Good morning. It’s the 3rd full day of Labour Party conference here in Liverpool, and today we get to hear from the man himself, Keir Starmer. The Labour leader will address the hall at 2pm, and is expected to pledge that if elected Labour would bring about a “decade of national renewal”, promising: “What is broken can be repaired, what is ruined can be rebuilt.” His speech is expected to expand on existing pledges to devolve power, and to commit to building the “next generation of New towns”. Starmer will also today launch Labour’s “Community Policing Guarantee” to make streets safe again.
As ever, my colleague Katie will be keeping on top of the action on conference floor, and has already read through the Conference Arrangements Committee (CAC) report this morning so you don’t have to. You can find what motions are being debated today and other CAC highlights here, and follow us on our site and on social media throughout the day for her reporting on all the action in the hall. Yesterday’s CAC report… report? is here. Our editor Tom also has a running tracker on all the policies announced at conference – keep an eye on what’s been pledged so far here.
If you’re at conference, we want to hear from you – tips, advice, gossip, spicy fringes, weird fringes, good politician jokes, bad politician jokes, bad accommodation, misjudged merch, overheard lines, bedbug sightings, XL bully sightings, shadow cabinet members committing animal abuse (sighting related or otherwise), someone looking at you funny, you name it – get in touch by replying to this email or hitting us up on social media.
Right trounces left in CAC elections
Part of the news this morning is the election of two new CLP representatives to the CAC: former NEC member (and LabourList columnist) Alice Perry, and former MP Phil Wilson. Both received the backing of Starmer-backing Labour to Win (Perry also received the backing of Open Labour) and resoundingly beat the two left slate candidates.
What passed on conference floor yesterday
Don’t let the endless hoards of public affairs men in light blue shirts with one button undone at the neck fool you: this is a large scale democratic member engagement mechanism, not a festival of lobbying. Well, it’s both. Anyway, my colleague Katie has the low-down on everything that passed on conference floor yesterday. The headline items are commitments to build HS2 in full(something the party has been sending notably mixed messages on of late, the most recent of these messages being sent by Keir Starmer), and to nationalise energy. The latter motion, moved by Unite, stated that “privatisation of our key national infrastructure has failed and has allowed rampant profiteering from energy firms”. Katie’s full write up, plus the full text of all motions passed, is here.
Karaoke!
Thank you to everyone who came down to LabourList’s famous karaoke evening last night in partnership with Lime (and hats off to my colleague Cathleen and the team at Lime for making it happen). Among the MPs at Bierkeller sampling the Starmertinis (apple and lime flavour, apparently) were shadow cabinet members Lisa Nandy, Thangam Debbonaire and Ian Murray (all of whom treated the assembled crowd to DJ sets), along with Mary Foy, Anna McMorrin, Jess Morden, Simon Lightwood, Kerry McCarthy, Stephen Kinnock, Sarah Owen, Liam Byrne, Janet Daby, Alex Davies Jones, Kevin Brennan, Alex Sobel, SDLP leader Colm Eastwood, Labour’s second newest MP Keir Mather, and Labour’s newest MP, Rutherglen by-election champion Michael Shanks. The two newbies both took some time to DJ for the packed-out event. And a big thanks to all those who attended and spoke at our barnstorming rally yesterday afternoon, in partnership with MessageSpace. Highlights here.
Rapturous reception for Reeves
Just after Reeves’ speech yesterday I attended a fascinating fringe run by the IPPR and Labour Unions on the subject of democratic inequality. Addressing one of the ACC’s larger rooms, Angela Rayner spoke about class discrimination and its effects on democracy, saying: “There’s a class issue in this country”, which she described herself as feeling more impacted by “than even being a woman”.
“I think there’s unconscious bias”, she added, “and I don’t think we talk about it enough”. Other speakers at the event addressed a variety of different ways in which democracy falters when it comes to equality, and how it can be made more equal. They included Blackpool South PPC Chris Webb (who encouraged anyone who can to “pack their bucket and spade” and come up to campaign in a potential by-election), IPPR’s Parth Patel and the GMB’s Rhea Wolfson.
Conference Confidential
IS THAT… Beloved character actor Toby Jones? I spotted someone who looked suspiciously like him wandering around the ACC, and, would you know, it was him! He was at conference speaking at a fringe about refugee rights yesterday afternoon, and, possibly, researching for a role in a forthcoming big-budget drama about an embattled CLP secretary. I hear they’ve optioned the rights to Ann Black’s NEC reports. This is a lie. I don’t hear this. Would be good though, I think.
IS THAT …no. 2: Singer Will Young is also at conference. He’s even done a video for the party. Everyone’s here! Well, Toby Jones and Will Young are here. And me. I am also here. Still.
Liverpool recommendations
On LabourList…
ANNELIESE DODDS: The Labour Party Chair has written for us on the finalised NPF report, which received sign off from conference this week.
RACHEL REEVES: The full text of the Shadow Chancellor’s speech is on our site.
TRANSPORT POLICY: “We run major rail and bus firms – and we’re ready to work with Labour on transport” (Sponsored).
MICK LYNCH: The RMT leader told a LabourList fringe yesterday that the party must deliver a “full fat, undiluted” workers’ deal. Our coverage is here; the event was also covered in the Independent.
HS2: Darren Caplan and Susan Evans argue Labour should maintain a commitment to the high speed line (Sponsored).
WES STREETING: At a LabourList fringe yesterday Wes Streeting told the assembled crowd that “just as only Nixon could go to China, only Labour can be trusted to reform the NHS”. I don’t disagree with the sentiment but if I’m being entirely honest I am a bit puzzled as to why he had to bring Nixon into it.
In brief…
STELLA CREASY: The Walthamstow MP has done an interview with the Guardian discussing her run to be chair of parliament’s Standards Committee (Guardian).
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY: Labour has announced a sector deal for the automotive industry as part of their industrial strategy, which the party says will create 80,000 jobs.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: The BBC has some clips of interviews with young members attending conference that you can watch here.
GMB X UBER: At an event to mark two years of partnership between the organisations, GMB general secretary Gary Smith told the audience: “We did have a difficult start…that’s fine, that’s the business we’re in. But what I think we’ve done is build a strong relationship, and for us as a union, wherever we are, it’s about listening to our members”, saying he though the union was “starting to build a really effective voice within Uber” for members.
GMB X AMAZON: Things are not always so harmonious between the GMB and the private sector. The union picketed an Amazon run fringe yesterday – tweet of their leaflets here.
PROTESTS: Green New Deal protestors were escorted from the ACC yesterday, having disrupted a fringe sponsored by Offshore Energies (Video here).
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