This time last year, I wrote about attending political party conferences. Organisations that wish to influence the policy agenda need to build those all-important relationships with politicians, their advisers and staff. At the 2023 Labour conference, I spoke to several people involved in politics and policy, including Gordon McKee, who was special adviser to the party’s only MP in Scotland at the time, Ian Murray of Edinburgh South. He said then how important it is to build relationships with people both in government, but also, critically, when they are in opposition, and how a cuppa at conference with a candidate or shadow minister might pay dividends if they end up in government.  

That lone Labour MP in Scotland was joined by a second in last year’s October by-election that saw Michael Shanks elected. A year on, and their number has been swollen by a further 35, while Murray is the Secretary of State for Scotland and Shanks is a junior minister in the new government’s Department for Energy and Net Zero. And McKee is the newly elected MP for Glasgow South and, at 29, one of the youngest in the Commons.

As I write, I’m once again planning my time at the Labour conference in Liverpool later this month. This should be a triumphant affair for the party, celebrating the election victory in July. Expect many standing ovations during speeches and fringe meetings for the huge number of new MPs, some of whom I will seek to meet during the event.  

From the throne

The new government has a majority large enough to deliver the programme of bills set out in the first King’s Speech for a Labour government since Clement Attlee was Prime Minister. And it was a packed speech, with 40 bills, two of which were carried over from the previous parliamentary session. The maiden speech “from the throne” of a new government is a significant moment – it’s an opportunity for it to signal its intent and take those first steps towards delivering change. The focus here was on fiscal responsibility, economic growth, housebuilding, devolution and more.

We were delighted to see the second (albeit draft) bill announced was on audit reform and corporate governance. We – like others in our sector and in business – have been calling for this legislation for many years. It will create a new regulatory body with teeth and support wider governance reform, making directors more accountable and helping restore public trust in business.

“We were delighted to see the second bill announced in the King’s Speech was on audit reform and corporate governance”

Another key plank of this King’s Speech was to create a “fiscal lock” by giving the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) powers to produce a public analysis of major fiscal policy announcements, even when the Chancellor hasn’t asked for one. This included a commitment to put the requirement into legislation.

Labour’s hope is that this should make it more difficult for any future government to repeat the mistake made by Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss, when they rebadged their September 2022 mini-Budget as a “fiscal event” to avoid input from the OBR. They announced huge changes with no independent assessment. The markets considered this reckless, sending interest rates soaring and Truss and her Chancellor to the backbenches.

We saw the new Chancellor’s first major speech a little over a fortnight after the King addressed Parliament, when Rachel Reeves set the date of her first Budget as 30 October (thankfully avoiding Halloween). She also said there will be one annual fiscal event (as well as the fiscal lock) and that she has commissioned the OBR to prepare a forecast to be presented alongside the Budget.

Following her speech, the Treasury published a flurry of papers, including: a technical consultation on the VAT and business rates changes for private schools; a call for evidence inviting views from stakeholders on the government's plans to reform the tax treatment of carried interest; and a paper setting out the changes to the energy profits levy, in line with the new government’s manifesto commitments.

The Treasury also launched its autumn Budget stakeholder representation portal, where organisations can submit comments. We are currently discussing which issues we think we should raise ahead of the Budget and will prepare a response.

This government said ahead of the election that change was needed, and it has moved quickly to set out its plans, many of which will have been months in the making. What is encouraging is the speed with which new ministers have been in touch with us – with both Justin Madders, the junior minister responsible for steering the audit and corporate governance reform bill, and James Murray, the new Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, having already made contact. It’s likely to be a very busy first term in office.         

Read Bruce Cartwright CA’s pre-election letter to the government