JRF at party conferences 2024
JRF delivered a diverse programme of events at Labour and Conservative party conferences in 2024, this time around the themes of housing, care and the Essentials Guarantee.
Labour Party Conference: 22-25 September 2024
Care: We could all be carers: how can Labour put care at the centre of its long term plan for Britain?
When and where
Tuesday 24 September, 9.30-10.30am
The Progressive Britain Hub, ACC Liverpool, King's Dock, Port of Liverpool, Kings Dock St, Liverpool L3 4FP
Speakers
- Katy Styles, Founder, We Care Campaign
- Abby Jitendra, Principal Policy Adviser, JRF
- Caroline Abrahams, Director, Age UK
Essentials Guarantee: Ending the moral scar of mass dependence on emergency food: how do we get there?
When and where
Tuesday 24 September, 11-11.50am,
Room 2D, ACC Liverpool, King's Dock, Port of Liverpool, Kings Dock St, Liverpool L3 4FP
About the event
In their manifesto, Labour committed to ‘end mass dependence on emergency food parcels, which is a moral scar on our society’. This is an ambitious and commendable aim, which, if delivered correctly, will transform households' lives who must turn to food banks to survive.
This event will explore how we got here, to a society where too many people struggle to afford the essentials, and the tangible steps Labour needs to take, in the short term, to move us towards a society without the need for food banks.
Speakers:
- Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
- Emma Revie, CEO, Trussell Trust
- Antonia Bance MP
- Chair: Harry Clarke-Ezzidio, Policy Reporter, New Statesman
Housing: A new generation of social housing?
When and where
Tuesday 24 September, 5-6pm
The Progressive Britain Hub, ACC Liverpool, King's Dock, Port of Liverpool, Kings Dock St, Liverpool L3 4FP
About the event
Labour aspires to build 1.5m new homes in this parliament. The Deputy Prime minister has said that social and affordable housing will be central to this, with around a third of ‘large developments’ pledged to be affordable contributing to “the biggest wave of social housing for a generation”.
The new government inherits a difficult situation. Monstrously over-inflated housing costs, which continue to rise, have driven significant demand for social housing and, in its place, temporary accommodation. While, the costs of delivering new social homes has rocketed and the stock of homes available for social rent continues to fall due the right to buy, which also makes it hard for local authorities to replace the housing stock they lose through the scheme one-for-one or like-for-like.
The housing insecurity this creates is a major political and social problem. Britain has the worst rate of homelessness in the developed world and 1.2m people in England alone on the waiting list for a local authority home. It also threatens to undermine the Party’s ‘securonomics’ led growth agenda. Lack of a secure home is the root cause of many people’s struggle to build a firm foundation and get on in life.
This event attempts to understand the depth of the commitment Labour has in government to social housing and impress upon the senior leaders in the party what a powerful tool it could be to build a fairer and more sustainable economy.
Speakers
- Darren Baxter, Principal Policy Adviser, JRF
- Cllr Keiron Williams, Southwark Council
- Bronwen Rapley, Homes for the North
- Chair - Kath Swindells, Deputy Features Editor, Inside Housing
Conservative Party Conference: 29 September-2 October 2024
Housing: Where next for social housing?
When and where
Monday 30 September 2024, 11.30am-12.30pm
Hall 6, ICC Birmingham, 8 Centenary Sq, Birmingham B1 2EA
About the event
Under the previous government support for social housing, and particularly homes for social rent – the lowest cost tenure, grew. Additional funding was directed towards these homes over successive administrations and various reforms sought to increase their supply. As the conservative party re-groups post-election and with new leadership imminent, this session will consider the role that social housing should continue to play in addressing the housing crisis.
Speakers
- Darren Baxter, Principal Policy Adviser, JRF
- Rachel Maclean, Former Minister for Housing & Planning
- Bob Blackman MP, Chair Backbench Business Committee
- Cllr Abi Brown OBE, Deputy Chair, Local Government Association
- Chair - Henry Hill, Deputy Editor, ConservativeHome
Essentials Guarantee: A strong Conservative voice on tackling hunger and hardship
When and where
Monday, 30 September 2024, 2.30–3.30pm
Hall 6, ICC Birmingham, 8 Centenary Sq, Birmingham B1 2EA
About the event
The cost-of-living crisis exposed a worrying trend of deepening poverty in the UK, which has remained stubbornly high, despite improvements to the economy. Without action, we risk undermining growth and public services. Tackling hardship is a top priority for people and communities across the country and should be a key consideration for whomever leads the party into the next election, including how they hold the new Government to account.
Join the Trussell Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to hear more about the difficult choices facing families this winter and beyond, what people think about rising hardship, the expectations they have for change, and the constructive role the Conservative Party can play going forward in this debate.
Care: Family-friendly Britain? Increasing choices to start and sustain family life
When and where
Tuesday 1 October 2024, 2-3pm
Secure Zone, Exec Room 7, ICC Birmingham, 8 Centenary Sq, Birmingham B1 2EA
Why are fewer young adults today becoming parents? How can the government best help to reduce the pressures and costs of modern family life? What more should employers do to enable employees to care for their families? Is there a compelling centre-right policy agenda, distinct from traditional social conservatism, for supporting modern families?
Speakers
- Abby Jitendra, Principal Policy Adviser, JRF
- David Simmons, Co-Director, Changing Lives Community Services
- Phoebe Arslanagić-Little, Head of New Deal for Parents, UK Onward
- Rachel de Souza, Children's Commissioner for England