Party Conferences - What Did We Learn and What Comes Next?

The media melee of the party conference season finally ground to a halt for another year with the Conservative party shindig in Manchester last week. There is plenty to follow up on from our fringe events and discussions with ministers at the three main events. As the policy team re-acclimatise to the real world (a few colleagues are still stumbling round the office with glazed expressions, mumbling to themselves about 'lands of opportunity' and 'Britain doing better than this!’) it's time to take stock of key messages and of what we need to do next.

At the Liberal Democrats event in Glasgow we heard the Business Secretary, Vince Cable MP, being particularly vociferous about the importance of skilled migrants to the UK economy. More needs to be done to clamp down on illegal migrants and to drive a coherent skills strategy for young people but there is an urgency that must be reflected.  Does this signify a 'de-politicisation' of the immigration agenda? Don't hold your breath, but it was encouraging to hear a slightly more balanced approach.  The other highlight in Glasgow was Employment Relations Minister, Jo Swinson MP speaking at our fringe session on flexible working patterns.  With the conduct regs review stillin progress, this was a great opportunity to push our line on key issues such as enforcement and protecting the UK's flexible labour market.

On to Brighton where pay and protection for vulnerable workers were high on the agenda for the Labour team. Our meetings with senior shadow ministers were pretty positive on the whole and there is a desire to engage with our industry on a range of labour market policies. However, there were some conflicting messages from the party and a few aberrations that we will need to push back on over the coming months.  The priority is to raise awareness of the positive role that the industry plays - on the plus side many Labour MPs and businesses present were keen to work with us and recognised that good quality agencies can help root out bad practice and worker exploitation.

The final leg of the party conference 'tour of duty' was Manchester with the Conservatives. Fit for purpose taxation and regulation was the main message here. We pressed the point on behalf of members that if we are to protect compliant businesses, we need to maintain suitable levels of regulation and effectively enforce the rules that already exist. Welfare reform and plans to get the long-term unemployed back into work could offer substantial opportunities to the private recruitment industry. We will continue to engage with the politicians and civil servants to help influence and shape future plans in this area.
 
Despite the zero hour ‘wall of sound’, the value of flexible work was generally recognised. Our fringe events at all three events underlined the need for government policy to reflect the changing world of work and the positive role of agency work.  There was also broad consensus on the need for tax policy to deliver a level playing field and we will continue to push for more effective HMRC enforcement.  All three conferences included specific debates and fringes on childcare, education policy and the future of healthcare. Our messages is that sourcing and placing suitably skilled staff will always be key to delivering front line services and that specialist recruiters will continue to play a pivotal role.
  
With 18 months to go until the next general election, it was important than ever to bang the drum for our key campaigns, particularly around flexible work. Having a strong industry presence at the party conferences is a core part our work to influence key debates and drive recognition for our industry amongst the ‘political elite’. We will build on our various discussions with Ministers and Shadow Ministers over the coming months and ensure that the voice of the UK recruitment industry resonates loud and clear.