LLI has sent out this mailing after Labour conference 2026.
Labour conference 2026
Read our “conference diary” at http://labourleftint.uk
Labour Left Internationalists was present at Labour conference 2026
• distributing our conference bulletin
• organising our fringe meeting, which we think we can say was the only fringe meeting with serious space for discussion and debate about ways forward
• helping groups like Friends of Standing Together, the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, and Mainstream to distribute their leaflets
• supporting labour-movement demonstrations outside the conference, like Unison’s on worker visa rights, and attending fringe meetings
• helping to organise challenges to the Conference Arrangements Committee.
There was an enthusiastic response on conference floor for Andy Burnham’s speech, but we could not help but notice that the speech was largely about promises of what may be on the agenda if Labour wins the next election. Moves from CLPs and affiliated Socialist Societies to put more substance into immediate policy were deflected.
126 CLP motions were ruled out of order, and the Conference Arrangements Committee (CAC) publishes neither the ruled-out motions nor the reasons for ruling out. Only 90 CLP resolutions made it through the CAC and to the priorities ballot and compositing.
The rule book gives CLPs a right to move references back on sections of the National Policy Forum report, and get a vote of conference on those references-back. The CAC flouted that right by declaring blandly that all the references back had been “forwarded” to the National Policy Forum.
At the Labour women’s conference, pro-trans-rights forces were disorganised (LLI had made effort to communicate and coordinate in the months running up to conference), and the conference was very weak. There was a big pro-trans-rights fringe meeting in the general conference, but without any defined follow-up.
We are contacting Labour for Trans Rights to see what plans they have, and consulting on template motions on the issue which can be put in CLPs in the coming months.
At the next LLI committee meeting on 8 November we will discuss what we did well in Liverpool, and what we can do better next year.
Despite everything #1
Islington South CLP, for example, has had 34 new joiners in the last month. Not huge, but better than for a while. Efforts to get out campaigning and canvass for new members have a better chance now than they have had for a while to bring fresh blood into CLP activities.
Despite everything #2
Some policies passed (despite everything) at Labour conference 2026
https://labourleftint.uk/2026/10/05/what-was-passed-at-conference
On housing (in the Unite ‘reindustrialising our communities’ composite, which included major elements from the LCCH motion which LLI promoted but got ruled out of order by the CAC when submitted by CLPs):
ending right to buy,
cancelling council housing debt, freeing resources for building and maintenance”
90 000 annual target for building or acquiring social rent homes
“direct employment” (i.e. DLOs).
There is a motion which you could adapt for CLPs on following this up at:
https://labourleftint.uk/2026/10/14/housing-and-the-2026-labour-conference/
On ‘Insourcing and Public Ownership’:
bringing rail freight “back in-house by expanding publicly owned rail freight”
ensuring all workers moving into GBR are covered by collective bargaining agreements,
to insource all Network Rail train operations
On ‘public services’:
defence of migrant workers and leave to remain
rejection of forced academisation as “a failed education policy”
On ‘Rebuilding our Economy for Working People’
“single status of worker” (a key point missing from the ERA)
“introduction of a wealth tax”
In an emergency motion referring to the threat of ‘fire and rehire’ at Glasgow City Council:
“deliver the New Deal for Working People in full, without further dilution or delay, and finally end the scandal of fire and rehire”.
There was no new actual policy at conference on the European Union, but there was more talk than for a while of bringing down barriers and less talk of “red lines”. LLI people will be asking Another Europe is Possible to write to Andy Burnham on the issue, and we may be able to adapt text from AEIP as a template motion for CLPs.
Affiliations?
Some people have raised the idea of getting CLPs to affiliate to various campaigns.
There was a rule change on this a long time back. The model rules state: This CLP and units of this CLP shall not enter into affiliation with or give support, financially or otherwise, to any political party or organisation (or ancillary or subsidiary body thereto) without the prior permission of the NEC (and ditto for branches).
Maybe if your CLP is obscure and gets no attention from Regional Office, an affiliation could get through without being noticed. Best, however, to ask the CLP to invite a speaker from the campaign. Then you can do a whip-round in the meeting to help the campaign, and ask for the campaign to keep the CLP notified of campaign activities.
