This week has seen the conclusion of the UK political party conference season – it is the time of the year when Parliament breaks to allow the main parties to hold their respective annual conferences, bringing together members, trade union representatives and Parliamentarians. In many cases, it is an opportunity for parties to discuss and agree policy positions as well as engage with businesses on their policy agendas.
CIBSE’s Head of Government Affairs, Sam Baptist, attended the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool (given they are the governing UK party) and this allowed direct access to political decision-makers including MPs, Peers and Ministers.
Giving us his perspective on attending the Labour conference, Sam said:
“My overall impression from listening to the main speeches and attending numerous fringe events at the Labour Party Conference, was just how much emphasis this Government is placing on skills and equipping the workforce needed to deliver so many of the Government’s policy ambitions.
“Much of this plays right to the heart of what we do at CIBSE – from net zero delivery and the energy transition, to the building services expertise needed to deliver the homes and infrastructure this Government has put so much political weight behind. Not to mention the expert training we offer to existing and future engineers.
“It’s great to be able to talk to policymakers about all the things we are doing at CIBSE to support this important agenda.”
Below we summarise the various discussions and announcements of relevance to CIBSE and its members, across all the main conferences.
Labour Party Conference
Key announcements:
The Prime Minister used his keynote speech to announce a new target of getting two-thirds of young people into university or enrolled on to a 'gold-standard' apprenticeship (link).
The Housing Secretary welcomed a report from the New Towns Taskforce, which identified 12 locations for new towns and delivering 300,000 homes. The Housing Secretary confirmed the Government will begin work on at least three new towns before the end of this Parliament (2029) (link).
The Education Secretary announced the reintroduction of means-tested maintenance grants. The grants will support students from low-income households enrolling on to ’priority courses’ at levels 4-6 under the lifelong learning entitlement, including technical qualifications and degrees (link).
Other announcements:
The Energy Secretary said that the Government’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan will be published in the coming weeks – this will see the energy sector double to 830,000 jobs by 2030. He also said that the Government is planning to pass legislation that would ban fracking for shale gas in England.
The Work and Pensions Secretary confirmed £25 million investment to expand the youth hubs scheme over the next three years. The Chancellor also announced plans for a ‘Youth Guarantee’ to end long-term youth unemployment, alongside progress on a UK-EU Youth Mobility Scheme.
The new Environment Secretary recommitted to a new Water Reform Bill to design the long-term structure of the waterway system.
Sam also represented CIBSE at several ‘fringe’ events across the four-day conference alongside Government representatives, Parliamentarians and industry leaders. These included:
An event held by the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) – of which CIBSE is a member – where MPs and industry panellists discussed the necessary investment in skills required to deliver the Government’s Industrial Strategy.
A Building Research Establishment (BRE) event on how to achieve sustainable buildings across the hospitality sector and the role of certification methods such as BREEAM and NABERS UK.
An industry roundtable hosted by the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) on their latest Skills Survey data.
A panel discussion hosted by UK innovation agency NESTA on how to make the transition to low-carbon energy.
A private dinner hosted by the Joint Industry Board (JIB) and chaired by Baroness Wendy Alexander on the delivery of the Government’s ambitions through a future-ready construction workforce.
Conservative Party Conference
Key announcements:
The headline announcement from the Conservative’s conference was made during leader Kemi Badenoch MP’s keynote speech this week, where she stated that the Party would abolish Stamp Duty for primary residences in England (given similar taxes in other parts of the UK are a devolved matter).
The Shadow Housing Secretary stressed the need to reform planning rules and building regulations to drive down supply chain costs, while urging efforts to win community support for new developments. He also pledged to prioritise housebuilding on brownfield sites, cut regulation and ensure families and first-time buyers are not left behind.
On climate and energy, Badenoch confirmed that a Conservative government would repeal the Climate Change Act and replace it with a ‘Cheap Power Plan’ aimed to reduce electricity bills for consumers. The Shadow Energy Secretary said the Party would also abolish the carbon tax on electricity generation and scrap what she described as "rip-off wind farm subsidies".
The Shadow Chancellor used his speech to criticise the Government's economic and energy policies, claiming they are hostile to investment and said a future Conservative government would focus on deregulation and shrinking the state to drive growth. He also said that he would cut spending on “green policies” as part of wide-ranging savings.
On the environment, the Shadow Environment Secretary criticised the Government’s removal of agricultural property relief.
On skills, the Party announced that "rip-off" courses would be scrapped to help double the apprenticeship budget.
Liberal Democrats Conference
Key announcements:
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey used his keynote speech to describe how the country was in a state of "crisis", covering issues such as housing, nature, the cost of living and crumbling schools and hospital buildings. He also set out Lib Dem plans to cut energy bills in half by 2035, stating that he wants to ensure every individual feels the benefit of cheaper electricity.
The Lib Dem Spokesperson for Energy said that growth and net zero ambitions did not need to be a "binary" choice. Pippa Heylings MP emphasised how seriously the party was taking this issue and highlighted the need for local authorities to be given greater powers to address their own climate challenges through the English Devolution Bill. Heylings put forward numerous policy positions including setting zero carbon standards for new buildings, investing in renewable energy, boosting green skills and apprenticeships, and launching a new National Climate Assembly.
Lib Dems were keen to stress their support for new homes – provided there is sufficient attention paid to social housing. The Lib Dem Housing spokesperson called for a new generation of rent-to-own as an alternative to the Right to Buy scheme.
