Your Secretary’s snapshot of the Conference Fringe events.
While our hard-working delegate, Adam Chadwick, sat through the debates, votes and speeches of the main conference, I attended some of the outlying fringe events – picking what I thought might be relevant to South Suffolk or, I confess, just interesting to me. There were around 600 events to choose from so I had to be selective.
There is an amazing array of different interest groups, campaigning organisations and companies who sponsor the fringe. With very few exceptions they are motivated by a desire either to support the Labour Party in its quest for a better United Kingdom or to gain attention for a particular organisation, idea or cause. Some of these organisations also exhibit in the hall alongside the main conference.
The usual event format is of a presentation by a small panel of experts (Yes, Mr Gove, experts!} followed by questions from the floor. I was inspired by the amazing breadth of the ideas under discussion and the sheer weight of intellectual fire-power on display. To know that so many people in so many different ways are working so hard to support the Labour Party in improving our lives was truly heartening – such a contrast to the negativity and hate that comes from other political parties.
Among others, I attended sessions on fair housing, nationalisation, rural renewal, neighbourhood health services, responsible innovation with AI, devolution, warm homes, and farming.
There were some themes common to many of the presentations. Everyone wants to help Labour succeed and, although there is some concern about some of the government’s actions since the election, most people think they are getting it about right. They have achieved a lot over the last year.
The consensus from the sessions I attended is fairly clear. In order to improve life for the people of the UK and have a chance of winning the next election, the Labour Government must:
- Maintain a strong and stable economy
- Alleviate the cost of living crisis
- Rescue the NHS from the mess left by the Conservatives
- Restore a sense of pride in community
- Implement a plan to manage immigration
- And, of course, fix everything else!
Many of these goals are tied in with local regeneration and growth:
- The combined effect of Local Government Reorganisation (where district and county councils are combined as unitary authorities) and the establishment of elected mayors is seen as a way of putting power to organise and innovate into the hands of local citizens. This will generate economic growth and help to restore a sense of community.
- Building more houses, as well as providing homes, will help to reinvigorate the local building industry. Subsidising more social housing to replace the council houses lost through the disastrous right-to-buy policy of the Tories will help families with the cost of living crisis.
- The 10-year Neighbourhood Health Plan will bring more services closer to home and away from hospitals. It will also stimulate “joined-up thinking” about the relationship between healthcare and social care.
Overall, I came away feeling encouraged by the energy, will and care shown by all the people who are working towards the common socialist goal. If the labour movement can’t improve our country it won’t be for want of trying.
Alan Conochie 30/9/25