2029 election manifesto: Labour’s national policy forum quietly starts work

Labour has quietly started seeking policy ideas for its next general election manifesto through its National Policy Forum (NPF), LabourList can reveal.

The NPF is the party’s official mechanism for formulating policy platforms that are consulted on and then eventually feed into manifesto-writing closer to election time.

Party representatives involved met for the first time this month and a new page on Labour’s website says the party wants “to hear from all those who drive our movement, people who are on the frontline of our services and people who have been personally affected by an issue”.

READ MORE: The full final NPF platform that shaped the 2024 manifesto

Notably, no press release appears to have been issued about the NPF launch, however, and members do not appear to have been emailed, either.

Five missions, six policy commissions

While the next election may be a few years off, the party has already released the six policy commissions that will set the scope for this NPF cycle.

These are now aligned broadly with the five missions, having previously sat awkwardly at odds with them: kickstart economic growth, make Britain a clean energy superpower, safer streets, break down barriers to opportunity, build an NHS fit for the future.

But they also include a further policy commission that is not a mission – “Britain reconnected”, which spans from national security, defence, foreign affairs and development, to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and constitutional affairs.

“Britain reconnected” was one of the sections of Labour’s manifesto, but the fresh addition to the party’s numerical soup of five missions, six first steps, six milestones and seven pillars may spark some confusion and raised eyebrows.

The previous six NPF policy commissions had been focused around a green and digital future, better jobs and better work, safe and secure communities, public services that work from the start,  a future where families come first, and Britain in the world.

NPF reps start work

NPF representatives met last week at a meeting to elect the forum’s leadership, according to a report from NEC member Ann Black.

In her account of the meeting, Black said Ellie Reeves MP was elected as chair, with three vice-chairs elected too – Nathan Oswin (for the CLP section), Mick Whelan (for affiliated unions and socialist societies) and Labour NEC-member-turned MP Mark Ferguson (for elected representatives).

READ MORE: ‘6 milestones, 5 missions, 3 foundations: Have Labour’s lists changed too much?’

Reeves promised “a dynamic and inclusive process, reflecting the breadth of the labour movement”, Black said.

General secretary Hollie Ridley was also said to have “emphasised the key role of the NPF in building a winning general election manifesto for 2029”.

How the Labour party writes its manifesto, from the National Policy Forum to Clause V

The NPF consists of around 200 representatives drawn from across the Labour movement, many of them directly elected, who then consult with the general public, party members, affiliates and experts on those key policy areas.

This policy consultation is then used to create an annual report, which is debated and voted on at conference.

Once approved, it provides the main springboard for policy ideas for the manifesto, although many further commitments made it into the manifesto – or disappeared from the NPF – during the last policymaking cycle in response to political developments.

The final thrashing out of what makes the cut for the manifesto takes place at a so-called and sometimes controversy-filled CClause V meeting. The last one passed with limited public political rows, bar Unite declining to fully endorse the plans.

Anyone who wants to make a submission to the six policy commissions has been asked to email them at [email protected].

Read more on Rachel Reeves’ growth plans:

• ‘If we ducked tough choices for growth, Britain’s spiral of decline would continue’
• Reeves heads-off southern bias claims with focus on northern investment
• ‘Tearing up regulations or bending the knee to billionaires won’t deliver growth’
• Reeves just gave absent Miliband an airport he wants, not just one he doesn’t
• Heathrow debate: ‘A third runway would shred Britain’s green credibility’
• Heathrow debate: ‘Third runway Labour’s trump card for trade and growth’

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