TheLabour Party Conference is the annual conference of the BritishLabour Party. It is formally the supreme decision-making body of the party and is traditionally held in the final week of September, during theparty conference season when theHouse of Commons is in recess, after each year's secondLiberal Democrat Conference and before theConservative Party Conference. The Labour Party Conference opens on a Sunday and finishes the following Wednesday, with an address by theDeputy Leader of the Labour Party; theLeader's address is usually on the Tuesday. In contrast to the Liberal Democrat Conference, whereevery party member attending its Conference, either in-person or online,^[1] has the right to vote on party policy, under a one member, one vote system,^[2][3] or the Conservative Party Conference, which does not hold votes on party policy,^[4] at the Labour Party Conference, 50% of votes are allocated to affiliated organisations (such astrade unions), and the other 50% toConstituency Labour Parties, but all voting in both categories is restricted to nominated representatives (known as delegates).^[5] Conference decisions are not binding on the party leadership, even if carried unanimously.^[6]

Delegates to the conference are elected by Constituency Labour Parties,affiliated trade unions andsocialist societies. Currently, affiliated trade unions hold 50% of the votes at the conference, down from 80% in the era beforeTony Blair. Some 40% of the votes^{[clarification needed]} are wielded by the three largest trade unions (Unite,GMB,Unison).^{[citation needed]}

Resolutions for debate are put forward by CLPs and unions before the conference begins. Each CLP, Trade Union and Socialist Society may make one submission to Annual Conference, either a constitutional amendment (rule change) or a motion.^[7]

CLPs, Trade Unions and Socialist Societies may submit emergency motions for consideration for debate by the Conference Arrangements Committee on urgent matters that have arisen since the deadline for motions.^[7]

TheNational Executive Committee leads the conference (although the details of the conference, including what is debated, are managed by the Conference Arrangements Committee) and if it does not agree with a resolution, the committee may put pressure on the backers to withdraw orremit it.Remittance means that the resolution's backers agree to "send back" the resolution to the National Executive so that it can consider the matter in more detail; this is viewed by some as a mere delaying tactic. The resolutions voted upon are normallycomposites, meaning that they have been compiled by combining several resolutions put forward by different bodies into a single wording agreed beforehand.^{[citation needed]}

Alongside the official business of Conference, there is an extensive fringe programme. The programme consists of a range of events including seminars, debates, workshops and receptions across the conference site and the host city.^[8] These events are run by different organisations with many differing themes and topics of discussion.

Aneurin Bevan made a speech disavowing unilateralnuclear disarmament, claiming that it would send the government "naked into the conference chamber".^{[citation needed]}

Nicolas Walter shouted "hypocrite" at Wilson in protest against support given by the government to US behaviour in theVietnam War. Walter was bundled out of the venue, arrested, charged with "indecency in church" under the1860 Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act because Wilson was speaking in a church, and imprisoned for two months.^[40]

Chancellor of the ExchequerDenis Healey announced his plans for a $3.9 billion loan from the IMF to tackle inflation, as well as continuing existing pay policies and public spending restraints.^{[citation needed]}

There was a minute's silence at the Conference in memory ofBill Shankly, formerLiverpool FC manager and lifelong Labour supporter.^[41] Thedeputy leadership election took place, with incumbent deputyDenis Healey narrowly defeating challengerTony Benn.^{[citation needed]}

Neil Kinnock was elected party leader with 71% of the vote, following Labour's defeat in theJune general election, succeeding Foot.Roy Hattersley joined him as deputy leader. In his speech, Kinnock stated that "we can enjoy fraternity between socialists and we must enjoy fidelity to socialism."^[42] The editorial board ofMilitant were expelled.^{[citation needed]}

In his speech, Kinnock attacked Militant and their record in the leadership ofLiverpool City Council, leading to a walkout led byEric Heffer.^[43]

The rules for the election of the Parliamentary Committee were changed, expanding it to 18 seats, at least three of which were to be filled by women.^[44]

For 1993, the rules for the Parliamentary Committee were amended again so four of its seats were to be filled by women.^[45] Smith abolished the trade unionblock vote at Conference and replaced it with theone member, one vote method. He was praised byJohn Prescott for "putting his head on a block" in pushing the reforms through.^{[citation needed]}

The "New Labour" rebranding was officially unveiled.^{[citation needed]}

Featured Blair's "Young Country" speech.^{[citation needed]}

Featured Blair's "Education, Education and Education" speech.^{[citation needed]}

The 2000 conference was held in Brighton from 24 to 28 September.^[11][12]

On 25 September,John Prescott,Deputy Prime Minister, made a speech stating that Labour would "take the Tories to the cleaners" in the next election, and calledWilliam Hague a "drunk in charge of a bandwagon."^[46][47] On 27 September, delegates voted by a majority of nearly three-to-two in favour of a motion calling for the basic statepension to be linked to average earnings. Blair said that the government would not change its pension policies despite the vote.^[48] The international guest speaker wasNelson Mandela, the formerPresident of South Africa. Closing the conference on 28 September, he made a speech condemningpoverty and inequality and made an appeal concerningAIDS in South Africa.^[12]

The 2001 conference took place in Brighton and began on 30 September.^[13] On 25 September, Blair had stated he would recall Parliament from the recess for a day in order to keep MPs updated following theSeptember 11 attacks, meaning the conference was rescheduled to end a day earlier than initially planned, on 3 October.^[14] The event was protected by a large security operation, including a five-mileair exclusion zone.^[49] The international guest speaker wasGerhard Schröder, theChancellor of Germany.^[50]

The conference began with a two-minute silence, an address from theChief Fire Officers Association praising firefighters in New York, and a speech from culture secretaryTessa Jowell. Deputy Prime MinisterJohn Prescott also gave a speech, withThe Guardian noting that he "dropped his usual party conference knock-about routine."^[13]

Blair's speech on 2 October focused mostly upon the fallout of September 11 and plans for thewar in Afghanistan,^[51] while also paying some focus to a potential referendum on the introduction of theEuro.^[52] It was praised by most U.S. newspapers, while European papers were less supportive;TheNew York Times stated that Blair was "America's most passionate and steadfast ally in the fight against terrorism," while Italian paperLa Stampa said that "in some phases Blair has seemed to be tugging at Bush's jacket, so as to appear not so much the trusted friend but more the petulant friend, or even the irritating friend."^[53] Blair also spoke of an international "Partnership for Africa",^[51] giving the private sector a larger role in public services,^[54] and a potential review of student funding andtuition fees.^[55]

The 2002 event took place in theWinter Gardens complex in Blackpool,^[15] and ran from 30 September to 3 October.^[16][17] Attendees included: pressure groups such as theCountryside Alliance,League Against Cruel Sports, andAnti-Nazi League; big business such asBNFL,BP, andBAE Systems; think tanks including theFabian Society, 50 people from theInstitute for Public Policy Research, and theAdam Smith Institute; theConfederation of British Industry; various media organisations; and observers from other political parties including theIraqi National Congress, though theSocialist Workers Party claimed they were not let in.^[56]

In Blair's speech on 1 October, he pledged to "quicken the march of progress" in reforming the UK's public services, and said that Labour was "best at its boldest - and so far we've made a good start, but we've not been bold enough." He told the trade unions to "work with us," and said that thewelfare state had led to a "monolithic provision of services," arguing for the use of private finance. He argued for the possibility ofwar with Iraq, and reiterated that there would be a referendum on joining the euro if economic tests were met. It ended with a four minute standing ovation.^[15]

The international guest speaker wasBill Clinton, formerPresident of the United States of America, who spoke in a 50 minute address on 2 October. He used the speech to tell both PresidentGeorge W. Bush and Labour to continue working with theUnited Nations to solve theIraq disarmament crisis. The speech was followed by a 2.5 minutestanding ovation.^[57]

2003 was Blair's tenth conference as leader, held in Bournemouth from 28 September to 2 October.^[18][19] It was chaired byIan McCartney.^[20]

On 28 September, Blair stated that he would continue pushing forfoundation hospitals anduniversity top-up fees,^[18] though a potential deal between the government andUnison concerning foundation hospitals, which was due to be announced in Blair's keynote speech, collapsed that night.^[58] Delegates initially voted to leave the Iraq War off the conference agenda entirely, instead staging emergency debates on the NHS, employment rights and pensions.^[59] On 29 September at a fringe event, former House of Commons leaderRobin Cook made a speech criticising Blair's rejection of plans for a partly elected House of Lords.^[60] On 30 September,Gordon Brown was seen to put pressure on Blair in a speech, promising extra spending on public services, without directly attacking him.^[61] Culture secretaryTessa Jowell, announced plans to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the NormandyD-Day landings,^[62] and deputy prime ministerJohn Prescott announced that 1,600 houses were to be built in theSouth East.^[63]

Blair also made his speech on the 30th, which received a record 7.5 minute standing ovation.^[64] During the speech, he listed Labour's achievements, dismissed a new top rate ofincome tax, stated that it "wouldn't be fair" if education funding came from the taxpayer, attacked those opposed to foundation hospitals, advocatedpluralism in the public sector, and defended his decision to go to war in Iraq.^[64]

On 1 October, theNational Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) attempted to force an emergency vote on the Iraq War onto the agenda which called "for the withdrawal of coalition troops", but this failed.^[65] The party leadership allowed a vote to go ahead concerning a section in a party policy document that recorded the Iraq War's chronology instead, with RMT stating that "the proposed vote will be meaningless".^[66] Blair's side won the Iraq vote,^[67] but lost two votes on foundation hospitals and the NHS among delegates.^[68][69] Over 86% of delegates also voted in favour of allowing people inNorthern Ireland to become party members.^[70] The international guest speaker to address conference on the 1st wasHamid Karzai, the firstPresident of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.^[71][72]

To end the conference on 2 October, Prescott told the party in a speech to stop "tearing ourselves apart," after unions forced ministers to accept a motion on compulsory employer pension contributions.The Red Flag was sung for the first time at the conference since 1999, alongsideJerusalem.^[19]

The 2004 party conference was held inBrighton and ran from 26 to 30 September, again chaired by Ian McCartney.^[21][22][23] The conference rejected a call for withdrawal from Iraq, but accepted a resolution calling for renationalisation of the railways; the leadership declared that it would ignore this.^{[citation needed]}

During his speech on 29 September, Blair was interrupted shortly after he started speaking byanti-war protester Hector Christie, who shouted "you've got blood on your hands," speaking of the Iraq War. Blair stated that the protester was lucky to be free to voice the protest. Around 15 to 20 minutes later, about six pro-hunting demonstrators shouted and set offrape alarms on the balcony above. All protesters were escorted away by police.^[73][74]

The conference was addressed on 30 September by the Irish rock starBono who called for more action to combat the spread ofAIDS and the debt problems African countries.^[75]

The 2005 conference was held in Brighton from 26 until 29 September and followed Labour's success in the2005 general election.^[24][25] Over the course of the conference, over 600 people were held under Section 44 of theTerrorism Act 2000, which allows forstop and search to be carried out by the police. This includedWalter Wolfgang, an 82-year-old peace activist and refugee fromNazi Germany who was removed from the conference for shouting the word "nonsense" at a speech on Iraq byJack Straw, and later detained under the Act when he tried to get back in. None of those held were arrested nor charged. Labour issued an apology to Wolfgang, and he was cheered when he returned the next day.^[76][77][78]

In 2006 the conference was held inManchester at theG-Mex and Manchester International Conference Centre from 24 to 28 September. It was the first time since 1974 that the main Labour conference was not held at aseaside town and the first time since 1917 the Labour conference had been held in Manchester. This followed Labour's Spring 2004 conference which was held at the G-Mex for the first time. The conference was Blair's last as leader after he stated this would be the case just before the conference and at the conference itself. The start of the conference was marked withprotests against the Iraq War.^{[citation needed]}

St Johns C.E. Primary School's steel band performed before Blair came on stage^{[citation needed]} for his last speech to conference as party leader and prime minister. In the speech, he praised the work of theChancellor of the Exchequer,Gordon Brown, though did not explicitly support him as a potential successor.^[79][80]

The conference was addressed in a joint session by Labour'sMayor of London,Ken Livingstone and theMayor of Los AngelesAntonio Villaraigosa on the subject ofclimate change.Bob Geldof and Monica Naggaga fromOxfam (Uganda) spoke together about Africa.^{[citation needed]} The main international guest speaker was the formerUS PresidentBill Clinton on 27 September.^[81] Another international visitor – but not a speaker to the conference – wasShimon Peres, the formerPrime Minister of Israel.^{[citation needed]}

The 2007 conference was held in theBournemouth International Centre from 23 to 27 September. The conference was the first withGordon Brown as leader of the Labour Party andPrime Minister, and he laid out his plans for his premiership. It was a first conference forHarriet Harman as Deputy Leader.^{[citation needed]}

The 2008 conference was held between 20 and 24 September inManchester atManchester Central (formerly G-Mex). The opening day of conference was moved from Sunday to Saturday to allow people who work during the week to attend. The Labour leader and Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, delivered his keynote address on 23 September.^{[citation needed]}

The 2009 conference was held in Brighton from 27 September to 1 October 2009. It saw an address fromPeter Mandelson, given on 28 September, in which he claimed that Labour was in "the fight of our lives" as thenext general election approached.^[82] Gordon Brown gave his keynote address to the conference on the afternoon of 29 September, saying that Labour was "not done yet".^[83] Shortly afterwards,The Sun announced it would withdraw its support for Labour, and gave its backing to theConservatives.^[84] Union leader and Labour supporterTony Woodley responded by tearing up a copy of that edition ofThe Sun, telling the audience that "in Liverpool, we learnt a long time ago what to do. I suggest the rest of the country should do exactly the same thing",^[85] in reference to the hostility felt in Liverpool towardsThe Sun following its controversial allegations about the behaviour ofLiverpool FC supporters in theHillsborough disaster 20 years earlier.^[86]

Shortly after losing the2010 general election to theConservatives, following aLiberal Democrat coalition, the 2010 Conference took place atManchester Central conference centre^[87] between 26 and 30 September.^{[citation needed]} The conference started with the announcement of the results of the2010 leadership election and wasEd Miliband's first conference as leader. In his first major speech as leader on 28 September, Miliband told delegates that his "new generation" would return the party to power.^[88] The following dayDavid Miliband announced he would not be serving in his brother's shadow cabinet, although he would continue as an MP.^[89] Other highlights of the conference included activists condemning thecoalition government's proposed public spending cuts as "obscene" on 27 September,^[90] and a close of conference address fromHarriet Harman in which she told delegates that Ed Miliband would "fortify" the party.^[91]

The 2011 Conference took place inLiverpool from 25 to 29 September. It was the first time since 1925 that Labour had held its conference there.^{[citation needed]} On 26 September delegates voted to scrap the tradition ofShadow Cabinet elections.^[92] Miliband's keynote speech on 27 September suffered a five-minute blackout after all media communications were lost.^[93]

The 2012 Conference was held at Manchester Central conference centre,^[94] from 30 September to 4 October.^{[citation needed]}

On 30 September, Miliband was interviewed onThe Andrew Marr Show, with Marr particularly questioning his image, leadership appeal and popularity.Harvard professorMichael Sandel delivered a lecture to conference onpredistribution as an economic goal, which Miliband had mentioned in his 2011 conference speech. He attended at least 30 fringe events on 1 October, including a Friends of Europe event withEddie Izzard.^[95]

On 2 October, Miliband made his keynote speech themed around the newOne Nation Labour branding.^[95] It was the first speech in around twenty years to be delivered by a Labour leader without the use of anautocue, enabling him to walk up and down the stage while maintaining audience eye contact, replicating the style ofDavid Cameron's Conservative leadership bid in 2005.^[94] Miliband also made use ofhumour in approximately 20% of the speech, more than in his previous speeches. It received an overwhelmingly positive reaction from the press.^[95]

On 3 October, Miliband led a question and answer session for about 3,000 delegates and members.^[95]

The 2013 Conference took place inBrighton from 22 to 25 September at theBrighton Centre.^{[citation needed]}

A special conference was held atExCeL London on 1 March to approve rule changes arising from former general-secretaryRay Collins review of party reform. The changes included replacing the electoral college system for selecting new leaders with a "one member, one vote" system. Mass membership would be encouraged by allowing "registered supporters" to join at a low cost, as well as full membership. Members from the trade unions would also have to explicitly "opt in" rather than "opt out" of paying a political levy to Labour.^[26][27][96]

The 2014 Conference was held inManchester from 21 to 24 September at Manchester Central conference centre.^{[citation needed]}Ed Miliband was criticised by his colleagues for not mentioning the deficit and immigration in his Conference address, despite having promised to do so in his pre-speech press release.^[97]

The results of theleadership anddeputy leadership elections were announced prior to the annual conference on 12 September at a short Special Conference in Westminster, London, in whichJeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the party.^[28][29]

The 2015 conference took place in Brighton between 27 September and 30 September.^[30] Corbyn reinstated the use of theAutocue, three years after it had been abandoned by Miliband. It was the first time that Corbyn had used one to deliver a speech.^[98]

The 2016 Conference took place atACC Liverpool; it started on 25 September and ran until Wednesday 28 September.^{[citation needed]} The result of the2016 leadership election was announced the previous day, with Jeremy Corbyn being re-elected.^[99] The conference heard impassioned pleas from Deputy LeaderTom Watson and Mayor of LondonSadiq Khan for unity and a need for the party to gain power.^[99] Because of the second leadership election in two years and the divisive ideological discussions, there was concern about a fraught atmosphere at the conference. However, delegates and elected representatives came together in harmony on many issues, including opposition to plans for grammar school expansions, a 'hard Brexit' and on accepting more unaccompanied child refugees into Britain.^{[100][99][101]} Part of Corbyn's platform for the second leadership election was accepting the result of the EU referendum that year, though there were motions and debates on Europe and the prospect of a second referendum.^[102] The first year ofThe World Transformed, a festival hosted by the left-wing grassroots campaigning groupMomentum, took place in the city at the same time as the conference.^[100]

The 2017 Conference took place at theBrighton Centre inBrighton and had 13,000 attendees from Sunday 24 September to Wednesday 27 September 2017.^{[citation needed]} The conference atmosphere was regarded as positive, following the relative successes of the party at the2017 general election.^[103]

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson announced a number of policy plans concerninggambling, including forcing gambling companies to pay a levy to fund research, NHS treatment to helpproblem gamblers deal with their addiction, and banning football clubs from signingshirt sponsorship deals with betting companies.^[104] The conference cut the number of politicians from the program in order to let more regular party members to have slots.^[103] One example that received media attention was a speech by Lauren Stocks, a 16-year-old student fromGreater Manchester. Commentators quickly drew parallels withWilliam Hague's 1977Conservative conference, which he delivered when he was also 16. Stocks spoke about the effects of recent changes to exams, and argued that:

There's a statistic we were shown when I was about 13 or 14 that told me 3 in 10 people in every classroom suffer with a mental illness. Now I'm going to be a bit frank here conference. That is bollocks! It's a good half ... I could've walked into any food tech, history, art, maths classroom and just watched seas of spaced-out, stressed-out, depressed kids, in a battlefield where they can't afford pens and paper! ... It is a disgusting sight and we cannot sit on our hands any longer!^[105]

Corbyn's keynote speech lasted 75 minutes and included a number of jokes at the expense both of the Conservatives and theDaily Mail. In terms of policy, Corbyn pledged that a Labour government would give cities the power to bring inrent controls and introduce restrictions ongentrification projects, citing the then recentGrenfell Tower fire.^[106]

Fringe events at the conference included the second year ofThe World Transformed,^[107][108] at which former party leaderEd Miliband hosted a political pub quiz, focusing on Labour history and current affairs.^[103]Centre for Cities, a think tank focused on cities in the UK, hosted a "the future of urban leadership" event, chaired by Andrew Carter with a panel consisting ofAndy Burnham,Steve Rotheram, Michelle Dix (Managing Director ofCrossrail 2), Francesca Gains (Head of Politics atUniversity of Manchester) and David Orr (Chief Executive of theNational Housing Federation).^[109]

The 2018 Conference took place at theArena and Convention Centre Liverpool (ACC Liverpool)^[110] from 23 to 26 September,^{[citation needed]} with 13,000 delegates at the event.^[111]

On 23 September,Angela Rayner announced a range of education reforms: that Labour would scrap theFree School program, democratiseAcademy schools, give local authorities the power to take control of badly performing Academies and remove the ability to shape their own admission policies.^[112] On 24 September, it was announced that private property tenants would be given more protections, as landlords couldn't evict them without reason.^[113]John McDonnell announced that workers in companies with more than 250 employees would become joint share holders in a structure that the law would oblige to adopt, with each employee receiving a payout at the end of each year.^[114]

The prospect of asecond referendum on the UK's relationship with the European Union was a heavily discussed topic at the conference. Both LeaderJeremy Corbyn and Deputy Leader Tom Watson had said should the conference vote for a second referendum they would support it.^[115][116] The motion was discussed by delegates on the Sunday, including MPs and representatives fromPeople's Vote and other delegates, and after five hours they had written a two-paged motion stating that "If we cannot get a general election Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote".^[117][118] The vote on motion took place on the Tuesday.

Party delegates voted on the Member of Parliament reselection process. They lowered the threshold required of local branches and local union branches to express dissatisfaction in an MP's performance from 50% to 33%.^[119]

Fringe Events also took place at the conference included The World Transformed,^[111] at which2017 French presidential candidateJean-Luc Mélenchon was a key-note speaker,^[120] as well as Corbyn,Katja Kipping (leader ofDie Linke),Ralf Stegner (SPD),Zitto Kabwe (leader ofAlliance for Change and Transparency) andAsh Sarkar.^[121] Councils against Austerity also took place, organised by a group of 24 Labour council leaders and 12 local Labour group leaders who had signed an open letter sent to Prime Minister Theresa May, criticising austerity's effect on local government.^[122] Real Britain, an event hosted byThe Mirror, was chaired byKevin Maguire and had speakers such asJohn McDonnell,Len McCluskey and former footballerNeville Southall.^[123] At this event McCluskey statedUnite's interest in supportingLabour Party candidates in Northern Ireland, instead of theSDLP.^[124]

The 2019 Conference took place at the Brighton Centre from 21 to 25 September, and was chaired by Wendy Nichols.^[31][32] Earlier in the year, there was talk of hosting a special conference on a resolution to the deadlock on whether Labour should back asecond referendum on Britain's relationship with the European Union.^[125][126] However, in July 2019 Labour's affiliated trade unions agreed a joint position on Brexit, in which any finalised Brexit deal would be subject to a referendum, with the party to back a Remain vote if a Conservative government had negotiated the deal, and the party’s position to be decided if it was a Labour government's deal.^[127] Conference delegates voted on whether Labour should fully support remain in a second referendum, or support the leadership's position of hosting a special conference after securing a majority government of how to campaign in the referendum. A majority of delegates supported the leadership's position.^[128]

Conference delegates voted on and supported several policy motions, including: supporting aGreen New Deal - which included large investments in windfarms and making the countrycarbon neutral by 2030, reducing working hours to 32-hour week within a decade, abolishprivate schools, free prescriptions in England, the creation of a National Care Service (a care-focused counterpart to theNational Health Service) and extension of voting rights to all residents of the UK regardless of their citizenship.^{[129][130][131]}

Jeremy Corbyn brought his speech forward by a day due to theSupreme Courtruling that theprorogation of Parliament by Prime MinisterBoris Johnson was unlawful.^[132]

On 4 April, a special conference was due to take place in London in order to announce the results of theleadership election, thedeputy leadership election and by-elections for two membership election NEC positions, as well as aBAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) place on theNational Executive Committee.^[33][34] The conference was cancelled due to theCoronavirus pandemic,^[133] and results were subsequently announced via the Labour Party social media feeds.Keir Starmer was announced as the 19thleader of the Labour Party.^{[134][better source needed]}

The 2020 Labour Party Conference would have taken place inLiverpool from Saturday 19 September to Wednesday 23 September,^{[135][better source needed]} however it was moved to an online format due to theCOVID-19 outbreak.^[136] It was Keir Starmer's first conference as leader. Taking place from 19 to 22 September, the virtual conference was renamed Labour Connected and described by the party as focused on "people coming together, to create a fairer and better society". Speakers included deputy leaderAngela Rayner and Shadow ChancellorAnneliese Dodds.^[35][36]

Starmer's speech took place on 22 September, during which he criticised the government's handling ofCOVID-19, commenting that "just when the country needs leadership, we get serial incompetence". Starmer also focused on how Labour had changed since his election as party leader earlier that year, emphasising that the party was "under new leadership".^[137]

The 2021 Labour Party conference took place between Saturday 25 September to Wednesday 29 September. It saw members attend in-person for the first time since the 2019 Conference.^{[citation needed]}

Prior to the conference, motions were blocked by the Conference Arrangement Committee and party staff which were seen as too "broad". This included both the Labour for a 'Green Jobs Revolution' motion and the 'Build Back Fairer' motion, both backed by the party's left. Instead, less radical but similar motions were allowed to remain.^[138] The decision was quickly reversed after an appeal.^[139]

Controversy emerged due to Starmer wishing to change the voting system for leadership elections. He proposed reverting from aone member, one vote system, in which each Labour party member and supporter has an equal vote back to theelectoral college where MPs, the membership and trade unions have a third of the vote each. The plan was accused of being anti-democratic, inappropriately timed and lacking consultation.^{[140][141][142]} Media speculated that this change in voting system was an attempt to continue an internal struggle with the left-wing of the party,^[143][144] and to stop another left-wing candidate like Jeremy Corbyn from winning the election.^[141] Prior to the conference, the media reported opposition fromUnite the Union,TSSA,CWU, andMomentum, and uncertainty fromUnison,GMB andUsdaw.^{[140][142][145]}

Starmer gave up on the electoral college after it failed to gain the support of trade unions.^[146] However, the party's executive committee agreed to send a series of more modest reforms to conference, including increasing the percentage of Labour MPs a candidate would need the support of to get on the leadership election ballot, banning the party's newest members from voting, and making it harder for members to deselect MPs.^[147] These changes were later passed by a small margin.^[148][149]

At the conference party members voted in favour of a £15 an hour minimum wage. The motion calling for a £15 an hour minimum wage was put forward bythe Unite union. Starmer and his leadership team did not indicate a preference either in favour or against the motion.^[150]

The 2022 conference took place in Liverpool from Sunday 25 to Wednesday 28 September 2022 atACC Liverpool, King's Dock,^[37] and was chaired byAnneliese Dodds.^[38]

To open the conference, Labour held aminute's silence following thedeath of Queen Elizabeth II, and sangGod Save the King for the first time at a Labour conference. Former leader Jeremy Corbyn criticised the decision, stating that it was "very, very odd," and "excessively nationalist," arguing that there was no precedent for doing so.^[151][152]

Keir Starmer was introduced bySatvir Kaur.^[153] Delegates voted in favour of a motion onproportional representation, which is supported by major trade unions associated with the Labour Party, including Unite, Unison and theCommunication Workers Union (CWU).^[154] However, Starmer said that electoral reform is not a priority and ruled out putting electoral reform in the Labour Party's next election manifesto.^[155]

Unusually, the 2023 conference took place in the same city as it did the previous year, Liverpool, from Sunday 8 October to Wednesday 11 October.^[39] It was also unusually held after the Conservative Party conference. The conference saw an increase in stalls from large companies, including forGoogle,Ineos,Specsavers, with fringe events sponsored byDeliveroo andGoldman Sachs.^[156] There was an increase in the number of "observers" sent by theConservative Party to at least eight, up from the two usually sent between conferences at both parties.^[157]

Shadow ChancellorRachel Reeves made her speech on 9 October, and spoke of a stance of "securonomics," whichThe Guardian stated was similar to U.S. PresidentJoe Biden's language oneconomic nationalism. She announced the creation of a "Covid corruption commissioner", enforcement of theministerial code on the use ofprivate jets, and a fiscal lock on ministerial spending.^[158] Also on 9 October, Labour MPApsana Begum left the conference due to safety concerns after she tweeted a photograph of herself supporting thePalestine Solidarity Campaign during theGaza war.^[159][160]

Starmer gave his speech on 10 October, but was interrupted before he began when Yaz Ashmawi, a protester from the new campaign groupPeople Demand Democracy, poured glitter over him,^[161][162] calling for a "people's house" and for proportional representation, which Starmer had rejected since the previous conference.^[163] During his speech, Starmer repeated the phrase "getting Britain building again," and repeated a pledge to build 1.5 million new houses.^[164] Starmer did not walk off the stage and through the crowd following his speech, as was usually the norm for party leader speeches at the conference.^[165] Labour sold limited edition "sparkle with Starmer" t-shirts for £20 following the incident,^[166] and the party launched a security review.^[167]

The 2024 Conference took place in Liverpool, on 22 September to 25 September for the third time in a row.^[168]

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