With the arrival of conference season, the CalComms team kicked-off the season by attending what many view as the political event of the year—the Labour Party Conference 2024. The conference was fruitful, lively and brimming with opportunities, offering a wealth of events for the political world to savour. The wave of policy announcements, unions voicing their frustration over the Chancellor's controversial spending cuts, and the Royal College of Nursing rejecting the government's 5.5% pay raise—right as the Chancellor claimed an end to strikes—are just a few issues that will dominate headlines in the coming weeks. These events will also ensure that this government's first conference will be remembered for years to come.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner, gave the first major speech of the Conference, congested with policy announcements and a timetable for bills to be tabled this quarter. “Change”, as we have heard so often throughout the Labour Party’s transition from Opposition to Government, was the most persistent theme in Ms Rayner's speech in addition to a focus on housing and planning. The Deputy PM reminded the conference hall of the “devolution revolution”, new rights and protections for renters, “the landmark review into NHS”, “planning reforms to get Britain building again”, 100 new specialist officers to tackle criminals, ending the ban on onshore wind, a bill to set-up and GB energy and putting railways into public ownership enacted in the first 80 days of Government. Rayner painted a vision for what’s to come, promising to implement a new Decent Homes Standard which will include clamping down on damp and mouldy homes. This will include Awaab’s Law being extended into the private rented sector. The speech was rounded off with a focus on devolution and putting local leadership at centre and foundation of strong communities.
Naturally as the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves was next to deliver a major speech. As with Angela Rayner's speech, the change in public and government service was a persistent theme, with Reeves reminding the conference hall of the war waged on Tory waste, making savings on consultant spending and private air travel. An economic utopia for the future was portrayed by the Chancellor, in accordance with Labour being the party of working people and economic responsibility. It was announced that the forthcoming budget will be based on economic growth and investment with Reeves promising that Britain will be a place of “opportunity, fairness and enterprise”. Significantly, Reeves laid out her strategy for regions in the UK announcing the West Midlands will be home to the automotive sector, life sciences in the North-West, clean technology across South Yorkshire, gaming in Dundee, and carbon capture and storage in Teesside, Humberside and Merseyside. This announcement further cements the devolution revolution reiterated by the Deputy PM, providing local leaders with a focus area for growth. Could strategies for these focus areas be the next call of action for local leaders to curate and release?
The PM was last to take the stage. A gaffe may have dominated the headlines, but the significant policy announcements centred around ensuring that Labour leaves a legacy of a government of service are worth analysing. The introduction of a Hillsborough Law, along with a pledge to provide housing for all veterans in need, highlights the Prime Minister's priorities. It signalled a commitment to expanding the state in a way that ensures public services effectively serve the people, while preventing future scandals. Aside from the policy announcements the PM took a patriotic angle, wanting to ensure nurses and doctors are championed and celebrated. This comes amidst the BBC revealing there is growing unease in the NHS about the "broken" messaging coming out of government.
Could we see a spin on messaging with regards to the NHS in the coming weeks, after Labour had placed an incredible amount of importance on gaining support and trust from public sector staff up and down the country?
CalComms will continue its coverage over Conference Season by attending Conservative Conference.
Jana Abdal-Rahman is an Account Executive at CalComms
Comentarios