A packed Labour Party Conference agenda of fringe sessions, speeches, receptions and dinners provided an opportunity to assess Labour’s first two months in government, and better understand their future priorities. So, what did we learn?
1. The party’s over
There has been little time to revel in the resounding election success of the summer. The 2024 Labour Conference felt more serious, and flatter than the 2023 iteration when the party was in opposition.
This should come as no surprise given long ministerial hours, an intense election campaign, and the deliberately pessimistic messages coming from leadership.
With the enormity of the task at hand now clear to all, and a drive to show they are a serious, responsible government, the forward looking, more visionary approach the party had set-out has been diminished.
2. Breaking down inter-government siloes won’t happen overnight
In the run-up to the 2024 election Labour spread the word far and wide that they would be a ‘mission-led government’. At Conference this remained a common theme with ministers regularly referencing the multiple mission board meetings they are attending. Although in their infancy, the new boards have clearly been unanimously welcomed and are providing important channels for departments to communicate.
The challenge that awaits, and where the success of mission boards will be judged, is how effective they are at core decision-making. Will these new ways of working be strong enough to overcome the age-old cross-department battles that will surface on budget allocations and prioritisation of activity.
The first tests of this are already on the horizon with the autumn budget and spring spending review.
3. MPs bandwidth to engage with industry is low
One of the key outcomes of the 2024 election was obvious at Conference, the fact that 231 out of 404 of Labour’s MPs elected in July are completely new to Parliament.
Many of these MPs spoke about adjusting to life in Westminster, balancing the role of a legislator, campaigner and employer, all at the same time.
What was clear hearing these MPs speak is that just two months after their election, they are already laser focused on re-election in five-years. They know that to achieve this, popularity with their constituents is vital.
Given this focus and with casework at record high levels (one MP said they had received 8,000 emails since the election, half of which are constituency casework), this increasingly time-poor cohort of new MPs are deprioritising engagement with industry, even if it aligns to their personal interests.
To stand any chance of engaging with new Labour MPs effectively, industry need to ensure constituency issues are a central part of any outreach.
4. Patience is required
One of the key Conference messages was ‘bear with us’. This is a government that is not yet in full flow. A combination of delays in the appointment of some special advisers, ministers getting to grips with new briefs, a short amount of time where the House of Commons has been sitting and the avalanche of inbound inquiries has contributed to this.
The coordinated effort from Labour’s top team to ask for patience demonstrates their recognition of industry frustration at a lack of engagement, particularly given the emphasis the party had given to ‘open engagement’ with business pre-election.
The question is how long they can ask for patience with industry who have spent the best-part of a year focusing on engaging with Labour and awaiting the opportunity to support their mission-led government.
With a pivotal few months on the horizon, Labour will be hoping to build on discussion in Liverpool and demonstrate they are making inroads with engagement and policy that will impact the long-term changes outlined in their manifesto.