Late last week Sky’s Sam Coates drew attention to a guide for businesses on the internal workings of the Labour Party: How Labour Works. Produced by the Portland strategic communications consultancy, the company describe their guide as ‘a bible for organisations seeking to influence how Labour might govern.’ Gabriel Pogrund of the Sunday Times shared it here.
The publication of Portland’s document sets out with great clarity how business is being advised to navigate Labour’s decision-making structures to secure influence. In his introduction, Alastair Campbell urges businesses to embrace the prospect that there will be Labour government before too long: ‘between now and then there is a genuine opportunity to shape the policies and direction of the Labour Party.’
In the section How Is Policy Made In the Labour Party, Portland’s Richard Brooks, Ollie Moffat and Maddie Reay document how some in the party’s establishment view Labour’s policy structure.
“Behind closed doors, some senior figures look down upon this dynamic and (admittedly hazardous) process. They believe, often with good cause, that Labour’s active members – the ones most likely to speak on conference floor – are out of touch with the wider electorate. While all sides and factions claim to be huge supporters of party democracy in principle, this tends not to be the case in practice when in power.
“Consequently, leaders and their advisors freely admit in private that they do not feel bound by party conference decisions. There is a view that consultations with members are to be managed, rather than encouraged.”
It is inevitable, as the likelihood of a Labour government grows, that business will seek not only to engage with Labour at its leadership levels - but also to influence it.
As a mass party of social democracy, Labour is a field in which competing and often conflicting interests are played out. As far back as 2010 Portland’s founder and then managing director - Tim Allan - warned the newly-elected Labour leader Ed Miliband that he was conducting a ‘break from New Labour’, singling out one passage from Miliband’s conference speech in particular:
‘to my mind the most critical and damaging line in your speech was when you said that it is wrong, conference, that a banker [or presumably anybody else] can earn more in a day than a care worker can earn in a year.’
Portland’s new guide for business should serve as a reminder that 2023 has seen Labour increase the pace of its policy review.
The National Policy Forum - making a submission
At the end of last month the Labour party entered the new phase of its policy-making process. It is asking for responses to its consultation around six policy commission areas.
Here is a (fairly niche) guide on how to take part.
Labour’s National Policy Forum process is often seen as arcane, and running parallel to other more well-established procedures. Nonetheless, it is now long-established and prone to significant internal argument and debate, particularly depending on the position taken by the affiliated unions, individually and through Labour Unions (TULO as was). Because the 2017 and 2019 general elections were snap elections the party has not completed a full policy process across one parliamentary cycle since 2010-15. That last process saw a number of major discussions, from rail policy to Trident.
Each of the present policy commissions has a paper for discussion. The commissions and their papers are: ‘A green and digital future’; ‘Better jobs and better work’; ‘Safe and secure communities’; ‘Public services that work from the start’; ‘A future where families come first’; ‘Britain in the world’. Links can be found here.
Labour’s consultation phase closes on 17 March.
The deadline makes the turnaround for responses extremely rapid, since the February meeting cycle is already underway. In order to secure responses at branch or constituency party level, affiliates, or party bodies such as council Labour groups, it is necessary to step in now to check that the relevant February (or very early March) meeting has the consultation on the agenda.
CLPs’ debates this month around the NPF policy commission papers will be an opportunity for constituency parties to discuss the direction of travel members want from a Labour government.
Progressive campaigning organisations, pressure groups and think tanks should note that contributions are not limited to Labour party bodies and affiliates.
The commission papers state:
“we also encourage external organisations, such as charities, think tanks, businesses and civil society bodies to submit their ideas.” The policy forum website states that non-Labour organisations may submit their response by registering as a ‘guest,’ ie this part of the process is designed to receive submissions beyond the party membership and affiliates.
Submissions can either be a 600-word response on the form or an attachment with a longer document. They must be uploaded here.
It is stated clearly that “members should contribute to discussions and submissions through their constituency or branch party, as the commissions will not be accepting submissions directly from individuals in this final year.”
Stick to contributions from party bodies, affiliates, and external organisations, not individuals.
Always check that the CLP has submitted the response in time, once agreed.
Likewise, check that the unions affiliated to the CLP have been invited to the discussion on the CLP’s submission.
Following this phase, after the consultation closes on 17 March, final year policy documents will be produced. Those documents will then be debated and amended by the NPF representatives and the process will go into a final meeting on 21-23 July. The outcomes of the NPF then go to conference.
Making progress through this phase and into later ones involves assembling alliances on specific issues amongst currents across the unions, the constituencies, external pressure groups and MPs.
Overcoming obstacles
Policy commission documents include a series of questions. It would be an understatement to say that in a number of cases these questions are fairly limiting. However the questions should not be taken as a reason not to contribute. The consultation paper very clearly states that “you don’t need to answer every one of the questions in this document, nor answer them in a specific way. We suggest using the questions to help structure your response and act as a prompt for your thoughts on the policy area.”
Similarly, the text from the commission papers is itself often limited in scope. That is also no reason not to submit views, as long as the submission made is consistent with the terms of the relevant policy commission’s overall remit.
Finally
It is worth informing NPF representatives directly of your submission.
Once again, here is the party’s submission guide.
This free-to-read post is updated from a version for paying subscribers yesterday. Please consider taking out a paid sub to support this work.
Please let me know of any errors or additional points. They can be updated online.