At the CLPD rally Jess Barnard – now re-elected to NEC after being suspended from the party – pointed out some change that has taken place since last year.  Motions calling for the removal of the two child cap were kept of the agenda in 2025, but that cap has now gone, the MPs who lost the whip for opposing it are now back in the PLP, and the leader who suspended them is now not even an MP.  She drew attention though to the rulings-out that are still happening this year, just the same.  No opening-up of party democracy.

We have now heard that pro-EU motions from CLPs have been ruled out too – motions calling for a dropping of opposition to rejoining, referencing the single market, customs union, or free movement.

This means that the reference-backs to the NPF have become the sole means to raise that issue.

It also exemplifies how undemocratic it is that not only are so many motions ruled out, but the text of ruled out motions is never published to members – we only see the list of CLPs who have been denied their right to take a motion to conference, not what they actually sent.

This ruling out, with the ruling out of water and housing, means the conference will again be largely dependent on trades union motions for there to be any meaningful policy debate of any sort.  Unions are prioritising Reindustrialization; In-sourcing and Public Ownership; Opportunities for young workers; Rebuilding our economy; Public Services; and AI.

Last year, trades union motions passed included crucial policy on things like defence of leave to remain, wealth tax, collective bargaining, as well as the emergency motion on Palestine. 

The tragedy is that, once passed, the motions hardly got mentioned again.  (You won’t find them on the Labour Party website.  You won’t even find them on the websites or campaigning activity of the unions who proposed them and successfully got them passed) 

This year trades union motions will include things such as ‘single status of workers’ omitted from the Employment Rights Act, and should be not only passed at conference, but those conference votes then be used in serious campaigning work.

The list of headings that the CAC has grouped motions into will be available from the start of conference in the addendum to the first CAC report at https://labour.org.uk/resources/annual-conference-2026-reports/

Conference delegates should be ready vote against that CAC report, and support the challenges to the rulings-out of motions on council housing and public ownership of water.