By Charlotte Prothero, External Affairs Manager
Last week’s conference represented a big moment for the Labour Party – the first time in 14 years that delegates had gathered together as the party of power. Yet the tone, while optimistic, was far from celebratory. Instead, pragmatism ruled, with a clear acknowledgement of the size of the task at hand and repeated reminders of the constraints being imposed on the new government by the condition of the public finances.
There was ambition, with ministers expressing a strong desire to create a “fairer and more productive” society as part of a promised “decade of renewal”. But there was frustration too with the lack of policy details and the failure to be clear about how the government intends to work across departmental lines to tackle some of the country’s knottiest problems.
Because, as new analytical work from PBE will explore in the coming weeks, the low wellbeing challenge being faced by too many people across the UK is the product of a complex patchwork of personal, social, economic, environmental and political drivers. Labour’s emphasis on mission-led government reflects a determination to deal with this complexity, but there was little in the main hall to suggest that the new government has yet worked out quite how to turn that into a reality.
Nevertheless, outside of the set-piece speeches, there were causes for cautious optimism. Like the spotlight placed on improving outcomes for the nation’s young. Children’s wellbeing was a recurring topic at many of the fringe events, with a focus on child poverty and youth workers. The Secretary of State for Education went as far as calling for “a new era of child-centred government… a country where children come first”, signalling a commitment to addressing both immediate needs and the long-term inequalities affecting young people nationwide.
Encouraging too was the detail provided at the joint PBE, NCVO and Lloyds Bank Foundation fringe event of the ongoing conversations taking place between the government and charity sector leaders designed to support better collaboration between the two sides and better outcomes for the country. As has been reported elsewhere, the establishment of a new “covenant” will serve as an attempt to follow through on the pledge made at the start of the year by then-Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer to recognise the social sector as a critical partner for government.
There was much that wasn’t said in Liverpool, and the patience that the Party’s leaders asked for will be in short supply if more detail doesn’t follow over the coming months. But there were at least cautious signs that the government recognises the critical need to combine an explicit focus on prioritising wellbeing with a willingness to partner with the thousands of charities across the UK that deliver against that agenda on a daily basis. That’s a good place to start.
Read the other blogs in the series: