A whirlwind few days in Liverpool for this year’s fantastic Labour Party Conference, with a real focus on how we turn Labour’s ambitions into delivery on the ground.
I joined the National Policy Forum, the LGA, the Co-op Party, Core Cities UK, DevoAgency and a range of fringe events, joining members, councillors and mayors to discuss how we can give communities a greater say, support local economies and make sure growth delivers for people and places across the country.
I was delighted that conference was kickstarted with an announcement I’ve been working on with the team: a new £210m community fund, which included £125m to tackle derelict buildings blighting communities; £65m for community ownership of important local assets such as pubs, shops, community and sporting venues; £10m for High Street Rental Auctions to bring empty shops back into use; and a new flagship £10m co-operative development fund to support new co-ops and mutual businesses, so we build the demand and sustainability as well as securing the buildings they use.
The Prime Minister’s speech set out a clear vision for the country and the challenges we need to tackle together, including some of the biggest issues left unaddressed for too long, like the threadbare social care system, which is in urgent need of reform and respect. It was obvious this was a lifetime’s work coming full circle. It was some speech!
And on a personal note, Joe Fortune has been an amazing General Secretary of the Co-op Party, and I thank him for his years of service to us and the wider movement. It was great to see him at conference officially take up his role as Labour’s new General Secretary, and I know he will do an excellent job.
I will post the main announcements in a separate post, there were many important policies aimed at making life better for working people and strengthening local communities.
