Labour Party Conference 2024: Change Begins

Liverpool, September 2024. Barely three months since Labour’s landslide victory in the July general election, and already a government under intense scrutiny. The mission – to reassure supporters, the country and business that despite difficult decisions, a brighter future built on economic growth will be secured.

‘Make no mistake,’ cautioned Keir Starmer, addressing Labour Party Conference as the first Labour Prime Minister since 2010, ‘the work of change has begun.’[1]

‘Planning – reformed…New solar projects. New offshore wind projects. The onshore ban – lifted. Great British Energy – launched…And we’re only just getting started.’

With little in the way of fresh policy announcements, Starmer’s speech was about setting the tone for his new administration, one founded on ‘service’ (mentioned 19 times!), mission-driven purpose, and most fundamentally, tangible delivery.

There were, however, some welcome comments on energy, infrastructure and housing.

Starmer pledged that a house would be provided for all veterans in need, survivors of domestic abuse and other vulnerable groups, citing the beginning of planning reform as central to ‘facing up to decisions ignored for years.’ Referencing a white paper just published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Starmer confirmed, ‘we are introducing new planning passports that will turbo-charge housebuilding in our inner cities.’

The passport is intended to establish clear guidance on the best use of urban land in relation to principle, scale and form of development, so that if a project meets the relevant criteria, it would automatically be recognised as suitable and recommended for approval.[2] The policy would not introduce automatic planning permission, nor remove local oversight of the development control process, but instead seek to provide greater certainty as well as lower risk and cost.

The policy, Starmer argued, would support the proposed reforms to the NPPF and the reintroduction of mandatory housing targets. ‘If we want home ownership to be a credible aspiration for our children, then every community has a duty to contribute to that purpose.’

The PM also confirmed that, ‘If we want cheaper electricity, we need new pylons overground otherwise the burden on taxpayers is too much’, reiterating a pledge made in the weeks following the election that the Government is prepared to make the tough decisions necessary to ensure Britain’s energy security through building new grid infrastructure, even in the face of concerted, and organised, local opposition.

Both Starmer and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, are reportedly convinced of the case for overhead pylons, primarily owing to their cost efficiency compared to underground cabling and other speculated offshore alternatives. The plans are not without controversy, and campaigners are already organising to oppose grid connection projects, including Norwich to Tilbury in East Anglia and the Eastern Green Link running from Scotland to North East England.

Ultimately, Starmer’s speech was not intended to unveil a raft of new eye-catching policies so soon after the party’s general election manifesto, nor was it to provide lectern-thumping triumphalism for the Labour faithful in the wake of that historic victory. Instead, it was structured to provide reassurance to Labour’s new electoral and political coalition, including business. The message: difficult decisions may be necessary, but Labour will take the structural reform necessary to secure longer-term economic prosperity and deliver tangible change to a public sceptical of the ability of government to deliver real, lasting change.

With the government’s next set-piece opportunity, the Budget, now set for 30 October, other Cabinet ministers were similarly tight-lipped on policy, but it is nevertheless useful to recap the core updates:

Cabinet Speeches:

Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner: Emphasised the government’s ambition to build ‘decent homes for working people’, with a new planning framework to deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, alongside rental and leasehold reform.[3] Rayner also set a target to build a net increase in social homes within the first financial year of the Labour Government. On devolution, the Deputy PM committed to irreversibly shifting power from Whitehall to the regions with a white paper to give mayors more powers over house building and planning, transport and skills.

Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband: Reiterated the commitment to the clean power by 2030 mission, and referenced early policy decisions, including the removal of the onshore wind ban in England, the unlocking of large-scale solar power, the boost to offshore wind with the ‘most successful renewable auction in history’, and the creation of GB Energy, to be headquartered in Aberdeen.[4] There was also a further restatement of the commitment to building an ‘armoury of clean power’, from nuclear to tidal, and hydrogen to batteries, to tackle fuel poverty, build warmer homes, create jobs in new industries, and upskill workers for the energy jobs of the future.

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed: Committed to fixing the broken sewage system with private sector investment, banning bonuses for water bosses who oversee repeated illegal sewage dumping, empowering the regulator with more staff to prosecute the polluters, and working with farmers to restore nature and stop animal waste, fertiliser and pesticide pollution leaking into waterways.[5] Likewise, Reed pledged to plant three new national forests, create nine new national riverwalks, invest in the circular economy to promote reuse and recycling, and plant trees along riverbanks to stop flooding.

Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens: Proclaimed a new era for women’s representation at the top of Welsh politics and pointed to decisions already taken by Westminster to support the Welsh economy, including by securing the immediate future of Port Talbot, Llanwern, Trostre and Shotton, and announcing a 50% boost to the number of trains running on the North Wales mainline.[6] With reference to ‘the golden opportunity of this new industrial revolution for Wales,’ Stevens pointed to investment in nuclear in Ynys Mon, in floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea, and the development of new ports at Milford Haven and across south Wales.

At a more regional level, and closer to home for T47, it was also great to hear from MP for Newport West and Islwyn, Ruth Jones, on the continued investment, innovation and infrastructure opportunities between South Wales and the South West of England at Tuesday night’s reception hosted by the Western Gateway partnership.

Conclusion

The 2024 Labour Party Conference was, in many ways, a more muted affair than the heady optimism of 2023: a product, primarily, of the party’s shift from His Majesty’s Opposition to walking the halls of power at Westminster.

With the PM and his team buffeted by weeks of intense press coverage on donations and free gifts made to Labour candidates, plus the continued fallout from the decision to means test the Winter Fuel payment, the overarching intention of the Conference was simple: to reiterate that change has begun.

Following weeks of melancholic statements on the dire state of the British economy and public services, there was a concerted attempt to inject some hope and optimism back into government, with a focus on short-term pain for long-term gain.

Labour will be hoping that its willingness to make unpopular decisions early in the Parliament will lead to tangible change in the prosperity and wellbeing of voters by the time of the next election.

But as Starmer presciently noted, ‘People have heard it all before.’

The true test, then, of Labour’s ambitious policy agenda is clear: to what extent, and crucially when, will people really begin to see and feel change?

[1] Labour Party, Keir Starmer speech at Labour Party Conference 2024, https://labour.org.uk/updates/press-releases/keir-starmer-speech-at-labour-party-conference-2024/

[2] Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, White Paper, Brownfield Passport: Making the Most of Urban Land, 22 September 2024, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-reform-working-paper-brownfield-passport/brownfield-passport-making-the-most-of-urban-land

[3] Labour Party, Angela Rayner speech at Labour Party Conference 2024, https://labour.org.uk/updates/press-releases/angela-rayner-speech-at-labour-party-conference-2024/

[4] Labour Party, Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, speech at Labour Party Conference 2024, https://labour.org.uk/updates/press-releases/ed-miliband-mp-secretary-of-state-for-energy-security-and-net-zero-speech-at-labour-party-conference-2024/

[6] Labour Party, Jo Stevens MP, Secretary of State for Wales, speech at Labour Party Conference 2024, https://labour.org.uk/updates/press-releases/jo-stevens-mp-secretary-of-state-for-wales-speech-at-labour-party-conference-2024/