Senior Account Executive, Emily Brewster, spent her weekend at the London Labour Conference on the eve of a transfer of power away from Holborn and St Pancras’ MP, Sir Keir Starmer, to the King of the North, Andy Burnham MP.
The regional conference was always going to have a slight atmosphere of grief around it this summer. Labour’s popularity in London was expressed clearly by the electorate in the ballot box, with May elections representing the party’s most fatal results in recent political memory. Veteran members acknowledged the room feeling emptier than previous years, and no wonder – Labour’s headcount almost halved in councillors across the capital city in local elections this spring, and the losses were felt deeply. Despite this, there was a tangible spirit of revival expressed through speeches by Tottenham MP David Lammy and Ilford North MP Wes Streeting, looking ahead to the imminent Burnham government, where localised autonomy in cities like London promises to be extended and enhanced.
With this political context in mind, it was no surprise that devolution was at the heart of discussion across the conference, particularly regarding London’s position in a decentralised, devolved Burnham government. The incoming Prime Minister has made his agenda of transferring power away from Whitehall, and the capital, and into the UK’s regions, no secret. But the case was strongly made by London’s Labour politicians that this would not see the capital’s status domestically or internationally reduced, but enhanced by the elevation of other major hubs like Manchester. The prospect of fiscal devolution for the capital was advocated for by figures like London Deputy Mayor Howard Dawber, who recognised London’s shortcomings in fiscal control compared with equivalent cities like New York, Paris and Tokyo and the limitations it has over its own investment, growth and spending decisions. He articulated that fiscal devolution should not be considered revolutionary in the UK capital when it is status quo in metropoles across the world.
Regarding planning, the conference could not have come at a more pertinent time for London, falling days after the publication of the draft London Plan. There was a consensus in the room that lower housing targets may facilitate better strategic growth, with Howard Dawber signalling the London Plan as an opportunity for socialists to take responsibility for a market economy that truly enables good growth across the city.
A workshop on ‘Watching those Greens’ emphasised the place Labour must now take in many boroughs across the city in opposition, capitalising on the position to reconnect with voters that have turned away. Frustration was expressed at the inflation of Labour’s national politics in the local election campaigns, with a unanimous view that London Labour must take its own positions on issues like the Middle East and promote those as distinct to the government line in order to win back members and voters that have left the party since 2024 and target ‘Green considerers’.
Overall, the single thread that ran through the weekend’s debates was the rare opportunity presenting the party now for a second chance at a first impression, as Streeting articulated. Despite political apathy and distrust remaining high, the general spirit of the event saw hope in the reset promised by Andy Burnham’s premiership to restore confidence in Labour as a party that can deliver in London, and combat the Green party in coming years.