Labour Party Conference
The Labour Party Conference is the annual conference of the British Labour Party. It is formally the supreme decision-making body of the party and is traditionally held in the final week of September, during the party conference season when the House of Commons is in recess, after each year's second Liberal Democrat Conference and before the Conservative Party Conference. The Labour Party Conference opens on a Sunday and finishes the following Wednesday, with an address by the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party; the Leader's address is usually on the Tuesday. In contrast to the Liberal Democrat Conference, where every party member attending its Conference, either in-person or online, has the right to vote on party policy, under a one member, one vote system, or the Conservative Party Conference, which does not hold votes on party policy, at the Labour Party Conference, 50% of votes are allocated to affiliated organisations, and the other 50% to Constituency Labour Parties, but all voting in both categories is restricted to nominated representatives. Conference decisions are not binding on the party leadership, even if carried unanimously.
Conference
Delegates
Delegates to the conference are elected by Constituency Labour Parties, affiliated trade unions and socialist societies. Currently, affiliated trade unions hold 50% of the votes at the conference, down from 80% in the era before Tony Blair. Some 40% of the votes are wielded by the three largest trade unions.Resolutions
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 or a motion.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.
Role of the NEC
The National Executive Committee leads the conference and if it does not agree with a resolution, the committee may put pressure on the backers to withdraw or remit 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 normally composites, meaning that they have been compiled by combining several resolutions put forward by different bodies into a single wording agreed beforehand.Conference Fringe
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. These events are run by different organisations with many differing themes and topics of discussion.List of conferences
Of the Labour Representation Committee
Of the Labour Party
Conferences
Hugh Gaitskell leadership
1957 Brighton
made a speech disavowing unilateral nuclear disarmament, claiming that it would send the government "naked into the conference chamber".Harold Wilson leadership
1966 Brighton
shouted "hypocrite" at Wilson in protest against support given by the government to US behaviour in the Vietnam War. Walter was bundled out of the venue, arrested, charged with "indecency in church" under the 1860 Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act because Wilson was speaking in a church, and imprisoned for two months.James Callaghan leadership
1976 Blackpool
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.Michael Foot leadership
September 1981 Brighton
There was a minute's silence at the Conference in memory of Bill Shankly, former Liverpool FC manager and lifelong Labour supporter. The deputy leadership election took place, with incumbent deputy Denis Healey narrowly defeating challenger Tony Benn.Neil Kinnock leadership
1983 Brighton
was elected party leader with 71% of the vote, following Labour's defeat in the June general election, succeeding Michael 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." The editorial board of Militant were expelled.1985 Bournemouth
In his speech, Kinnock attacked Militant and their record in the leadership of Liverpool City Council, leading to a walkout led by Eric Heffer.1989 Brighton
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.John Smith leadership
1992 Blackpool
In July 1992, John Smith succeeded Neil Kinnock, by winning the party's leadership contest with 91% of the vote, against his only remaining leadership opponent, Bryan Gould. Margaret Beckett was elected as the party's deputy leader. The contest followed Labour's defeat in the April general election.1993 Brighton
For 1993, the rules for the Parliamentary Committee were amended again so four of its seats were to be filled by women. Smith abolished the trade union block vote at Conference and replaced it with the one member, one vote method. He was praised by John Prescott for "putting his head on a block" in pushing the reforms through.Tony Blair leadership
1994 Blackpool
won the 1994 Labour Leadership Contest, with 57% of the overall votes, following the death of the former leader, John Smith. His opponents were John Prescott and Margaret Beckett. Prescott was elected as the party's deputy leader.The "New Labour" rebranding was officially unveiled.
October 1995 Brighton
Featured Blair's "Young Country" speech.1996 Blackpool
Featured Blair's "Education, Education and Education" speech.2000 Brighton
The 2000 conference was held in Brighton from 24 to 28 September.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 called William Hague a "drunk in charge of a bandwagon." On 27 September, delegates voted by a majority of nearly three-to-two in favour of a motion calling for the basic state pension to be linked to average earnings. Blair said that the government would not change its pension policies despite the vote. The international guest speaker was Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa. Closing the conference on 28 September, he made a speech condemning poverty and inequality and made an appeal concerning AIDS in South Africa.
2001 Brighton
The 2001 conference took place in Brighton and began on 30 September. On 25 September, Blair had stated he would recall Parliament from the recess for a day in order to keep MPs updated following the September 11 attacks, meaning the conference was rescheduled to end a day earlier than initially planned, on 3 October. The event was protected by a large security operation, including a five-mile air exclusion zone. The international guest speaker was Gerhard Schröder, the Chancellor of Germany.The conference began with a two-minute silence, an address from the Chief Fire Officers Association praising firefighters in New York, and a speech from culture secretary Tessa Jowell. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott also gave a speech, with The Guardian noting that he "dropped his usual party conference knock-about routine."
Blair's speech on 2 October focused mostly upon the fallout of September 11 and plans for the war in Afghanistan, while also paying some focus to a potential referendum on the introduction of the Euro. It was praised by most U.S. newspapers, while European papers were less supportive; The ''New York Times stated that Blair was "America's most passionate and steadfast ally in the fight against terrorism," while Italian paper La 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." Blair also spoke of an international "Partnership for Africa", giving the private sector a larger role in public services, and a potential review of student funding and tuition fees.
2002 Blackpool
The 2002 event took place in the Winter Gardens complex in Blackpool, and ran from 30 September to 3 October. Attendees included: pressure groups such as the Countryside Alliance, League Against Cruel Sports, and Anti-Nazi League; big business such as BNFL, BP, and BAE Systems; think tanks including the Fabian Society, 50 people from the Institute for Public Policy Research, and the Adam Smith Institute; the Confederation of British Industry; various media organisations; and observers from other political parties including the Iraqi National Congress, though the Socialist Workers Party claimed they were not let in.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 the welfare state had led to a "monolithic provision of services," arguing for the use of private finance. He argued for the possibility of war 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.
The international guest speaker was Bill Clinton, former President of the United States of America, who spoke in a 50 minute address on 2 October. He used the speech to tell both President George W. Bush and Labour to continue working with the United Nations to solve the Iraq disarmament crisis. The speech was followed by a 2.5 minute standing ovation.