Labour Conference 2026

Stuart King, 30 September 2026

As the Labour tribe prepares to leave Liverpool and head home, it carries the Prime Minister's offer of Good Growth for every postcode in the four corners of the United Kingdom. A few reflections.

No snap election, and rightly so Andy Burnham has a plan and has set out how he intends to deliver it, with more detail to follow in the Budget. When the election does come, he will have proved beyond doubt that he can lead Labour to a second term. My money is on May 2028.

The vibes critique is running out of road I don't expect we'll hear much more about a people-pleaser who governs by vibes. The boldness on the Triple Lock is uncontestable. Kemi Badenoch, by contrast, is now the one equivocating.

A National Care Service is now a real prospect The opportunity it offers the NHS, perhaps even a lifeline, was clearly articulated, not least by Yvette Cooper in her post-speech interviews. Local government must make sure we are in the room, too. The bold thinking of our Prime Minister needs to be matched by our local government leaders.

Who will build our new homes?

We were again promised the biggest council house building programme since the war, and we need action on that scale. But we also need a vibrant, flourishing housebuilding sector as part of the effort. Your First Home, trailed in the media ahead of conference, is a welcome demand-side measure, but we will need more. I hope the Chancellor and his team are looking at what can be done, for example on Stamp Duty.

Growth, growth, growth John Healey was an excellent choice as Chancellor but we need to hear more about how the Government will grow the economy. The time for that is next month’s Budget, but don’t expect the Treasury to indulge in pre-budget leaks. Patience!

Hope again The Ministers, backbench MPs and councillors I spoke with last night were all, without exception, buoyed and energised by the PM's speech. Labour has its mojo back. Let's see how the Blue team responds in Birmingham later this week.