‘Labour conference guide: Who attends, and who should I look out for?’

Thousands of delegates, as well as Labour MPs, lobbyists, activists and journalists will soon descend on the great city of Liverpool for the annual spectacle known as Labour Party conference. The rest of the country will mostly only experience it through clips from the leader’s speech broadcast on the evening news, where our PM-to-be will address a room of thousands who are (hopefully) hanging on his every word, applauding at all the right moments and definitely not heckling. But who are all these people in the audience? And what goes on at conference beyond the headline speeches?

As a regular attendee, I can only describe conference as a kind of four-day carnival of Labour politics, a bizarre hybrid of arcane policymaking processes, socialist rallies, televised speeches, endless networking, lobbying by interest groups, late nights in provincial nightclubs and too much bulk-bought white wine. So whether you’re heading to Liverpool this year or just curious about what goes on there, look no further for a field guide to Labour Party conference.

Who to spot?

Delegates: Every Constituency Labour Party (CLP) will send two delegates, and it’s an opportunity for members from across the country to vote on motions on the conference floor and enjoy everything conference has to offer. For many, the chance to be surrounded by like-minded people, meet Labour politicians and have an influence over the party’s policy positions is a rare opportunity, and they make the most of it. Away from the conference floor, there are dozens of social events, from endless evening receptions to the iconic Labour Animal Welfare Karaoke, both within and outside the secure zone. So if your idea of fun is drinking warm white wine late at night in a conference centre and discussing the fortunes of the Labour Party in great detail (I know mine is), then this might just be your best weekend away all year.

Lobbyists: As a lobbyist myself (for a consortium of charities), I am aware that when people hear the term, they tend to picture e.g. someone from a controversial firm late at night in a hotel bar with a politician, discussing how much cash they might need to wire over in exchange for legislative change. The overwhelming majority of lobbying is nothing like that – rather, it’s how interest groups, charities and professional bodies work to influence public policy and tends to involve far less salacious activities, like policy roundtables, panel discussions, report launches and meetings with MPs. There will be lobbyists from every sector and industry at conference this year, motivated by the real prospect of influencing the next government, which hasn’t necessarily been the case over the past 15 years. Many set up stalls in the exhibition area to showcase their work, the best of which is the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, because they always bring along some golden labradors which you are allowed to pet. In terms of other perks, they mostly just hand out copies of policy reports and, occasionally, free pens.

International delegates: A surprising number of international guests attend conference, many from our sister parties, and it’s an opportunity for them to learn more about, and to network with, the UK’s main opposition party and potential next government. So don’t be too surprised if you find yourself in a hotel bar talking to a member of the Lithuanian Social Democrats – and you’ll have as much to learn from them as they do from you. Quite a few foreign ambassadors also attend, particularly when they think a Labour government might be on the horizon.

Journalists: They’re there to cover Labour’s policy announcements, as well as all the in-fighting and political gossip. If you get talking to one, do not say anything you would not feel comfortable seeing repeated on the front page of a newspaper. Be warned, journalists are second only to therapists in the ‘good listener’ stakes.

Party staff: Whatever their job descriptions the rest of the year, conference is all hands on deck for party staff. They help manage policymaking processes, which are so complicated that the only people who fully understand them are either paid to do so or trying to use them to influence Labour on various issues. Behind the scenes, there will have been months of wrangling between various bodies within the party to get motions debated on the conference floor – or to keep those likely to commit the leadership to positions they don’t want off it. On the floor, delegates are lobbied to on a range of motions by unions, party factions and organised interest groups. However, the extent to which the leadership is actually committed to implementing any and all policies that pass the conference floor is a matter of some internal debate.

Socialist societies/unions/campaign groups: Labour’s affiliated groups, trade unions and socialist societies exist to influence and connect up the Labour Party with wider civil society and grassroots movements. At conference, they might work to influence motions and votes on the conference floor and put on rallies and events to champion their cause. The word count prevents a full description of their many activities, but I will share my top conference tip, which is that the best food by far at conference is the spread put on by Labour Friends of India, so try and get an invite to their reception if you can

Labour MPs: Most of them do attend conference and will spend their time speaking on panels, meeting with interest groups, and depending on their personalities, availing themselves of the opportunity to let off some steam in a safe environment. Yes, you might spot some on a dancefloor or bellowing out the words to Mr Brightside at a karaoke event, slightly worse for wear. No, this won’t include Keir Starmer.

The party leader: Speaking of which, this is a chance to spot the party leader/the country’s next Prime Minister in the wild. Well, not really the wild – more like within the confines of a kind of strange political zoo. Leaders will spend some time popping into different events, saying a few words to boost morale and hanging around afterwards for a strictly limited period to talk to attendees. But don’t kid yourself this is your opportunity to really convince Labour’s next Prime Minister about why he should back abolishing tuition fees/rejoining the EU/copy and pasting all your organisation’s advocacy asks immediately into the Labour manifesto. You’ll get a few seconds chat and a selfie if you’re lucky, before his minders move you off. His schedule will have been organised to the minute months ago, and no, this doesn’t include time to discuss at length your thoughts on why Labour should support proportional representation.

So there you have it. Whatever your reasons for attending, it’s a fascinating, exhausting four days and something all members should do at least once. In fact, there’s only one thing that could make conference even better, and that’s if Labour were in government. Still, there’s always next year!