLP
Seconder: North West Leicestershire CLP

Electoral reform two – composite motion nine

Under this Tory government we have seen a culture of undermining the rule of law, breaching the ministerial code and ultimately undermining our democracy.

The events since 2019 has shown contempt toward the public. From unlawfully proroguing parliament, Owen Paterson breaking the ministerial code, allowing Priti Patel to remain in post despite bullying civil servants, to promoting Chris Pincher despite knowing of his sexual misconduct. But finally, the brazen culture of partying during the pandemic, whilst so many made sacrifices this government will never understand but ultimately asked us all to obey.

This motion calls for several actions:-

1. Replace the ministerial code with a legally binding contract, with clear consequences for breaches. With key examples when consequences are triggered. Including, suspensions, resignations and removal of an MP or even PM and the automatic triggering of a by-election.
2. Increase the Electoral Commission’s powers, to hold political parties, candidates and MPs to account, if they are found to have broken the rules. The consequences include the ability to exclude candidates or MPs from standing for election.
3. MPs shouldn’t ordinarily hold second jobs and that any secondary income can’t surpass their MP salary (some exceptions apply). These bold steps will show the public that the Labour Party, not only sets the rules, and lives by them, but ultimately show the public that we are not all the same.

Mover: Blackpool North and Cleveleys CLP
Seconder: Sutton and Cheam CLP

Electoral reform three – composite motion ten

Conference notes that the Labour Party has long recognised that the House of Lords is not fit for purpose and that it has no place in a modern democracy.

Conference believes that Labour should now commit itself to the abolition of the current House of Lords and its replacement with an elected second chamber or senate and should legislate to that end in the first term of the next Labour government.

This second chamber should act as a revising body that seeks to improve legislation. In order to have legitimacy we further believe that this new body should be democratically elected and must reflect the makeup and identity of the United Kingdom.

Conference looks forward to the publication of the report on the issue of the House of Lords by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown due to be published later this year, and resolves to use it as a springboard for progressive reform

Mover: Glasgow Anniesland CLP
Seconder: Maidenhead CLP