NEC Update
July’s NEC meeting discussed the latest developments in local government. Our report highlighted the party’s successes in the local elections in May, with Labour becoming the largest party in local government. Labour victories in councils such as Medway, Middlesbrough and Swindon show that we are winning in the places needed for victory in the next general election.
Following our successes in May, Project Victory – Next Steps has been launched to provide support for newly elected councillors, and we’ve already begun to think about the next set of local elections in May 2024.
The programme of sessions so far has focused on developing skills like communicating with constituents, writing speeches and press releases and using social media, plus a two part training session for Labour group whips. You can find a list of Project Victory events on the Labour Party website.
Annual Labour Party Conference in Liverpool 8th – 11th October 2023
Annual conference is returning to Liverpool from Sunday 8th October, with the Women’s conference scheduled to take place on Saturday 7th October. As a Labour Councillor, your pass fee for Annual Conference is now included in the price of your political levy. This means ex-officio applications are now free at the point of application. We look forward to seeing many of you in Liverpool.
The Labour Party National Policy Forum
Last month, the Labour Party National Policy Forum took place in Nottingham. The two-day event was a culmination of a long process of discussion within our party – with thousands of members, councillors, affiliates and trade unions contributing ideas and views. Across our Local Government delegation, we submitted over 35 different amendments.
Over the course of the weekend our Local Government delegates attended 40 different workshops, covering almost every policy area that affects councils – from employment support to social care, from Net Zero to workers’ rights and collective bargaining. We reached agreement on almost every amendment we submitted, winning concessions on a stronger constitutional role for local government, a faster pace on devolution, an end to bidding and ‘deals’, and new powers for councils in housing, skills, and employment support.
The NPF was a positive step on our journey to a Labour government, and an important part of our party’s democratic policy making process.
Local Government Association (LGA) Conference 2023
In July the annual LGA Conference took place in the seaside town of Bournemouth. Our success in May’s local elections means Labour is the largest party in local government for the first time in over 20 years. It was fantastic to see Cllr Shaun Davies become Chair of the LGA. A new Labour LGA Leadership team was also elected.
More councillors mean more activists and campaigners in our communities, showing the difference Labour makes in power.
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Angela Rayner delivered a keynote address to the main conference floor. We were also joined by Lisa Nandy, Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the General Secretary of the Labour Party, David Evans.
