Here comes the sun? On leaving an overcast Labour conference

25 September 2024 | Richard Parry

By Richard Parry, Director

It would be easy to conclude, based on much of the reporting from Liverpool, that Labour conference has been a bit of a gloom-fest. This view is neatly summarised today by PoliticsHome, who suggest that hopes of a celebratory post-election victory party were dashed by monsoon-like rain, the harsh realities of government, and, er, “too many lobbyists”. I’ll try not to be offended.

But, writing this on the train after four hectic days at the Royal Albert Docks, I’m not sure I agree that conference was a mire of unremitting misery. There was plenty of optimism on offer – you just had to look in the right places: at policy-focussed fringes and through discussions with the Ministers and MPs getting to grips with badly-needed reform in planning, infrastructure and energy.

Let’s take planning as an example. We now have a government that understands the challenges in unblocking the delivery of the homes, renewable energy, and infrastructure we need, and is serious about making it easier to get spades in the ground. What’s more, based on conversations in Liverpool, I’m confident that Labour appreciates that, once their programme of reform is delivered, both industry and local government need a period of regulatory stability, providing the certainty required for good strategic planning, investment and project delivery.

The mid-conference announcement of brownfield passports, moving towards a zonal approach for previously developed land in need of regeneration, provided a concrete example of Labour’s commitment to practical reform.

After the previous government’s stalled reform agenda and regressive capitulation to backbench Nimbys, this attitude to growth should be viewed as a ray of sunshine strong enough to pierce even the darkest cloud over the conference centre.

But the perception of a glum conference hasn’t come from nowhere, and I will make some concessions to the more pessimistic view. Away from the positive discussions at fringes and the exuberance of the growing Labour YIMBY movement, the rows over donations, the Winter Fuel Payment, and fiscal black holes have created the perception of a government under pressure, with some going as far as to suggest the new administration is already tired and running out of steam.

For me, the dissonance between the positive discussions at the margins and the stubbornly poor headlines was neatly illustrated at a panel event on grid reform, chaired by a national journalist who had spent most of their conference reporting on the government’s struggles. The chair interjected more than once in visible surprise at the expert panellists’ cautious optimism about their prospects of working in partnership with government to solve the capacity and stability issues in our electricity network, remarking that the tone of the event was markedly different to the more downbeat assessment of the government playing out in the media.

In reconciling the contrast between positive substantive discussions and poor headlines, it is tempting to simply say that these problems are solely presentational and transient. This may be partly true but is oversimplistic.

First, as soon as Labour came into power, this problem was foreseeable. There are a set of measures that any new government can do straight away, providing a sense of impetus and immediate impact. These tend to be changes to regulations that can be made at the stroke of a pen, requiring neither primary legislation nor bargaining with the Treasury. The reversal of the ban on onshore wind is an archetypal example.

This type of reform can, and did, happen within the first month of the new government. However, the next, larger, steps of Labour’s agenda can’t be delivered in the second and third months. They are subject to the progress of bills through parliament, to the budget, and to the spending review.

The result is a vacuum of stories about progress that has created the perception of a dissipation of energy. The void is then filled with stories the government would rather not talk about, such as donations of clothes and hospitality. And although this problem is principally presentational, it was predictable from the moment the date of the election was known and could have been better mitigated through careful communications planning.

Second, presentation matters. Poor presentation in the present affects the judgement of future matters of substance. It erodes trust, political capital, and belief in competence, upon which the government will need to call when delivering the more contentious parts of their agenda. Furthermore, it suggests a deficit in strategic thinking about narrative, which will need to be addressed before sterner challenges ahead if the benefits of the coming reforms in planning, energy and infrastructure are to be demonstrated to the country.

Quatro helps clients solve problems of strategy, narrative and presentation by engaging with government, media, and the public. Get in touch at rparry@quatro-pr.co.uk.