Labour Party Conference | What Happened?

Kerri Prince, BASW UK’s Public and Political Affairs Lead, updates members on key announcements from the recent UK Labour party conference.

The Labour Party conference took place 8-11th of October, following from the Conservative Party conference which took place the week prior.

For the casual news scroller, the biggest headline from this year’s Labour Party conference was a protestor managing to get onto the stage as Keir Starmer was about to deliver his annual speech, covering the unsuspecting Labour Leader in glitter. As conference goers breathed a sigh of relief that it was just glitter and there was no violence against Keir Starmer, it created a bit of a distraction about what it was that he had to say. 

Leader speeches are always the focal point of a party conference, and Labour’s conference this year was no different. 

What were the headlines?

  • Reiterated closing the non-dom tax loophole and putting that money into the NHS so that people can get mental health treatment when they need it, and an end to the 8am scramble for a GP appointment
  • Committed Labour to building new towns, and a target of 1.5 million new homes
  • A real living wage and scrap zero-hour contracts

Much of this has been heard before from Keir Starmer, but it reaffirms what the priorities of the next UK Government will be if Labour are to win the next General Election. 

Keir also used his speech to talk about the attack on civilians in Israel by Hamas and reiterated the Labour Party’s commitment to a two-state solution, and the right of Israel to defend itself. Significant events such as what happened in Israel show what foreign policy approach the Opposition would have if they were to win Government. 

Was social work mentioned? 

Social work is rarely mentioned in top-line speeches by politicians, but much of the language used by the Labour Leader suggests that his values are not dissimilar to those of social work practice. 

He talks about getting the NHS back on its feet, tearing down barriers to opportunity, and tacking the cost of living. While the policies to go along with this are yet to be detailed, it is welcome that Keir Starmer recognises the challenges ahead. 

The next General Election must be held in the next 15 months, and current polling points to Keir Starmer being the next Prime Minister. And if he is, he will no longer be able to hide behind big speeches and Conservative attack lines – he will have to deliver.