The exuberance of power at Labour conference was somewhat dampened not just by pouring rain, but by No10’s loss of control of the media narrative. Starmer’s team were left floundering as they attempted to claw things back and the Prime Minister sought to strike a more optimistic tone and future facing vision in his speech today. Yet overall, with policy substance in scarce supply, delegates left this somewhat underwhelming conference with little clarity on the government’s path ahead.
Political analysis
In search of a vision: Delegates were told repeatedly this week that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet are defined by their “vision”, “focus” and “ambition”. The problem, however, was that very few of these qualities were on display at conference. Starmer’s speech today was high on rhetoric and catchphrases, many familiar from the general election, but it contained remarkably little in terms of policy announcements – particularly for a party who has waited 14 years to regain the levers of power. This will leave the Prime Minister open to significant criticism in the days ahead. Labour’s ‘ming vase’ approach led to an historic election victory, but effective governments need to be bold. So, it’s time for Labour to finally put the vase down and put some flowers in it.
Budgetary pressure: It also means that there will be even more pressure on Rachel Reeves’ Budget on 30th October to shift the political dial. The decision not to deliver the Budget sooner increasingly looks to be a mistake as it seems to have become a logjam for wider government decisions.
What we learned about Starmerism: While light on policy, the Prime Minister’s speech was a strong exposition of some of the core tenants of Starmerism, which will increasingly define the new administration.
- Primacy of the national interest: Starmer talked frequently of a “politics of service”, in which he will put “country first, party second”. This, he argued, stood in contrast with the Conservatives who only ‘served themselves’;
- Foundation of economic stability: fiscal responsibility and restoring economic growth remain the foundations of the national renewal Starmer aspires to;
- An active role for the state: Starmer believes fundamentally in the power of government to be a force for good, and that the state should intervene to bring control to the excesses and failures of the free market. This distinguishes his approach not just from the Conservatives, but even from Blair;
- Incrementalism over populism: Starmer deliberately set out his “serious” approach in opposition to the populism of the past, making a virtue of his willingness to take difficult long term decisions, and slow and steady step-by-step action;
- Restoring national pride: Starmer seeks to restore a lost sense of national confidence by redefining Britain’s story around the country’s new strengths (i.e. creativity, science, pragmatism);
- Tolerance and respect: The value of tolerance, mutual respect and anti-racism emerged as an important theme - and secured some of the biggest clap lines in the hall.
Absence of media control: This conference was a masterclass in how not to manage the media. Perhaps Labour is restrained by still being in the ‘finding feet’ stage of government, or by the realities of ‘events’ taking No10 bandwidth or the shadow of the budget that hasn’t yet happened, or perhaps through lack of foresight and planning - regardless, the party failed to shape a narrative for this conference and seemed to make little effort to feed the media machine with stories and announcements, in the manner the media would reasonable expect. As a result, the media found their own narratives, unhelpfully, with ‘freebiegate’ and internal rancour. This derailed much of the conference and meant that what could have been a celebration and signposting moment instead fell somewhat flat.
Public affairs takeaways
1. Business agenda: The budget-to-be loomed large over this conference, constraining the scale of the announcements than could be made and Ministerial ability to shape a framework for stakeholder engagement. What is clear is that Labour are still in listening mode and are open to ideas from stakeholders, as they begin to shape priorities for action.
2. Industrial strategy is an opportunity and threat: The return of industrial strategy, trailed by Reeves during her speech on Monday, confirms that the government will bring securonomics to life through a more assertive, interventionist economic role. What this means in practice is the Treasury picking economic winners to fuel growth - on the flipside, this means some sectors will not be as focal. On same basis, absence of borrowing for day to day and the promised “no return to austerity” means those hoping for funding outside core mission focus areas may find this increasingly hard to come by.
3. Cross government working is real: We heard multiple ministers describing how they were being challenged, both at Cabinet and within departments, to work across government to connect agendas and build new solutions. This is one of the more tangible manifestations of the promised mission driven approach. From preventative healthcare to industrial strategies this will help to unlock new kinds of solutions.
4. Hospitality caution: With ministerial “freebies” under intense media scrutiny, public affairs professionals have been given reason to reflect on the role of corporate hospitality. On the one hand, building relationships will always be an important component of politics and public affairs and using hospitality to get to know a stakeholder in a less formalised setting does bring value. But public affairs advisers need to consider the heightened risks and do everything possible to ensure transparent declaration.
Policy
Core announcements from Sir Keir Starmer’s speech today:
- Recommitted to current legislative agenda, including recent Bills introduced to parliament to reform renters’ rights and bring the railways into public ownership;
- Recommitted to introduce the Hillsborough Law by April, introducing a legal duty of candour on public bodies;
- Looked ahead to delivering manifesto commitments for a real living wage, a modern industrial strategy, devolution to the nations and regions, the New Deal for Working People, and the 10 year plan for the NHS, although he did not elaborate on further details;
- Confirmed the long-speculated news that GB Energy will be based in Aberdeen;
- Addressed the restriction of the Winter Fuel Allowance saying that was necessary to secure economic stability;
- Called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, for the return of hostages and a two-state solution;
- Promised that all veterans, care leavers, victims of domestic abuse who find themselves homeless will be given better access to social housing;
- Hinted on legislation to fight benefit fraud;
- Said that communities would have to accept that prisons, new houses and pylons may be built near them;
- Will introduce new foundation apprenticeships and rebalance funding for training towards young people.
Core announcements from the Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ speech yesterday:
- Keep manifesto commitments on income tax, national insurance, VAT and corporation tax;
- Windfall taxes on oil and gas companies are to be extended;
- Private schools VAT commitment to be enacted in the budget;
- A green paper on Industrial Strategy will be published in October outlining the long-term sectoral growth and priority industries of the government; Business consultation and final strategy by Spring 2025;
- Business rates reform, was mentioned several times with a hint of a rebalancing of the burden away from small business, towards multinationals and tech companies;
- Workers' rights reform remains high on the agenda, to include future increases to the living wage;
- Covid Corruption Commissioner to be appointed to review £647m worth of covid PPE contracts were contract recovery was previously earmarked to be waived;
- HMRC will soon launch a consultation on electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) to promote its wider use across UK businesses and government departments.
Announcements from Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister:
- The Employment Rights Bill will be tabled in October;
- Mayors will gain greater power over housebuilding in part of a wider package of devolution.
If you would like to get in touch with the team, please contact Head of Public Affairs, Tim Snowball at tim.snowball@mhpgroup.com