UK Political Party Conference Roundup: What Brands Need to Know

As the UK’s party conference season draws to a close, one thing is clear: policy divides between the parties have not been this clear for some time. For brands with a stake in public policy discussions, now’s the time to get your message out there.

Autumn has now arrived in the UK, bringing with it shorter days, chillier nights, and, of course, the party conference season. In amongst the keynotes, policy launches, and political roughhousing, there are plenty of opportunities for businesses to weigh in on the policy debate and get their voices heard. This is not about getting involved in politics, but it is about having a say in the policies that will affect your organisation and your customers.

To mark the launch of our new public affairs offering, we’ve compiled a list of some of the policy debates making waves at the conferences of the three biggest UK parties based on representation in the House of Commons. 

How would these policies impact your stakeholders? Are they the right direction for the country, or do you have suggestions for a better path forward? Taking part in these debates will not only raise your profile, but it could mean you end up helping to shape policy outcomes.

“Taking part in these debates will not only raise your profile, but it could mean you end up helping to shape policy outcomes.”

Giles Peddy, Managing Director, UK & Europe

What did the Liberal Democrats propose at conference?

Tax cuts

• Raising the income tax personal allowance to £15,000 and the higher rate threshold to £56,000, as well as providing for a temporary cut in fuel duty. Party leader Ed Davey framed the cuts as a “profoundly liberal thing to do.”
• Funding tax cuts through a new Growth and Defence Partnership with the EU, including joining the Single Market and a UK-EU Customs Union. The Lib Dems forecast that these moves would “secure a growth dividend worth £27 billion a year.”
• Bringing back the Office of Tax Simplification to reduce the bureaucratic burden on small businesses.

Growth

• Axing the Treasury in favor of a new Department for Growth. The Department would be tasked with introducing a revised industrial strategy that places a higher priority on supporting zero-carbon, renewable, and resource-efficient businesses.
• Making it easier for companies to do business by reducing national insurance contribution rates for part-time workers and young people, cutting energy costs, and reducing red tape.
• Improving access to finance for businesses while encouraging research and innovation.

Innovation

• Reforming R&D tax credits, offering “a system of subject-expert (not HMRC) pre-approval as in South Africa and the Netherlands.”
• Extending the UK Patent Box, to support broader innovation in non-pharma sectors.

Digital and tech

• An emergency motion expressed concern about US threats aimed at the UK for maintaining the digital services tax, and called on the UK government to “defend British taxpayers against Trump” by resisting US pressure to water down or scrap the DST. 
• An online crime levy for large technology companies and AI firms whose platforms or services are used to facilitate serious online crime. The proceeds would fund a new specialist law enforcement body. 
• Exploring tax incentives targeted at SMEs for the adoption of stronger cybersecurity technology.

What did Labour propose at conference?

Social care and pensions

• Adjusting the pensions “triple lock,” which would rise either by CPI inflation, or a minimum of 2.5%.
• Using savings from the triple lock to help fund a new National Care Service “free at the point of use.”

Electoral and constitutional reform

• Launching a “national commission” to explore voting reforms with the aim of creating a system where “everyone’s vote counts and everyone’s voice is heard.”
• Exploring a new relationship with the European Union (EU) at the UK-EU Summit later this year. 

Housing

• Boosting the building of council houses while reforming the Right to Buy policy so that new council homes cannot be bought as easily.
• Providing councils with powers to bring empty homes into public ownership, and to take over poor-quality homes if landlords fail to improve them.
• Giving savers access to a mortgage with just a 2.5% deposit.

Utilities

• Repealing the ban on public ownership of water companies.
• Establishing a new publicly owned Great British Grid to help drive down energy costs.

Tax

• Giving Metro mayors across England new powers to retain a portion of locally raised tax revenue.

Education

• Rebalancing the focus of education away from university and towards technical qualifications.

What did the Conservatives propose at conference?

Defence

• A £10bn defence network dubbed “Britannia Shield” designed to counter short-range attacks.

Tax

• £2.3bn to halve employer National Insurance for under-25s.
• Abolishing business rates for most high street shops, scrapping stamp duty for homebuyers, and easing planning restrictions.
• Allowing couples to pass on an additional £1m in inheritance tax-free with the aim of abolishing inheritance tax over the long term.

Housing

• Reducing the cost of building a home by £50,000 through axing net-zero housing regulations, replacing the community infrastructure levy and Section 106 agreements with a single developer charge, and abolishing the Environment Agency and Natural England.

Energy

• Boosting energy resilience by reversing North Sea drilling bans, scrapping windfall taxes, and launching a national nuclear renewal.

What does conference season mean for business?

What’s above all clear from this year’s conference season is that there are clearer dividing lines emerging between the parties that have been absent for many years. From energy to tax, infrastructure to healthcare, battle lines are being drawn. For businesses that can add to these policy debates, the next few years promise to provide fertile ground to get your messages heard.

If you want to learn more about SourceCode Communications’ new policy offering, get in touch.