The Labour Party has announced a free, four-day virtual members’ event to replace this year’s annual conference which has been cancelled due the coronavirus pandemic.
Called Connected, it takes place entirely online from Saturday 19 September to Tuesday 22 September and is open to all party members. Members were invited to register by party general secretary David Evans from Thursday 6 August.
“It is a huge disappointment for me that we cannot meet as normal at Annual Conference,” said Evans. “I know of countless inspiring stories of Labour members putting our values into practice, helping in communities and workplaces.
“Labour values are our communities’ values and a pandemic will not stop Labour members connecting, organising and paving the way for elections in 2021 and beyond.
“From your home you can see inspiring speeches and take part in invaluable training, hear from key figures in our movement at panels and rallies, join in the debate at policy discussions and connect with a range of businesses, charities, think tanks and trade unions in our virtual expo.”
According to a Labour List report, the event will feature “keynote speeches from the party’s top leadership figures”, such as leader Keir Starmer, Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds and deputy leader and party chair Angela Rayner.
“It is understood that while the members’ sessions are intended to be for party members only, the frontbencher speeches will be outward-facing,” Labour List said.
The event begins with Women Connected on 19 September followed by Connected from 20-22 September.
Once registered, members can choose which sessions to attend as the timetable is announced.
Further details will be revealed in due course, including timings, details of specific events, and how party members can use technology to attend the programme.
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18 August 2020
Hopefully the virtual conference and eventually more normal conferences (plus the Parliamentary Labour Party) will face up to the issue of why Labour has lost so much of its traditional working class support and how such people’s wellbeing can be pursued given the harsh circumstances which many of them are now facing.
The recently published Fall of the Red Wall – the Labour Party no longer represents people like us by Steve Rayson is well worth reading on this matter. I give some key quotes from his third chapter here, plus some related views of my own.
If Labour fails to confront such problems, then its very name has become redundant. A Nuffield study on the 2017 election shows that only seven former manual workers were elected as MPs and these were not all Labour. Their study on the 2019 election is due to be published next year and is likely to show an even smaller figure given the departure of Dennis Skinner and others.