Change Begins? A blog by Head of Public Affairs, Alexis Darby

Since winning the election, the Labour government has had a tricky few months, so all eyes were on their first party conference in power for 15 years held last week in Liverpool.

Despite the unrelenting rain, the Labour Party Conference was a celebration of a return to government for the politicians and party activists I spoke to. While this was carried into the speeches in the main hall, the Labour Party also expressed frankness about the difficult decisions needed to build a stronger Britain.

They say that the leader’s speech is either for the people inside the hall (the members) or those outside (the press) and Kier’s speech was firmly for the party faithful ticking off core Labour policies such as improving the NHS, a real living wage, more teachers and more police all under the banner of “national renewal”. While this went down well in the hall, reports from the press have been mixed. 

There was no detail regarding creating a healthier country – only that the party would create a “new future for our children” and “no innovation ignored” but big set piece speeches generally don’t go into detail. It feels like this is part of the “difficult decisions” for the PM – trying to fix years of underfunding and rising poverty without a magic money tree.

We held five events inside the secure zone at the conference. Bright and early on the Monday we held a breakfast roundtable in partnership with Lancaster University which was chaired by the Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard. The event brought together health science research leaders from across the North and explored how life sciences and health innovations can create 21st-century NHS and a healthier and wealthier UK. This forms part of our wider work with the Metro Mayors on life sciences across the North and referenced our recent report, ‘NHSA Analysis of the UK Clinical Research Landscape in 2022’ which highlights the huge North-South divide in research funding – an issue that the government must address.

Next up was our Woman of the North roundtable focusing on our recent Woman of the North report. We were delighted to be joined by Jess Philips MP, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, and Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, along with Kim McGuinness, Mayor of the North East, and Professor Louise Kenny, NHSA Board Chair and Executive Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Liverpool.

The event focused on how the Metro Mayors across the North can build the infrastructure needed to support women and families, why women in the North are more likely to live shorter lives in poorer mental and physical health and to work more hours for less pay. Along with discussing with the Minister how the government will prioritise changes and investment in services, to end violence against women and girls and address gender inequalities.

On Tuesday we held a panel event to highlight our Child of the North work and were thrilled to be joined by Anna Turley Member of Parliament for Redcar, along with Terri White, Journalist and Campaigner, and young people from the University of Liverpool’s Young Person’s Advisory Service, along with Health Equity North Academic’s Professor David Taylor-Robinson, University of Liverpool, and Professor Kate Pickett, University of York.

This panel discussed the inequalities confronting children across the North and the Labour Party’s strategies aimed at breaking down barriers to opportunity, raising standards and creating a better future for children across our region. It was powerful to hear from Terri White who shared her own experiences and current work regarding campaigning against the two-child limit. And it was incredibly impactful to hear directly from young people regarding the policy changes needed.

We also held events with The York Policy Engine and the Heseltine Institute focusing on their research which we were delighted Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State for Employment; Rachael Maskell MP for York Central; Luke Charters MP for York Outer; and  Kim Johnson, Member of Parliament for Liverpool Riverside, could join.

Outside of our events, we caught the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention, Andrew Gwynne speaking on several panels.

Wes Streeting was keen to make the case that the new government would harness the strengths of the life sciences within the NHS and drive innovation by working with the private sector and anchor institutions. It was also good to hear the Secretary of State make the case that the economy and the health are inexorably linked, which was first identified in our Health for Wealth report.  Andrew Gwynne MP was focusing on plans to make England a Marmot nation by tackling health inequalities and prioritising prevention.

There was also much talk of the newly-established government Child Poverty Taskforce which is overseeing the development and publication of a cross-government strategy to reduce and alleviate child poverty. While this has been met with some cynicism, it was agreed that the findings and the policy changes must happen ASAP.

Overall, a busy Labour Party Conference, engaging with Ministers, MPs, Metro Mayors and our stakeholders on key NHSA and Health Equity North issues. And now to continue the work of driving the agenda of a healthier North forward with the new government.