By John Pickard
During the period of the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, the exhibition area adjacent to Labour conference was populated largely by trade unions, charities, social organisations and campaign groups of all nationalities. That has all changed, and although the charities are still there, even in larger numbers, the exhibition is now largely dominated by business.
There are so many Chief Executive Officers going to Labour conference that it is like a Poundshop Davos, although not so downmarket that it doesn’t include some very sizeable international corporations.
In a complete turnaround from 2022, there are more businesses and lobbying groups at the Labour conference exhibition in Liverpool than there were in Manchester at the Tory conference exhibition. According to the Financial Times (September 30), “Forty-three business groups have bought exhibition space — which can cost as much as £16,000 — at Labour’s conference in Liverpool”.
It is a sign, the Financial Times suggests, “that the two-year charm offensive by Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves to convince UK plc that their party — which has a strong lead over the Tories in opinion polls — would create a favourable business environment is beginning to pay off”.
Apart from the exhibition area, the FT reports, over a hundred companies have sponsored events on the fringe. These include aerospace group, Airbus, and one of the biggest tax-dodging companies operating in the UK, Amazon. What we do not expect is that they will support fringe meetings on taxing the rich, be the idea ever so popular among delegates.
Two conclusions we can draw from this…
Even worse, the FT explains, are “Property companies, which have generally been vocal in their opposition to the government’s crackdown on rogue landlords and imposition of stricter building regulations after the Grenfell tragedy”.
They, too, will be “out in force” in Liverpool. “They include Thakeham, which is sponsoring two events and exhibiting, Vistry Group and the London Property Alliance”. Somehow, we doubt that these will be sponsoring fringe events on fair rents or tenants’ rights.
Two conclusions we can draw from this are, firstly, that the business community – like even most Tory MPs – think Labour is a nailed-on certainty to win the next general election. And secondly, that these businesses expect a considerable degree of influence in that government. All the signs coming out of the Shadow Cabinet office is that they will indeed have that influence.
While all of those policies favourable to workers – like better rights at work – have been relentlessly watered down, month after month, assurances to big businesses, on taxes, ‘fiscal prudence’, (no) renationalisation, etc, have been ramped up.
On Tuesday afternoon, the exhibition area will be emptied, as the assemblied gentlement in suits (and it is mostly gentlemen) will be ushered into their specially-cordoned off area of the conference visitors’ gallery to hear Keir Starmer’s speech. They will go in ten minutes before the speech, and then leave, just as noisily, five minutes afterwards. Like last year, they are completely uninterested in the rest of the proceedings and they don’t mind disrupting it for those who are.
The conference is likely to be more stage-managed than ever before, with a ban on debates on any issue included in the leadership-managed National Policy Forum report. Some delegates will bravely challenge the platform, but most of the union delegations (with a few notable exceptions) will blithely support a leadership whose policies are in directl conflict with their union’s own policies and their members’ interests.
Our sympathy and support go out to the genuine lefts among the delegations who will still, no doubt, be fighting hard. Your time will come again.
