Labour Party Conference
Onward is hosting nine events at this year’s Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.
We’ll be joined by Shadow Environment Secretary Steve Reed, former Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, Shadow Minister without Portfolio Nick Thomas-Symonds, Shadow Financial Secretary James Murray, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram and many more ministers, business leaders, policy experts, and commentators.
Scroll down to find details of all of our events taking place inside the secure zone at ACC Liverpool.
Sunday 8 October
Four years ago, it seemed unthinkable that Labour might win the next election. Now, less than 18 months from the next general election date, Labour have transformed its electoral fortunes. Our event will seek to understand what the political polling tells us about British voters and explore the issues that will determine which party will form the next government. Register your interest.
Join Deputy Director Adam Hawksbee for a conversation with Steve Reed MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Register your interest.
Monday 9 October
Debates around housing and the built environment are becoming one of the major political battlegrounds ahead of the next General Election. Both parties are rushing to identify ways of addressing the industry’s key challenges, including skills shortages, rising costs and legislative requirements. This panel event will discuss how the Labour Party can leverage better regulation to unlock the construction industry’s ability to improve the built environment of communities across the UK. Register your interest.
Beyond their primary function as centres of academic learning, schools serve many roles. They provide health services, counselling, nutritious meals, and enrichment activities, all of which significantly contribute to a child’s development. But fragmented funding, recruitment challenges, and skill shortages mean that much of this work is falling not on support staff but on teachers, who are increasingly acting as counsellors, coaches, and carers. This event will discuss how a national strategy for school education can address the competing responsibilities that leave teachers time-constrained and overworked. Register your interest.
SMEs form the backbone of the UK economy. But they have long faced barriers towards boosting their productivity by adopting new technology, investing in R&D, and improving management. This event will explore the importance of small businesses to Labour and how the UK can build a thriving economy through greater collaboration between businesses big and small. Register your interest.
The UK’s complex planning system is one of the key barriers to housing delivery. Local authorities are struggling to meet their Local Plan requirements and hit house building targets. Urgent changes to the National Planning Policy Framework may be needed in order to unlock housing delivery across the UK and harbour a new urban renaissance in Britain’s cities. This event will explore and discuss a new vision for how to reform planning laws and deliver affordable housing. Register your interest.
Tuesday 10 October
The UK faces a daunting fiscal challenge. Demographic pressures, a volatile geopolitical environment, and a pandemic have put enormous financial demands on the state. Anaemic growth means these pressures are increasingly met by tax increases, particularly on the working age population. As we approach an election year, there is a risk that our economic debate is littered with “magic money trees” or comparisons between government books and household budgets. How can we improve our debate on the country’s finances? Register your interest.
The UK has ambitions to become a global science superpower. While these ambitions are international, they start at home. Innovation at the intersection of the UK’s world-leading research and local economies will be key. But too many of these local economies are underpowered. This event will discuss how placed-based strategies that bring together research excellence, skills and investment in local areas can unlock the UK’s levelling up potential and deliver on the UK’s science superpower agenda. Register your interest.
Join Director Sebastian Payne for a conversation with the Rt Hon. Nick Thomas Symonds MP. Register your interest.
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