25/09/2016 - Live Afternoon Session

:00:45. > :01:52.This afternoon we will discuss the communities and transport sections

:01:53. > :01:57.of the National policy Forum report and also have a report on Wales and

:01:58. > :02:01.northern Ireland including a speech by Carwyn Jones.

:02:02. > :02:05.At the end of the session we will be holding a tribute to remember Jo

:02:06. > :02:10.Cox. Our first debate is on the community section of the national

:02:11. > :02:18.policy Forum report which is on pages 20-23 and the priority issues

:02:19. > :02:22.document on housing on pages 68-71. To move the report on behalf of the

:02:23. > :02:25.National executive committee please welcome Jim Kennedy.

:02:26. > :02:40.APPLAUSE Jim Kennedy, NEC and unite to move

:02:41. > :02:43.the communities policy commission report.

:02:44. > :02:51.Conference this is a big and busy commission. We are tasked with

:02:52. > :02:55.looking at issues affecting communities and local government,

:02:56. > :03:00.housing, environment, food and rural affairs, energy and climate change

:03:01. > :03:06.and culture, media and sport. Prior to January 2016 these issues were

:03:07. > :03:12.the property of two commissions, living standards and sustainability

:03:13. > :03:15.and Stronger, Safer Communities. And recognising our wide remit I want to

:03:16. > :03:20.thank the members of commission for the contributions. It has been

:03:21. > :03:23.difficult on occasions and I know one or two commission members have

:03:24. > :03:28.questioned the effectiveness of the input but I can assure them they are

:03:29. > :03:31.integral to the work of the commission and we will deliver the

:03:32. > :03:40.policies that take us into the next election. I would also like to thank

:03:41. > :03:47.John Healey and Jon Trickett for the hard work but throughout the year

:03:48. > :03:54.the, what has kept us on track as Adam Scott, the party policy

:03:55. > :03:58.officer, saw a big thank you to him. We have five shallow secretaries of

:03:59. > :04:02.state on the commission sought issues discussed include the

:04:03. > :04:08.Government 25 year food and farming strategy, flooding, the Olympic

:04:09. > :04:14.legacy of the housing benefit changes and Housing act, energy

:04:15. > :04:18.prices, the BBC, Levenson enquiry, broadband roll out and the

:04:19. > :04:24.Government's piecemeal devolution plans. The priority issue has been a

:04:25. > :04:30.housing crisis in the UK. A subject I feel passionately about. I am the

:04:31. > :04:33.product or a central London council estate and my estate was a real

:04:34. > :04:40.community, not the version the Tories tried to poetry as some sort

:04:41. > :04:44.of sink estate. Our home is what warm and welcoming, we have

:04:45. > :04:49.affordable rents, security of tenure, not the short non-guaranteed

:04:50. > :04:53.tendencies often used these days. We had our support network as well as

:04:54. > :04:58.being well supported by the local authority. We all knew one another,

:04:59. > :05:03.from the caretakers on the estate to those that lived in the sheltered

:05:04. > :05:08.housing. We had a pride and where we lived, we were the embodiment of

:05:09. > :05:12.community. That is what I had and that is what tens of thousands of

:05:13. > :05:15.council tenants are fighting to preserve today in the face of the

:05:16. > :05:21.lightest and most vicious attack on housing. The housing and planning

:05:22. > :05:27.act. Even by Tory standards that act stands as one of the most spiteful

:05:28. > :05:32.and malicious. It is -- it is to wipe social housing off the map. The

:05:33. > :05:37.intent to cut 350,000 socially rented homes by 2020. They're

:05:38. > :05:42.scrapping permanent secure tenancies for cultural and social housing

:05:43. > :05:47.tenants. They will bulldoze council estates, destroying our communities,

:05:48. > :05:52.and through means testing they are introducing a tax and social housing

:05:53. > :05:58.tenants who struggled for years to improve the lives and now, just as

:05:59. > :06:07.the reach a level of security, eight tracks of 15% of income is to

:06:08. > :06:14.imposed. -- a tax. Many parents could face red increases from around

:06:15. > :06:20.?1000 a year from next April -- rent increases. My family still hold the

:06:21. > :06:24.our upbringing, today I am a proud housing association tenants and I

:06:25. > :06:30.know the benefit of access to decent and affordable social housing. Our

:06:31. > :06:34.council flat gave me a good start in life and unlike many today I was

:06:35. > :06:40.fortunate to have that access to good housing and our aim must be to

:06:41. > :06:45.give all people the same opportunities. Children living in

:06:46. > :06:48.bad housing are almost twice as likely to suffer poorer health as

:06:49. > :06:51.others. We must build homes that gives stability and good health of

:06:52. > :06:57.our children and their families a sense of dignity and pride. As

:06:58. > :07:02.Labour we must deliver that. Daily with you about the housing crisis,

:07:03. > :07:06.home ownership at lowest level for 30 years and of course we recognise

:07:07. > :07:12.people's aspirations to homeownership but let's be clear, it

:07:13. > :07:17.is not going to be bad at homes or wimpy that solve the housing crisis,

:07:18. > :07:22.the key driver for change must be access to affordable social housing

:07:23. > :07:29.-- it will not be Barrett or Wimpy to solve the crisis. In 1970 local

:07:30. > :07:35.authorities across the UK built or hundred and 75,000 new homes, by

:07:36. > :07:42.2015 that figure had gone down to a shopping 3080. -- 170 5000. Councils

:07:43. > :07:45.used to build around 100,000 homes a year but the election of Thatcher

:07:46. > :07:52.and 79 the relentless decline in building began. Right to buy strep

:07:53. > :08:01.housing stock away, never to be replaced and councils, the pride of

:08:02. > :08:05.funding, -- deprived of funding outsourcing became the norm, robbing

:08:06. > :08:09.councils of in-house construction workers and the ability to build our

:08:10. > :08:14.own homes. The social and economic benefits of building homes are

:08:15. > :08:19.widely recognised. Shelter has said for every ?1 spent on housing

:08:20. > :08:22.construction and extra ?2 is generated in the economy. Given

:08:23. > :08:28.those economic returns from investing in housing construction it

:08:29. > :08:33.is clear that not only that not building social housing is

:08:34. > :08:36.ideological social engineering. Investing in social house-building

:08:37. > :08:39.not only bring immediate benefits to the exchequer it brings additional

:08:40. > :08:46.income in the rental stream of current and future tenants. We know

:08:47. > :08:51.were housing increases cost to the NHS, criminal justice system and

:08:52. > :08:55.benefits bill but poorer housing also has an environmental cost.

:08:56. > :08:59.Badly insulated or ill designed homes are difficult sheets,

:09:00. > :09:04.increased overall fuel consumption and consequently have a negative

:09:05. > :09:12.impact on environment. -- are difficult to heat. The environmental

:09:13. > :09:15.agenda is something Labour should prioritise and demonstrate their

:09:16. > :09:21.relevance to all citizens. We must go on making the case for building

:09:22. > :09:25.social housing. It is overwhelming. We must also demand new standards

:09:26. > :09:30.for the construction workers who will build our homes, standards that

:09:31. > :09:35.include direct employment, anti-blacklisting agreements,

:09:36. > :09:38.apprentices on all projects, working conditions safe in a notoriously

:09:39. > :09:43.unsafe profession and fool worker engagement through trade unions.

:09:44. > :09:46.These standards should not be a guide of voluntary code but a

:09:47. > :09:52.pre-requisite in the procurement process. I know their differences

:09:53. > :09:57.and how to approach the housing crisis but one thing is for certain,

:09:58. > :10:00.it will not happen without our construction workers and it is time

:10:01. > :10:09.they got the respect they deserve. APPLAUSE

:10:10. > :10:14.Conference, the work of the community upon the commission is

:10:15. > :10:15.vital and integral to Labour and I move the report.

:10:16. > :10:24.Thank you. APPLAUSE

:10:25. > :10:30.Why the our next Speaker is the Shadow Housing Minister Theresa

:10:31. > :10:38.Pierce. APPLAUSE

:10:39. > :10:45.Your it is an honour to stand here Shadow Housing Minister and with the

:10:46. > :10:48.temper of brief including communities and local government but

:10:49. > :10:52.it is a huge portfolio so I hope if you forgive me for the ground I will

:10:53. > :10:56.not be able to cover this afternoon but first I want to say to Labour

:10:57. > :11:01.councillors up and down the country thank you.

:11:02. > :11:05.You and demanding responsibilities have been transferred to local

:11:06. > :11:09.government but what the funds to deliver. The Labour run councils are

:11:10. > :11:15.making a difference and I am proud of the ingenuity you are showing in

:11:16. > :11:21.the face of difficult choices, finding new solutions, demonstrating

:11:22. > :11:24.just one Labour can do in power. Councils like Derbyshire,

:11:25. > :11:28.established a development company to build homes on some of its line for

:11:29. > :11:33.key workers and the council will provide mortgages to. This is just

:11:34. > :11:37.one example of many displayed by our councils who are a vital source of

:11:38. > :11:44.Labour representation and increasing inspiration and policy, innovating,

:11:45. > :11:51.forward-looking, credible policy. That in Labour in power in local

:11:52. > :11:58.government. Next year we have imported me all me oral elections

:11:59. > :12:01.including QM Merseyside both our Mayers and London and Liverpool have

:12:02. > :12:05.hit the ground landing and one of the biggest issues they face is the

:12:06. > :12:11.housing crisis. If anybody wants to know what the Government's housing

:12:12. > :12:16.priorities right -- priorities lie it is there for everyone to see in

:12:17. > :12:20.the housing bill. They are flawed and divisive act including an

:12:21. > :12:24.all-out attack on social housing. It will be the loss of affordable

:12:25. > :12:28.homes, fails to help those in the private rented sector, fails to

:12:29. > :12:32.offer genuine help to those trying to get on the property ladder and

:12:33. > :12:37.totally fails to help the increasing number of people up and down the

:12:38. > :12:40.country facing homelessness. In truth, there is little of any merit

:12:41. > :12:46.in this Tory Government's plan for housing. They have slashed housing

:12:47. > :12:50.benefit payments to young people under 35, failed to build social

:12:51. > :12:57.housing, allowing private sector rents to rockets and forced millions

:12:58. > :13:01.into low insecure employment, making owner occupation impossible. Is it

:13:02. > :13:05.any wonder 40% of adults understood before after living with their

:13:06. > :13:11.parents was Mac and still be housing benefit bill continues to bloom. It

:13:12. > :13:15.is currently running at 25 billion every year because millions are

:13:16. > :13:19.forced into the private sector because there is no alternative. It

:13:20. > :13:25.makes no economic sense whatsoever. This is not just a crisis. Not just

:13:26. > :13:29.a crisis for the homeless or those living in overcrowded slums, it is a

:13:30. > :13:33.crisis for all of us. The housing crisis is not just other bricks and

:13:34. > :13:39.mortar, it is about people and their life chances. Without a stable home

:13:40. > :13:44.education and health unaffected, and family cohesion can be shattered. It

:13:45. > :13:48.is about the children under ten over the end of the primary school and

:13:49. > :13:55.the teachers struggling to deal with classroom churn every month. It is

:13:56. > :13:57.about the GPs who cannot build patient relationships because

:13:58. > :14:01.patients in the thousands moved on and off the register is the shift

:14:02. > :14:06.from one private rented home to another. It is about the children

:14:07. > :14:09.growing up disaffected, unable to build the roots and childhood

:14:10. > :14:13.friendships that are vital to the future self esteem and about the

:14:14. > :14:19.isolation of the elderly who spent their whole lives in a street that

:14:20. > :14:22.now has numerous houses of multiple occupancy and they are isolated and

:14:23. > :14:29.no longer know their neighbours. Then there are all the family

:14:30. > :14:31.struggling to meet next month's mortgage payment. Both living in

:14:32. > :14:36.fear of being sick of losing their job losing your job should not mean

:14:37. > :14:42.losing your home from men in adults. And councils surgeries are full of

:14:43. > :14:46.families telling us they are living in damp in overcrowded conditions,

:14:47. > :14:50.they tell us the accommodation is making the children ill and they

:14:51. > :14:52.tell us they pay extortionate rent for all this. The flu infection,

:14:53. > :15:04.they're desperate and they are. The Tories have no answers other

:15:05. > :15:08.than building a few starter homes for those who could probably get on

:15:09. > :15:17.the housing ladder anyway. So what would a Labour housing planning plan

:15:18. > :15:22.look like? We would remove the shackles of local government. Labour

:15:23. > :15:26.will commit to building over a million new homes in the next

:15:27. > :15:36.parliament with half as social housing. APPLAUSE

:15:37. > :15:40.And invest in the construction skills to tackle the skills shortage

:15:41. > :15:44.and train up a generation. And through a national investment bank

:15:45. > :15:48.and regional development banks, we would also provide necessary

:15:49. > :15:52.infrastructure. In the private rented sector, ending tenancy is a

:15:53. > :15:56.rising cause of homelessness, so we would change the rules on tenancies

:15:57. > :16:05.so a three-year lease becomes the norm. Setting up a not-for-profit

:16:06. > :16:08.letting agencies to promote longer term stable tenancies for

:16:09. > :16:12.responsible tenants and good landlords. We would introduce a

:16:13. > :16:19.national standard to ensure that private rented properties are fit to

:16:20. > :16:25.live in. APPLAUSE We would reverse the government's

:16:26. > :16:31.pay to stay policy and, following examples set by Wales and Scotland,

:16:32. > :16:38.we will suspend the right to buy. APPLAUSE

:16:39. > :16:45.The right to buy can only make any sense in a time of surplus. In a

:16:46. > :16:49.time of shortage it makes no sense at all. The difference between us

:16:50. > :16:53.and the Tories, they think housing is about property. We know it's

:16:54. > :17:03.about homes, communities and life chances. So now the work begins, to

:17:04. > :17:07.secure a Labour government to transform our country and the lives

:17:08. > :17:19.of the people we seek to serve. Thank you. APPLAUSE

:17:20. > :17:24.I'm now pleased to introduce Nick Forbes who will present a report on

:17:25. > :17:31.the work of Labour in local government.

:17:32. > :17:39.Thank you, conference. I'm honoured to be here, having been elected in

:17:40. > :17:42.February to succeed Jim McMahon is the leader of Labour local

:17:43. > :17:46.government. I congratulate Jeremy on his re-election as leader of the

:17:47. > :17:54.party. Local government looks forward to working with Jeremy to

:17:55. > :18:00.get him into Downing Street. In my role, I am privileged to work with

:18:01. > :18:05.great people like Ann Lucas and Alex Perry who represent councillors on

:18:06. > :18:12.the NEC. My deputies on the London greater authority, and all the

:18:13. > :18:15.officers and authorities of the LGA Labour group and Association of

:18:16. > :18:20.Labour councillors. I'm privileged to work with every one of our 7000

:18:21. > :18:25.Labour councillors. It's Labour councillors who are out there giving

:18:26. > :18:30.a voice to local communities, putting Labour values into practice.

:18:31. > :18:35.Labour councillors, the campaigners, the door knockers, the fundraisers,

:18:36. > :18:43.the builders, the protectors, the visionaries, the backbone of our

:18:44. > :18:48.party and movement. And the foundation of Labour in local

:18:49. > :18:53.government is solidarity. We rise together. We celebrate our successes

:18:54. > :18:59.together. And in difficult times, we support each other. And there is no

:19:00. > :19:05.doubt that we are in difficult times. The road back to government

:19:06. > :19:10.is a long and hard one. Labour councils are the front line in the

:19:11. > :19:14.battle against mindless Tory austerity. Labour councils have

:19:15. > :19:20.faced cuts up to ten times deeper than those in Tory areas. And Labour

:19:21. > :19:24.councils have stretched every sinew to shield the most vulnerable in our

:19:25. > :19:29.communities from those cuts. Nationally, we campaigned against

:19:30. > :19:32.the bedroom tax. Labour councils have stepped in with financial

:19:33. > :19:37.advice and support through council tax relief schemes to ease the

:19:38. > :19:42.burden. Nationally we exposed the unfairness of the Tory cuts agenda.

:19:43. > :19:45.Labour councils have worked with community groups, the voluntary

:19:46. > :19:50.sector and trade unions to find innovative ways of keeping vital

:19:51. > :19:56.public services going. But there is another attack on the horizon. This

:19:57. > :20:01.government is introducing a new right to buy policy, this time for

:20:02. > :20:09.housing association tenants. It's to be paid for by a new levy on council

:20:10. > :20:13.housing. The Tory how council house tax. It's the opposite of buy one

:20:14. > :20:19.get one free for social housing. We lose one, and then we lose another

:20:20. > :20:22.to pay for it. At a time when our need for affordable homes has never

:20:23. > :20:29.been greater, the future of social housing has never been so much under

:20:30. > :20:32.threat. They attack our council houses, conference, because we know

:20:33. > :20:36.that they don't care about the people who live in them. It's a

:20:37. > :20:42.shameless attack on the basic worth of an individual. The Tories simply

:20:43. > :20:50.do not see the value in someone that needs a helping hand. Where we see

:20:51. > :20:53.lost opportunity and ability, and are determined to put this right,

:20:54. > :21:02.they see nothing but cost and a drain on resources. There is no

:21:03. > :21:06.greater example of this and the failure of this government to sort

:21:07. > :21:18.out the abomination, the disgrace, that is the Calle jungle -- Calais

:21:19. > :21:29.jungle. Shut it down now, Miss -- Mrs May.

:21:30. > :21:35.We will give these people the opportunity of a better life in

:21:36. > :21:45.Britain. To stand by and to continue to ignore their suffering is a moral

:21:46. > :21:49.outrage. Conference, Labour councillors stand on the front line

:21:50. > :21:54.of these battles every day. In local government we have introduced a

:21:55. > :21:57.living wage, created jobs and apprenticeships, brought together

:21:58. > :22:01.universities, colleges and companies to boost innovation. Supported new

:22:02. > :22:05.start-ups and given a hand to sole traders. Improved transport links

:22:06. > :22:09.and extended broadband. Attracted global investment to towns and

:22:10. > :22:13.cities. I'm particularly proud to have developed an agreement between

:22:14. > :22:17.Labour local government and the trade unions. For the first time

:22:18. > :22:25.ever, setting out clearly how we will work with each other in the

:22:26. > :22:29.years ahead. So this is the road to Labour victories. Campaigning for a

:22:30. > :22:33.better tomorrow while doing what we can to improve today. Shielding the

:22:34. > :22:37.vulnerable now but investing for a better future. Giving voice to our

:22:38. > :22:41.communities and offering opportunities for everyone to

:22:42. > :22:47.succeed. Solidarity with each other and support for all who need it. The

:22:48. > :22:52.world the Tories want is a dark one for those who don't stand tall at

:22:53. > :22:58.the top. Our mission is to show in the darkest of times that Labour

:22:59. > :23:02.local government is a beacon of hope, that things can, will, and do

:23:03. > :23:15.change for the better under Labour. Thank you. APPLAUSE

:23:16. > :23:23.Thank you, Nick. We will now move to debate on the community 's report.

:23:24. > :23:28.Can I see those who want to speak and then I will take speakers in

:23:29. > :23:39.rounds of three. I've got the lady with the red jacket at the front.

:23:40. > :23:48.I've got the woman with the pink CAC paper. And I have got the chap

:23:49. > :24:10.holding what looks like a blanket. Well, it does!

:24:11. > :24:18.Good afternoon, conference. I'm the woman with the red jacket. I'm also

:24:19. > :24:23.sometimes known as Judy billing and I'm vice chair of the Association of

:24:24. > :24:29.Labour councillors representing the 7000 councillors that Nick referred

:24:30. > :24:34.to earlier. Labour councillors are sometimes the unsung public face of

:24:35. > :24:38.the Labour Party. In real places, with real people, doing ordinary

:24:39. > :24:41.things in quite an extraordinary way. And sometimes doing

:24:42. > :24:47.extraordinary things in a remarkably ordinary way. The way they conduct

:24:48. > :24:54.themselves locally can really affect the way in which the Labour Party is

:24:55. > :24:57.seen in both local and national elections, and I think we forget

:24:58. > :25:02.that at our peril. Sometimes, although Nick has spoken about the

:25:03. > :25:07.battles we fight everyday, and I thought, yes, I do fight battles

:25:08. > :25:12.every day, but actually, sometimes we are also the kinder and gentler

:25:13. > :25:18.face of the Labour Party, working constantly with the needs of

:25:19. > :25:22.extremely vulnerable people. Refugees, people without homes,

:25:23. > :25:26.people without jobs, food or income, looked after children and elderly

:25:27. > :25:32.people, sometimes socially isolated and with complex care needs. They

:25:33. > :25:35.don't want to hear us being angry and battling, although that's what

:25:36. > :25:44.we have to do politically, but with them we have to present a kind and

:25:45. > :25:47.caring social work side that Labour councillors do every day in their

:25:48. > :25:51.communities. We can be one of several things in daily life. At the

:25:52. > :25:55.moment we can be part of a Labour council. Nick has talked about the

:25:56. > :26:01.great triumphs of Labour councils coping bravely and Indica Fatah play

:26:02. > :26:04.with the awful legislation of the Tory government that does not help

:26:05. > :26:11.their communities or the people they represent. Or we can be in

:26:12. > :26:15.opposition, and I will come to that in a second, and in coalition

:26:16. > :26:20.locally and nationally. Some colleagues have to deal with Ukip

:26:21. > :26:24.councillors, can you imagine that? Some of you can. It's a disgusting

:26:25. > :26:28.but hopefully temporary blip in the way we have to conduct ourselves in

:26:29. > :26:33.local government. Do not minimise the complications, hurdles or the

:26:34. > :26:37.impact on people's lives that we as Labour councillors can and do have,

:26:38. > :26:42.whatever the obstacles put in our way. Sometimes we even managed to do

:26:43. > :26:45.it with humour. I don't know how it happens but I have heard Labour

:26:46. > :26:51.councillors laugh, maybe hysterically. The point I want to

:26:52. > :26:59.make about opposition is that our one councillor in Huntingdon, our

:27:00. > :27:02.two councillors in Brentwood, and our three councillors in Somerset,

:27:03. > :27:07.are as of massive importance to the Labour Party as Manchester and

:27:08. > :27:17.Durham with nearly 200 councillors between them. APPLAUSE

:27:18. > :27:23.Because in whatever circumstances we operate, with a huge majority or a

:27:24. > :27:27.tiny minority, we are dealing every day with education, where we provide

:27:28. > :27:32.ever improving schools and results, not just in a time of grammar school

:27:33. > :27:39.outrage, which is quite right that we should be outraged at such a

:27:40. > :27:43.stupid suggestion in 2016, but local councillors are dealing with unfair

:27:44. > :27:48.Tory local education policies every day, all the time. In housing we

:27:49. > :27:53.have to provide for those who find the phrase affordable housing both

:27:54. > :27:57.incomprehensible and laughable. Since some of us share our housing

:27:58. > :28:01.backgrounds this afternoon, I was brought up in a flat my parents

:28:02. > :28:09.rented in Paddington from a nice chap called Mr Rahman. In public

:28:10. > :28:14.health week ensure public services do what they are meant to do in the

:28:15. > :28:17.most appropriate places. On welfare rights we are campaigning and

:28:18. > :28:22.working with people on an individual basis. We are desperate about

:28:23. > :28:26.providing accessible transport to keep communities active, vibrant and

:28:27. > :28:30.sociable, as people are meant to be, to enable participation in sport,

:28:31. > :28:38.theatre, meeting and talking to others. And we provide and care

:28:39. > :28:41.about clean villages, towns, cities and coastal areas, many of which are

:28:42. > :28:46.suffering greatly at the moment. These things are the basic needs of

:28:47. > :28:51.society is that we as local councillors struggle cheerfully, and

:28:52. > :28:54.occasionally even with humour, to provide. Don't underestimate the

:28:55. > :29:00.task, and please listen to what we have to tell you. Because we are

:29:01. > :29:05.truly on the front line. Conference and party leadership, you ignore us

:29:06. > :29:23.and our advice at your peril. APPLAUSE

:29:24. > :29:33.Could afternoon. I want to say at first I am delighted the environment

:29:34. > :29:39.is being included on the first day of the conference and not on the

:29:40. > :29:44.last day like it normally is when everybody is going home. I would

:29:45. > :29:47.like to put in a plea for giving a higher priority to environmental

:29:48. > :29:54.issues within the large package we are looking at. The features that

:29:55. > :30:00.come out about resource use across the planet are talking about us in

:30:01. > :30:03.western Europe drawing on the resources of three planets to

:30:04. > :30:10.maintain our living conditions at the moment. The Labour Party as an

:30:11. > :30:14.international party is obviously opposed to the idea we would be

:30:15. > :30:19.benefiting against people elsewhere in the world and it is also clear we

:30:20. > :30:23.are drawing on the world's capital to achieve this kind of resource use

:30:24. > :30:29.and it is not sustainable and we need to bring an end to it. Climate

:30:30. > :30:36.change is one of the key issues in the whole thing of resource use. It

:30:37. > :30:44.is about how we use the shared climate we all need to live on. And

:30:45. > :30:47.we have enacted excellent climate change legislation in this country

:30:48. > :30:56.and it has been largely pushed by the Labour Party. Ed Miliband did a

:30:57. > :31:02.great job at the Department of imaging climate change and they are

:31:03. > :31:05.doing a terrific job in Scotland are pushing that through locally. We are

:31:06. > :31:10.trying to achieve an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 and it

:31:11. > :31:16.is a huge task and will not happen by us making small adjustments in

:31:17. > :31:22.the way we live, it needs to be integrated into all areas of policy.

:31:23. > :31:27.We need to have this issue of sustainable resources underlying

:31:28. > :31:30.everything we do in the health and transport and communities and

:31:31. > :31:35.industrial policy. I would make a plea for the Labour Party to think

:31:36. > :31:41.about how we can achieve that. I would like to make to the messages.

:31:42. > :31:46.One is we need more Government intervention to achieve these aims.

:31:47. > :31:50.There has been a lot of discussion about how we can try and finesse

:31:51. > :31:56.environmental outcomes through the free market, I do not think it is

:31:57. > :32:02.going to ever work. The shared resources are not marketable, we

:32:03. > :32:06.have attempted to try and create markets and it has been quite clumsy

:32:07. > :32:10.and does not work. We need direct intervention.

:32:11. > :32:18.APPLAUSE And the second thing is that point

:32:19. > :32:20.again that sustainable resource use needs to underlying every area of

:32:21. > :32:24.policy. That is a lot of discussion about

:32:25. > :32:32.how to achieve more manufacturing in the UK, I think that is great but we

:32:33. > :32:35.need to do this on a basis of sustainable use of resources and I

:32:36. > :32:45.hope we will take that into account when looking at manufacturing. I

:32:46. > :32:50.just wanted to say it is, this is an issue of environmental justice as

:32:51. > :32:55.well. We need to take account of issues such as fuel poverty and our

:32:56. > :32:58.shared polluted environment. Thank you.

:32:59. > :33:05.. APPLAUSE

:33:06. > :33:10.Before I asked the next Speaker to speak I will call three more

:33:11. > :33:22.speakers. The living there in the front. There is a lady waving at me

:33:23. > :33:35.there. Yes, you. And there is a chap with a hard hat there as well.

:33:36. > :33:42.Conference, I am so proud to come here today to talk about

:33:43. > :33:46.communities. Up and down our country our local councillors are working

:33:47. > :33:51.hard to achieve the things we need to achieve when we are in opposition

:33:52. > :33:56.and not in power to make people's lives tolerable through austerity. I

:33:57. > :34:01.think this has been a real good report and I thank them from the

:34:02. > :34:06.bottom of my heart for all of the hard work. However, delegates, I

:34:07. > :34:13.think there is one key issue this report perhaps has missed out. Full

:34:14. > :34:20.implementation of these proposals. How is it we get from where we are

:34:21. > :34:24.now, and economy in tatters without the organisation to achieve the

:34:25. > :34:28.things it needs to achieve to a society of prosperity? I say to you,

:34:29. > :34:33.look at the Labour councils up and down the country which are turning

:34:34. > :34:39.towards social enterprise and community interest companies. In

:34:40. > :34:43.Croydon I am so proud that under Tony Newman we have begun to use

:34:44. > :34:51.social enterprise to deliver on the things we need to deliver on. There

:34:52. > :34:54.is nothing on socialist -- non-socialist about enterprise. I'd

:34:55. > :34:58.remind you of the Glasgow builders who at the turn of the 20th century

:34:59. > :35:06.saw the lack of housing and came together to provide it. If we create

:35:07. > :35:10.the legal structures like community interest companies which allow for

:35:11. > :35:18.non-profit companies to operate then we will see those successes. What we

:35:19. > :35:23.need to do as Labour councils and as Labour authorities in the cities is

:35:24. > :35:27.to begin to provide the funding. That is a capital market failure in

:35:28. > :35:33.this country for non-for-profit companies because they do not offer

:35:34. > :35:38.higher returns. My previous delegate spoke of the failures of the market,

:35:39. > :35:44.that is a perfect example. If you want to change things now, not in

:35:45. > :35:50.2020 but now, then we need to invest in social enterprise. If you are

:35:51. > :35:54.genuinely committed to empowering the people in the communities we

:35:55. > :36:03.represent them support social enterprise. Delegates, big

:36:04. > :36:07.industries, big organisations are taking away from the power of

:36:08. > :36:12.communities to solve problems in the way in which they want to. If we

:36:13. > :36:16.want to solve the energy crisis we should look at having community

:36:17. > :36:20.interest companies at the micro level generating energy for the

:36:21. > :36:26.communities, it has been done in other countries. If we want to solve

:36:27. > :36:30.the crisis in arts funding we should look to community interest companies

:36:31. > :36:35.to provide the facility to do it. My fellow delegates, I call upon you to

:36:36. > :36:44.support this. Look to the people and their harbour rather than always too

:36:45. > :37:05.big organisations. Thank you. , APPLAUSE

:37:06. > :37:11.Wendy Simon from Unison representing the largest union and local

:37:12. > :37:15.government. There is almost universal consensus

:37:16. > :37:20.that adequate provision of social care is one of the biggest

:37:21. > :37:25.challenges that face us local government today. Also that social

:37:26. > :37:30.care funding is in crisis. Central Government funding for local

:37:31. > :37:35.authorities has been cut by 37% in real terms over the past spending

:37:36. > :37:40.period. When the man increases are taken into account local authority

:37:41. > :37:45.spending on adult social care has fallen by nearly one third sent

:37:46. > :37:50.2010. The cup and central Government funding is only part of the story.

:37:51. > :38:00.-- the cut. An increase in the man based on a growing and ageing and

:38:01. > :38:05.poorer community adds to pressure. By 2020 - 2021 it is expected

:38:06. > :38:12.spending on social care as a percentage of GDP will be barely

:38:13. > :38:16.more than 0.5%. Although the national living wage is a step in

:38:17. > :38:20.the right direction to the frugal living wage it has not been properly

:38:21. > :38:26.funded. Better care funding is being held back until later in Parliament

:38:27. > :38:29.when it is really needed now. The relationship between local

:38:30. > :38:34.authorities and those that care for them is shaped by a dysfunctional,

:38:35. > :38:38.sharing practices. The lack of certainty is frequently passed on to

:38:39. > :38:44.the workforce in the form of zero our contracts. The vast majority of

:38:45. > :38:49.councils in England are still commissioning 15 minutes home care

:38:50. > :38:54.visits. That is an adequate funding for hourly rates and including

:38:55. > :38:59.failure to tackle noncompliance of the minimum wage. -- inadequate

:39:00. > :39:05.funding. Less than a quarter of councils in England and Wales make

:39:06. > :39:12.it a contractual condition for care providers to pay for workers' travel

:39:13. > :39:16.time. The widespread failure to pay home care workers for travel time is

:39:17. > :39:19.significantly undermining care standards and condemning a large

:39:20. > :39:24.proportion of the workforce to poverty. This sends out a message

:39:25. > :39:33.that care workers do not deserve to be respected for their work. Not

:39:34. > :39:36.paying travel time encourages the practice of home care workers

:39:37. > :39:42.leaving voters over to cut down the amount of time they have to spend

:39:43. > :39:46.working for free. Unison has been encouraging councils to improve the

:39:47. > :39:51.delivery of the home care services by adopting the union's ethical care

:39:52. > :39:56.charter. The charter was designed as a simple way for councils to improve

:39:57. > :39:59.home care standards for those vulnerable people they are

:40:00. > :40:03.responsible for and for the workers who provide the care. The charter is

:40:04. > :40:09.a set of commitments that councils make which sets minimum standards

:40:10. > :40:14.and ensure that there is continuity of care, ends 15 minute visits for

:40:15. > :40:20.personal care and pays staff a living wage and ensures they are

:40:21. > :40:24.paid for their travel time. 18 local councils in England, Wales and

:40:25. > :40:27.Scotland have now adopted the ethical care charter and there are

:40:28. > :40:34.many more who are considering the adoption. The charter has already

:40:35. > :40:39.had positive results for both care workers and their users, for example

:40:40. > :40:45.in one area Labour council found concrete evidence of improvement and

:40:46. > :40:48.services, better staff recruitment and retention, improve take-up of

:40:49. > :40:53.training and most importantly, better outcomes for service users.

:40:54. > :40:56.Islington's council had similar positive feedback since the

:40:57. > :41:03.introduction of the London living wage where turnover among staff fell

:41:04. > :41:08.from over 10% to less than 3%. This is how Labour in power makes a

:41:09. > :41:13.difference for service users, the workforce and the whole community.

:41:14. > :41:17.What Unison wants to see as Labour councils hiring workers based on

:41:18. > :41:22.ethical care charter. That is why we need to see the Labour Party locally

:41:23. > :41:26.and nationally focused on winning in power. It is not good being in

:41:27. > :41:30.opposition. Unison members need Labour and,. Let's all make it

:41:31. > :41:56.happen. Thank you. APPLAUSE

:41:57. > :42:05.Conference, I represent the region speaking on the communities debate

:42:06. > :42:08.on housing. Make no mistake, the issue of housing is being used by

:42:09. > :42:15.this Tory Government as a political weapon. Leading lights of the party

:42:16. > :42:23.such as Margaret Thatcher and Dame Shirley Porter always viewed housing

:42:24. > :42:27.as a front-line political issue. In Clegg's memoirs he quotes George

:42:28. > :42:34.Osborne as saying, social housing bodies Labour voters. The recent

:42:35. > :42:39.housing and planning act is a concerted attempt to eradicate

:42:40. > :42:45.social housing in Britain. We are about to experience social

:42:46. > :42:48.engineering on a massive scale. Housing associations will be forced

:42:49. > :42:55.to sell the stock at huge discounts through the right to buy scheme,

:42:56. > :42:58.local councils will be forced to reimburse the housing associations

:42:59. > :43:07.by selling high value council property and the end result will be

:43:08. > :43:11.no social housing. London's local authorities have enormous property

:43:12. > :43:18.portfolios. Brent, one of the UK's most deprived areas, has a wholly

:43:19. > :43:25.owned property portfolio worth in excess of ?2.2 billion. Over 2000

:43:26. > :43:30.houses and 4000 flats. I'm modernised Victorian houses in Brent

:43:31. > :43:34.will fetch over ?600,000, flats ?400,000. The neighbouring borough

:43:35. > :43:42.of dealing has a wholly owned property portfolio of ?2.4 billion

:43:43. > :43:46.that is what the Tories would like to get their hands on. These

:43:47. > :43:50.valuable state assets, they are our assets and they were in twopenny

:43:51. > :43:57.hands of property developers who are generally Tory party donors. -- they

:43:58. > :44:01.will end up in the hands of property developers. The buyer option you

:44:02. > :44:06.need cash it will not be social housing tenants who are bidding on

:44:07. > :44:11.these properties. Those unfortunate tenant will be ushered into the arms

:44:12. > :44:15.of unscrupulous landlords. They will need to be supported by housing

:44:16. > :44:19.benefit and I'm sure you are way ahead of me by now, the housing

:44:20. > :44:24.benefit goes into the pocket of the Tory property developer. Conference,

:44:25. > :44:28.if we do not fight this social engineering we will see a return to

:44:29. > :44:34.the slum landlord of the Victorian era. We do not even have to go back

:44:35. > :44:40.that far. I am sure you heard the reaction before, most people don't

:44:41. > :44:41.remember the rap Empire and that was a crime against human decency. Thank

:44:42. > :44:49.you. APPLAUSE

:44:50. > :44:58.Before I ask the next speaker to speak, I will call another round of

:44:59. > :45:17.three, please. The lady in the black dress. The guy towards the back with

:45:18. > :45:24.a CAC report and red time. And the woman over there sat down with the

:45:25. > :45:34.CAC report. Hello, conference. So excited to be here. Gail Hodges,

:45:35. > :45:38.West Lancashire Borough Council. We do need to keep climate change high

:45:39. > :45:43.on the agenda as it is escalating at a rate that is even more than

:45:44. > :45:47.predicted. A lot of us have seen this in communities up and down the

:45:48. > :45:51.country with flooding. This next winter is predicted to be wetter and

:45:52. > :45:55.warmer, so it's only going to get worse, so we must keep this on the

:45:56. > :46:01.agenda. I would like to applaud Jeremy Corbyn's pledge to ban

:46:02. > :46:12.fracking as part of Labour's new green agenda. APPLAUSE

:46:13. > :46:18.I am pledging to massively increase renewable energy jobs creating tens

:46:19. > :46:21.of thousands of sustainable jobs. Fracking is not compatible with

:46:22. > :46:27.climate change prevention. We cannot keep looking backward to a polluting

:46:28. > :46:30.and dirty fossil fuel industry threatening our health and

:46:31. > :46:37.environment and has been rejected by communities across the UK. Can I ask

:46:38. > :46:51.conference to get behind Jeremy's pledge, please. Thank you. APPLAUSE

:46:52. > :47:03.Laura Pitcock from the Tyne Valley. Every single person should have a

:47:04. > :47:07.home is a fundamental right. That right has too much been left in the

:47:08. > :47:13.hands of the private market, a market that has been relaxed leaving

:47:14. > :47:17.people in insecure tenancies, squalid conditions, 21st-century

:47:18. > :47:22.slum landlords ignoring tenants please to remove mould and damp,

:47:23. > :47:28.packing as many people into properties make sure properties

:47:29. > :47:33.profits are large. That community housing should be a right, not a

:47:34. > :47:38.monopoly bought and sold. As a movement we must stand firm and say

:47:39. > :47:47.again and again that immigrants are not to blame for the housing crisis.

:47:48. > :47:51.APPLAUSE It isn't the Syrian refugee that

:47:52. > :47:55.prevents people from having a house, it's a government that doesn't care

:47:56. > :47:59.and a government that has failed. Following the sell-off under

:48:00. > :48:03.Thatcher, we have had decades of councils not building homes, leading

:48:04. > :48:07.to a critical shortage. Because of government cuts, the housing stock

:48:08. > :48:11.we do have, we are not able to maintain. The government does not

:48:12. > :48:16.care about people who live in council homes. Fences are not fixed,

:48:17. > :48:19.tenants wait months for basic repairs. These people pay their rent

:48:20. > :48:32.and deserve an excellent standard of housing. The solution is so

:48:33. > :48:36.frustratingly simple. We need a mass council housing building programme,

:48:37. > :48:39.creating not only hundreds of thousands of homes, but thousands of

:48:40. > :48:44.jobs for the construction sector in the process. And if we are direct in

:48:45. > :48:47.this investment through local councils, we need public procurement

:48:48. > :48:52.so we can make sure those jobs are good jobs with proper employment

:48:53. > :49:04.rights and ensure the scandalous practice of blacklisting is

:49:05. > :49:07.consigned to history. We welcome the MPF report saying that building

:49:08. > :49:12.homes including more council homes will be a priority. It has to be at

:49:13. > :49:16.the front and centre of our agenda as a Labour movement. We look

:49:17. > :49:37.forward to being fully involved in this consultation. APPLAUSE

:49:38. > :49:46.Conference, Jeff Cuthbert, police and crime commission for Gwent.

:49:47. > :49:51.Policing is a very important part of community life. It is a key public

:49:52. > :49:56.service like any other. But the police are not responsible for

:49:57. > :50:01.policing alone. The reality is that it must work in partnership with

:50:02. > :50:06.other key public service providers such as health, local government,

:50:07. > :50:10.housing and transport. Plus, of course, the third sector, which

:50:11. > :50:15.plays such an important role in sustaining the well-being of our

:50:16. > :50:20.citizens and communities. All key public services in Wales are

:50:21. > :50:24.devolved to the Welsh government, including the other emergency

:50:25. > :50:28.services, except policing. Here I would disagree with some comments

:50:29. > :50:32.that I know are going to be made later in the conference, that

:50:33. > :50:36.policing is about law enforcement. Of course it is the job of the

:50:37. > :50:41.police to catch the bad guys, nobody would deny that, it's part of the

:50:42. > :50:47.core responsibilities. But policing is also about prevention and

:50:48. > :50:52.reassurance. In Wales we have the well-being of future generations

:50:53. > :50:57.act, and this futuristic act compels all be devolved public services to

:50:58. > :51:00.work together through statutory public service boards with

:51:01. > :51:04.sustainable development and the well-being of citizens at the heart

:51:05. > :51:09.of everything they do. But policing is not devolved. So it cannot be

:51:10. > :51:14.required as formal partners to contribute to the work of the public

:51:15. > :51:19.service boards. Given that policing is key to the well-being of

:51:20. > :51:23.citizens, this is a difficult problem that could undermine the

:51:24. > :51:29.effectiveness of the public service boards. However, the police are

:51:30. > :51:35.statutory invitees to the PSPs, so must be invited to take part in the

:51:36. > :51:41.PSB's work. But there can be no compulsion. So far the attitude of

:51:42. > :51:44.the four police and crime commissioners in Wales has been

:51:45. > :51:49.positive. We will take up the invitation to get involved. However

:51:50. > :51:53.a mass policing is devolved, we cannot be sure that future police

:51:54. > :51:57.and crime commissioners will have the same attitude. There are very

:51:58. > :52:03.important issues to be resolved prior to the devolution of policing.

:52:04. > :52:06.These include funding arrangements, cross-border issues, serious

:52:07. > :52:10.organised crime and counterterrorism. It would be wrong

:52:11. > :52:16.to wait until devolution happens and then address these matters. The four

:52:17. > :52:21.welsh PCCs are ready to work with the Welsh government and the UK

:52:22. > :52:26.Government. Comrades, it is not sustainable longer-term to keep this

:52:27. > :52:32.key public service as a reserved matter when all the other key

:52:33. > :52:37.partners are resolved. I'm calling on the UK leadership to commit to

:52:38. > :52:41.devolution of policing in Wales, as has happened already in the case of

:52:42. > :52:47.Scotland and Northern Ireland. Wales is the only part of the UK where

:52:48. > :52:52.Labour is in power. Our values of social justice and fairness must

:52:53. > :52:58.prevail in all aspects of public service delivery. Thank you.

:52:59. > :53:02.APPLAUSE I'm just going to take another round

:53:03. > :53:13.of three before the next speaker talks. There is a guy with a

:53:14. > :53:18.conference programme. There's a guy there with a purple bag. And a woman

:53:19. > :53:35.there with a report. Yes please. Good afternoon, conference. I'm a

:53:36. > :53:40.delicate of make a field PLP and a councillor in Tilsley. It's an

:53:41. > :53:45.honour for me to be here today. Being here today is incredible part

:53:46. > :53:53.of my long personal journey. It started 13 years ago in Pakistan. I

:53:54. > :53:57.am where I am today because of Labour policies of tolerance,

:53:58. > :54:02.fairness, diversity, multiculturalism, and above all,

:54:03. > :54:13.belief in women without any distinction of colour, creed and

:54:14. > :54:16.religion. APPLAUSE Conference, it's more important than

:54:17. > :54:26.ever that we come together in unity as a party that is in power in 2020.

:54:27. > :54:29.Today we are facing huge cuts on our public services, health and

:54:30. > :54:35.education. We are bringing up a generation with no resources.

:54:36. > :54:41.Unemployment is crippling our future. The passion of our youth is

:54:42. > :54:47.fizzling out in disappointment. Our elderly and disabled are not getting

:54:48. > :54:52.the care they deserve. As a country, we are divided and polarised more

:54:53. > :54:56.than ever before. Emergency services are at the brink of collapse because

:54:57. > :55:04.the Conservative government does not care about us and about communities.

:55:05. > :55:09.But I'm still hopeful. I truly believe that only Labour values can

:55:10. > :55:15.restore faith in diversity and multiculturalism. And unite us as a

:55:16. > :55:19.country. Only Labour can ensure that innovation and progression by

:55:20. > :55:23.redistribution of wealth. Social justice, only Labour can achieve

:55:24. > :55:30.social justice, economic prosperity and equality. Only with Labour

:55:31. > :55:36.values can communities thrive and our youth achieve what they aspire

:55:37. > :55:39.for. But we will have to go back to the doorstep, we will have to go

:55:40. > :55:45.back to the communities, and we will have to listen to people's needs. We

:55:46. > :55:52.will have to take this passion out of this conference hall. -- this

:55:53. > :55:57.passion. We have to take it out to the streets. We have to turn

:55:58. > :56:01.adversity into an effective social and political movement. I believe

:56:02. > :56:06.only the Labour Party and its values are a hope for the working class, a

:56:07. > :56:11.hope for the disadvantaged, a hope for the disabled, a hope for the

:56:12. > :56:14.immigrant, a hope for you, I hope for me, a hope for the nation, and a

:56:15. > :56:40.hope for generations. APPLAUSE Good afternoon, conference, chair.

:56:41. > :56:48.Alan Tate, Communication Workers Union. Speaking on the housing issue

:56:49. > :56:51.in the communities document. As has been mentioned previously today by

:56:52. > :56:57.numerous delegates, the UK's housing crisis is driven by lack of supply,

:56:58. > :57:00.sending prices and rents out of control. The government's policy is

:57:01. > :57:03.systemically worsening the crisis and placing the greatest burden on

:57:04. > :57:11.the most vulnerable. We should not be surprised therefore that the High

:57:12. > :57:15.Commission report is so damning and the equality and human rights

:57:16. > :57:18.commission has noted that high proportion of ethnic minority

:57:19. > :57:25.households in substandard housing, a disproportionate young people of age

:57:26. > :57:29.16-24 in inadequate housing, a shortfall of housing for women and

:57:30. > :57:35.children seeking refuge from domestic violence. The UK needs to

:57:36. > :57:40.build 250,000 new homes each year to keep up with demand from a growing

:57:41. > :57:44.population. The government's response to the crisis, the Housing

:57:45. > :57:49.and planning Bill, is not fit for purpose. The government has,

:57:50. > :57:54.however, consistently failed to meet the scale of the house-building in

:57:55. > :57:59.this country. In the 12 months to December, 2015, 140 3500 houses were

:58:00. > :58:10.built, more than 100,000 short of the number required. -- 140,000 500.

:58:11. > :58:16.Families in low rent affordable housing with a combined income of

:58:17. > :58:20.?35,000 or ?40,000 if you live in London, would be classified as high

:58:21. > :58:26.income social tenants. Given the London living wage is roughly

:58:27. > :58:31.?18,705 per annum, this policy labels those on low and middle

:58:32. > :58:36.incomes as the rich and taxes them as though housing was a luxury item.

:58:37. > :58:39.Paid to stay is typical of the government's denial of poverty and

:58:40. > :58:43.attacks on working-class communities. Hard-working people are

:58:44. > :58:49.expected to subsidise the lives of others well the government continues

:58:50. > :58:54.to subsidise private landlords to an eye watering ?9 billion through

:58:55. > :58:58.housing benefit. Analysis provided through local government Association

:58:59. > :59:04.projects that over 70,000 households will earn above ?31,000 income

:59:05. > :59:15.threshold, and outside of London, 40,000. Sorry, inside the capital.

:59:16. > :59:20.Average monthly rent uplift will be ?72 outside London, and ?132 for

:59:21. > :59:26.those living inside the capital, an average of ?1065 per year. The Mayor

:59:27. > :59:29.of London, Sadiq Khan, made continual reference to his bus

:59:30. > :59:35.driver father and seamstress mother during his successful campaign.

:59:36. > :59:38.Based on that example, a bus driver in London with overtime will

:59:39. > :59:44.typically earn in excess of ?24,000 per annum, and in seamstress on

:59:45. > :59:50.overtime potentially earning up to ?22,000 per annum. Such an affected

:59:51. > :59:54.household will see rent increases of just over ?1000 per annum, all of

:59:55. > :59:58.which will go to pay the national debt, a debt caused by bankers, not

:59:59. > :00:08.hard-working families struggling to make ends meet. APPLAUSE

:00:09. > :00:13.We need to urgently campaign, comrades, to change this and suspend

:00:14. > :00:17.this pernicious and damning bill that has been introduced by the

:00:18. > :00:22.government. If we can't do that, then I would urge a Labour in

:00:23. > :00:36.government in 2020 to make sure it is removed. Thank you. APPLAUSE

:00:37. > :00:46.The key good afternoon, conference. I am a first time delegate at the

:00:47. > :00:50.conference. It is great to be speaking on this issue as a young

:00:51. > :00:56.Labour Party member, one who can be proud of our leadership and track

:00:57. > :01:06.record of government and tackling the biggest threat that we face,

:01:07. > :01:16.climate change. I want our generation to be the one to go from

:01:17. > :01:22.the complete transformation of power stations polluting our atmosphere to

:01:23. > :01:28.families and businesses sourcing their fuel from the local community,

:01:29. > :01:32.breaking up the big six, Britain's clean, green energy revolution of

:01:33. > :01:36.the 21st century. It sounds good but this bigger picture of our

:01:37. > :01:40.sustainable planet is only achievable with changes that we as

:01:41. > :01:44.Labour Party members can make happen from the grassroots up. It is about

:01:45. > :01:49.making sure that we are convincing voters of the positive benefits of

:01:50. > :01:52.climate change policy, showing how Labour lead can sue is like

:01:53. > :02:00.Nottingham have reduced bills for residents and have installed solar

:02:01. > :02:05.panels on 4000 homes. Steve Rather in Merseyside and Andy Burn in

:02:06. > :02:10.Liverpool can make a real difference. And how leading up to

:02:11. > :02:19.2020, a Labour led government can turn around ten years of government

:02:20. > :02:22.failure by fully implementing all EU climate protection laws post Brexit,

:02:23. > :02:29.insulating homes and putting an end to the public emergency that is 40

:02:30. > :02:34.to 50,000 early deaths a year due to pollution, a national disgrace. As a

:02:35. > :02:38.result of one decision in particular however, I would like to send a

:02:39. > :02:45.direct message from this united Labour conference hall to someone

:02:46. > :02:48.who I am sure will be watching this afternoon, our new Prime Minister.

:02:49. > :02:55.Theresa May, posterity does not work. Scrapping an entire department

:02:56. > :03:02.of state, our Department of Energy and Climate Change does not help but

:03:03. > :03:10.will hinder your chances. A policy started in 2010 under David Cameron,

:03:11. > :03:13.our children and grandchildren will look back in shame. Give us the

:03:14. > :03:17.thousands of jobs that were promised. Skilled jobs which are

:03:18. > :03:23.desperately needed right now like an working-class towns like mine of

:03:24. > :03:26.Wigan. But also to build the foundations of an industry which

:03:27. > :03:30.will create the jobs of the future, jobs which will keep families like

:03:31. > :03:35.mine ticking over, families which do not even included yet but in decades

:03:36. > :03:39.to come will and we will need a booming prosperous industry to rely

:03:40. > :03:43.on to keep food on the table and the roof above our heads. Stop the

:03:44. > :03:47.rhetoric on short-term ideological solutions and start giving our

:03:48. > :03:50.country leading role once again in the fight against climate change,

:03:51. > :04:01.one which we can all be proud of. APPLAUSE

:04:02. > :04:10.I am just going to call another round of speakers. There is a guy in

:04:11. > :04:16.an orange jacket who has been waiting very patiently. There is a

:04:17. > :04:23.guy waving a white piece of paper there. Yes, you. And there is a

:04:24. > :04:39.woman waving a scarf just there. Thank you, Chad. Carol Wilcox,

:04:40. > :04:45.Christchurch and Labour land campaign. -- thank you, chair. Many

:04:46. > :04:53.previous speakers have spoken about the basic human rights of housing.

:04:54. > :04:58.As far back as I can remember, there has been housing crisis. I can

:04:59. > :05:03.remember Cathy Come Home. I would like to put three facts in front of

:05:04. > :05:15.you. House values are mostly land value. It is location, location,

:05:16. > :05:23.location. The owner of a ?200 million mansion in Westminster pays

:05:24. > :05:32.?100 less council tax than a tenant of a flat in Weymouth who is paying

:05:33. > :05:39.?345 a month. There is an inverse relationship between house prices

:05:40. > :05:48.and council tax. One of the solutions to the housing crisis is a

:05:49. > :05:55.land value tax. This redistributes land wealth, and it makes land

:05:56. > :06:02.cheap, so that councils can buy land to actually build council housing.

:06:03. > :06:10.Before World War II, land value tax was the main economic policy of the

:06:11. > :06:15.Labour Party. If we had had land finally tax in 1945, we would never

:06:16. > :06:20.have had a housing crisis. We would never have had gross inequality, and

:06:21. > :06:20.we would never have had a banking crash.

:06:21. > :06:46.APPLAUSE Chair, conference, I'm a Labour

:06:47. > :06:49.councillor in Nottingham city, one of 52 Labour councillors in the city

:06:50. > :06:55.and proud that we have a success story to tell you.

:06:56. > :07:00.There is a massive issue of energy poverty in this country, fuel

:07:01. > :07:04.poverty. 2.3 million households living in fuel poverty. One in two

:07:05. > :07:10.low income families are struggling to pay to keep warm, despite being

:07:11. > :07:14.in work. Nottinghamshire council realised something had to be done.

:07:15. > :07:18.Instead of just thinking about switching sites and that sort of

:07:19. > :07:22.stuff and petitioning the big six, what we decided to do was set up our

:07:23. > :07:29.own energy company, and I am proud to say that after a year now, we are

:07:30. > :07:36.a year on. Robin hood energy was launched a year ago, supported by a

:07:37. > :07:46.loan from Nottingham City Council. We wanted cheap -- cheaper prices

:07:47. > :07:51.for all residents and it is open to everybody in England, Scotland and

:07:52. > :07:55.Wales and you can switch today to Robin Hood energy. One of the

:07:56. > :08:00.reasons we did that was the issue of low prices for working class people.

:08:01. > :08:05.Over 10 billion households have prepayment meters or card meters.

:08:06. > :08:09.When those people go and get energy, they pay through the noes for it.

:08:10. > :08:18.They pay more than you do if you do it through direct debit, and we

:08:19. > :08:23.thought that was wrong. So when we brought in Robin Hood Energy, we

:08:24. > :08:25.made sure the cheapest prices was for the prepayment meters, putting

:08:26. > :08:33.our socialist principles into practice. So I say to you, as a

:08:34. > :08:38.Labour council, you can now go out and threw your own council comeback

:08:39. > :08:43.to Nottingham and link up to us and make your own energy companies by

:08:44. > :08:47.using our energy and calling it what you like. It is called White

:08:48. > :08:52.labelling and I applaud Leeds City Council who have joined with us in

:08:53. > :08:57.that respect and others. Finally, I would say, the big six energy

:08:58. > :09:00.companies are not just big on profits but they are rubbish on

:09:01. > :09:05.customer service. We are trying to change that. We have got to get a

:09:06. > :09:09.situation now where we put the customer at the heart. Jeremy Corbyn

:09:10. > :09:14.has said in his energy policy launch, which he did in Nottingham

:09:15. > :09:17.two weeks ago, that he wants to see the decentralisation of the energy

:09:18. > :09:20.companies and the break-up of the big six, to allow energy to come

:09:21. > :09:25.from the bottom up. There are lots of lessons to be learned from other

:09:26. > :09:28.countries, from Europe and Germany. I urge you all to get behind it.

:09:29. > :09:51.Thank you. APPLAUSE

:09:52. > :09:58.Conference, I am not here to explain the meaning of Brexit, because

:09:59. > :10:05.nobody knows what it means, not even the Prime Minister. However, I am

:10:06. > :10:14.here to talk about the Brexit effect on community relations. Two days

:10:15. > :10:21.after the EU referendum, my wife was closing the shop and a youth

:10:22. > :10:27.approached her. He said, I thought we had voted to send you back home

:10:28. > :10:34.and she was really upset about it and she had been in this country for

:10:35. > :10:41.40 years. Obviously, the police were involved and so on. But conference,

:10:42. > :10:47.this was not an isolated incident. This happened everywhere up and down

:10:48. > :10:52.our country. The language used by some in the referendum campaign was

:10:53. > :10:58.verging on the racism which reminded me of the 60s and 70s.

:10:59. > :11:06.APPLAUSE The language and images, the

:11:07. > :11:10.so-called bloody foreigners as if they are responsible for the woes of

:11:11. > :11:18.our country. Language even Enoch Powell would be proud of. I am sorry

:11:19. > :11:25.to say this but even some BME communities fell for this argument.

:11:26. > :11:30.Conference, exit is in danger of putting community relations back by

:11:31. > :11:37.some 50 years in our country -- Brexit is in danger. As we move

:11:38. > :11:42.forward, the referendum result, beyond the referendum result, we

:11:43. > :11:49.must all work hard to eradicate this poisonous hatred once and for all.

:11:50. > :11:53.And conference, only Labour values will steer us to a future where

:11:54. > :12:08.Community Cohesion Minister at the heart of what we do. Thank you. I am

:12:09. > :12:15.just going to take one final round of contributions please. There is a

:12:16. > :12:25.lady over their waving what looks like an iPad.

:12:26. > :12:34.There is a chap jumping up and down enthusiastically. And there is

:12:35. > :12:44.somebody over their waving some papers, yes.

:12:45. > :12:49.Thank you. Conference, I speak to you today on behalf of Worcester

:12:50. > :12:53.CLP. Worcester, as some of you might know, is one of the 100 key

:12:54. > :12:59.marginals we must win to take power to the millions of people in our

:13:00. > :13:03.country who desperately need a Labour government. We made real

:13:04. > :13:08.progress in Worcester this year. We held off Ukip in my ward and we took

:13:09. > :13:14.control of the City Council from the Tories.

:13:15. > :13:20.APPLAUSE Albeit with the help of the Green

:13:21. > :13:23.Party. It is a real honour to be elected to Worcester council this

:13:24. > :13:29.year. It is a fantastic place to live and I am proud to call it my

:13:30. > :13:33.home. But like all parts of our country, there are problems. They

:13:34. > :13:36.can only be fixed by a Labour government. There are people who are

:13:37. > :13:42.struggling to get by and those who just about manage, but worry about

:13:43. > :13:46.how their children will earn a living in an uncertain world. One of

:13:47. > :13:52.our biggest worries is housing, or the lack of it. In my city, the

:13:53. > :13:56.waiting list for social housing is over 2000. Thousands of people are

:13:57. > :14:01.living in the private rented sector, unable to buy a home and stuck in

:14:02. > :14:06.short-term contracts, with ever rising rents and no security of

:14:07. > :14:15.tenure. The brutal Tory government 's myopic of session with home

:14:16. > :14:17.ownership at the expense of all else is making the situation worse. In

:14:18. > :14:21.Worcester, Labour's policies on housing are about securing the links

:14:22. > :14:25.with housing associations and enabling the building of more social

:14:26. > :14:31.housing. Though it is going to become increasingly difficult for

:14:32. > :14:36.residents of rented housing when the unfair pay to stay policy of this

:14:37. > :14:40.rotten government is implemented. The Labour Party must develop

:14:41. > :14:46.innovative solutions to tackle the housing crisis head-on. Yes, of

:14:47. > :14:50.course, we need to build more council homes, as Labour councils

:14:51. > :14:56.across the country are doing. But to win in Worcester, we need a broad

:14:57. > :15:00.offer to win people back to voting Labour. We are working to tackle

:15:01. > :15:05.rogue landlords and in Worcester, landlords are being made responsible

:15:06. > :15:11.to provide homes to rent of a decent standard and to maintain them at

:15:12. > :15:13.that standard. Recently, we successfully prosecuted and

:15:14. > :15:17.irresponsible owner of a Worcester home in legally rented to students

:15:18. > :15:25.and they were ordered by the courts to pay out nearly ?4000.

:15:26. > :15:36.At a time of acute housing shortage who must crack down on empty

:15:37. > :15:41.properties. 500 properties in Worcester where empty for over six

:15:42. > :15:45.months. This doesn't make sense only have 2000 people on our waiting

:15:46. > :15:49.list, we must utilise any powers we have to bring these properties that

:15:50. > :15:55.can be decent homes back into use. We need to bring more homes to help

:15:56. > :16:00.people back onto the housing ladder, and by forming policies like this we

:16:01. > :16:05.can sure we understand people's desire to own a home whether rented

:16:06. > :16:07.or bought. In London, Sadiq Khan is leading the way in tackling the

:16:08. > :16:15.excesses of the London private sector. He will help thousands of

:16:16. > :16:20.people who don't qualify for social housing, but still priced out of

:16:21. > :16:25.buying home. By applying this type of radical approach across the

:16:26. > :16:29.country, we can show people that we are on their side and standing up

:16:30. > :16:36.for them. But we can only continue to do this if we beat the Tories and

:16:37. > :16:40.if we win we must pull together, we must get out there and campaign. We

:16:41. > :16:44.must listen to what ordinary people tell us and what they are worried

:16:45. > :16:49.about. We must have policies that meet their needs. Only by listening

:16:50. > :16:54.and being an outward facing party have we any chance of beating the

:16:55. > :16:58.Tories. We must bring back a Labour government, a Labour government that

:16:59. > :17:01.is neither old nor knew, just Labour.

:17:02. > :17:29.Alice Smart, Leeds City Council and first-time delegate. Conference,

:17:30. > :17:32.since the Tories came to power in 2010, Labour run Leeds City Council

:17:33. > :17:36.has been hit with annual budget cuts and are about to have an extra ?10

:17:37. > :17:40.million taken from our budget, leaving us with less than a third of

:17:41. > :17:44.the government funding we had before the Tories came to power six years

:17:45. > :17:48.ago. Leeds City Council is doing what it can to protect front line

:17:49. > :17:52.services, but there is no denying these Draconian Tory cuts are taking

:17:53. > :17:57.us backwards and making life harder for those worse off. These cuts are

:17:58. > :18:02.a political choice and not an economic necessity, and they are

:18:03. > :18:06.certainly not over yet. What has happened in Leeds is not an isolated

:18:07. > :18:10.situation. Labour run councils across the country, particularly in

:18:11. > :18:14.the North of England, have had their budgets slashed and the lives of

:18:15. > :18:18.those seats represent been directly affected. What can Labour do about

:18:19. > :18:23.it? Sadly there are no quick fixes to reversing these cuts while Labour

:18:24. > :18:28.is out of government. But it's clear Labour must re-evaluate the way we

:18:29. > :18:31.see local government and the scope of the potential solutions

:18:32. > :18:35.devolution is can provide to the challenges councils like Leeds are

:18:36. > :18:40.facing. At a time like this, Labour can't be seen as being afraid of

:18:41. > :18:43.devolution. Instead this is a moment to be bold and empower communities

:18:44. > :18:47.to shape the future they want to see. Our party leadership and the

:18:48. > :18:53.Parliamentary Labour Party could learn a lot from Labour in power in

:18:54. > :18:58.an off. City councils like Leeds and Manchester are finding innovative

:18:59. > :19:02.ways to make social and economic progress despite huge funding

:19:03. > :19:05.shortfalls. In spite of everything, Leeds is the UK's fastest-growing

:19:06. > :19:12.economy, and that isn't because of Theresa May, it's because of the

:19:13. > :19:15.Labour council. While Labour is out of government, the party needs to

:19:16. > :19:18.empower Labour councils who are minimising the worst effects of the

:19:19. > :19:22.cuts and showing the positive difference Labour in power can make.

:19:23. > :19:29.It's vital any devolution proposals Labour puts forward are more than a

:19:30. > :19:33.total displacement powers. -- than a token displacement of powers.

:19:34. > :19:36.Ultimately you can't empower local councils if you impoverish them. The

:19:37. > :19:40.principle of devolution is resonated with lots of politicians in the

:19:41. > :19:46.north, we need local solutions to local problems and we have known

:19:47. > :19:47.that for a long time. It's great that Westminster heavyweights like

:19:48. > :19:51.Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham want to get stuck into running

:19:52. > :19:54.northern cities, but it's also important to remember the likes of

:19:55. > :19:58.Judith Blake and Richard Lees who are doing this every day and not

:19:59. > :20:01.always getting the support and recognition they deserve. Labour

:20:02. > :20:06.must be bolder than the Tories on devolution. We need to take back the

:20:07. > :20:15.initiative on an agenda that should naturally be ours. Labour should set

:20:16. > :20:18.up a and agenda. Devolution is not just a means for mitigating

:20:19. > :20:22.austerity. It's important for handing back powers to the

:20:23. > :20:25.communities we represent and that is intrinsic to Labour values. Thank

:20:26. > :20:36.you, conference. APPLAUSE This'll be the last speaker this

:20:37. > :20:49.debate. Conference, last but not least,

:20:50. > :20:55.Labour Housing group, speaking on the Labour debate. The Labour

:20:56. > :20:59.housing group has always been a Broadchurch, open to everyone in our

:21:00. > :21:03.party, right, left and centre, genuinely interested in housing.

:21:04. > :21:08.Join us and get involved as we fight for communities up and down the

:21:09. > :21:14.country. I welcome Teresa's pledge and commitments to building a

:21:15. > :21:19.million new homes in the next new Labour government, which we hope to

:21:20. > :21:23.see in 2020. We have always believed in moving from benefits to bricks

:21:24. > :21:28.and mortar. Looking at the statistics, every ?1 off new

:21:29. > :21:33.investment in housing, you get about ?2 back. This investment pays off,

:21:34. > :21:37.it's common economic sense. The first coalition government, and now

:21:38. > :21:42.the Conservative government have failed to invest in housing. We need

:21:43. > :21:47.to reverse that change for good. Let's see new council homes as the

:21:48. > :21:51.solution and not a problem. The Conservatives have never believed in

:21:52. > :21:56.council housing. And we need to get back to changing that for good. What

:21:57. > :22:01.have they given us? Paid to stay, the bedroom tax, let's get rid of

:22:02. > :22:07.that. We in the Labour housing group believe in a single rent for

:22:08. > :22:10.everyone. Let's not create disincentives for hard-working

:22:11. > :22:16.people who just happen to live in social housing. Let's change all

:22:17. > :22:19.that. Finally, let's keep up the pressure and campaign against the

:22:20. > :22:22.pernicious housing and planning Bill once and for all. If we can't

:22:23. > :22:27.achieve it throughout this Parliament, as soon as we get into

:22:28. > :22:31.power, we should scrap it and start again. Let's come up with some

:22:32. > :22:35.proper, effective housing policies that meet the genuine needs of all

:22:36. > :22:43.our communities up and down the country. Thank you. APPLAUSE

:22:44. > :22:49.I now ask Rachael Maskell, Shadow Secretary of State for the

:22:50. > :22:58.environment food and roll affairs to reply to the debate. -- role

:22:59. > :23:03.affairs. Conference, economic certainty and security forms the

:23:04. > :23:06.bedrock of delivering food security and a strong agricultural and

:23:07. > :23:10.fishing sector. Since the 23rd of June we have learned that the

:23:11. > :23:15.government made no analysis of the depth of its relationship with the

:23:16. > :23:19.EU, has no understanding of the capacity needed to renegotiate

:23:20. > :23:22.hundreds of regulations protecting food safety and the wider

:23:23. > :23:28.environment and has no plan for the future of the sector which employs

:23:29. > :23:33.3.9 million people, and where 79% of our food exports goes to the EU, a

:23:34. > :23:39.government totally irresponsible, totally reckless and totally inept.

:23:40. > :23:42.Since we have seen nothing more than words and dithering, they are not a

:23:43. > :23:46.think tank policy Forum, they are meant to be a government leading our

:23:47. > :23:51.nation. The sector needs and says now. While the government might not

:23:52. > :23:56.understand strategic business planning, the agricultural and food

:23:57. > :24:01.sectors do. Crucially how we trade will determine whether Britain

:24:02. > :24:04.thrives survives. Labour will work with the food and agricultural

:24:05. > :24:10.Secretary to underpin trade with the right financial drivers to art

:24:11. > :24:13.underpin production while protecting our natural world. Labour will back

:24:14. > :24:21.British farming from plough to plate. We are ready now to revive

:24:22. > :24:23.rural communities, coastal communities, urban communities and

:24:24. > :24:31.revive our nation from the wreckage this government has created.

:24:32. > :24:36.Labour's ambition to revive urban communities starts with reconnecting

:24:37. > :24:39.urban to countryside Britain. We want to see city farms and

:24:40. > :24:43.environment centres and schemes like edible yorked in my constituency

:24:44. > :24:46.where communities grow vegetables on street corners together, but ensure

:24:47. > :24:49.everybody can access the countryside. That's why the Labour

:24:50. > :24:57.government has created National Parks and the right to roam. Labour

:24:58. > :25:04.schools would get the children out to understand the wonders of

:25:05. > :25:08.countryside life. Labour will clean up air, manufacture clean transport,

:25:09. > :25:12.plan to millions of trees, and we will introduce emission zones for

:25:13. > :25:21.our major towns and cities to end the invisible smog that is killing

:25:22. > :25:27.50,000 people per year. APPLAUSE Unlike the government, Labour will

:25:28. > :25:31.embrace the circular economy, reducing consumption, recycling, and

:25:32. > :25:35.regenerating energy from waste. Not turning it over to landfill. We all

:25:36. > :25:42.have a part to play in Labour's recycling revolution. We also have a

:25:43. > :25:46.poor relationship with food. Where it comes from, what we eat, how much

:25:47. > :25:51.it really costs to produce, how much we need, how much we waste. A

:25:52. > :25:58.quarter of adults are overweight or obese. Families put ?475 per year of

:25:59. > :26:02.food straight in the bin. We will change that relationship with

:26:03. > :26:08.education, labelling, health interventions and a new food

:26:09. > :26:12.framework. This is how Labour will revive rural communities. Rowell

:26:13. > :26:17.Britain is ageing fast. We need people to work the land and food

:26:18. > :26:23.production. Labour will expose the opportunities of rural life in

:26:24. > :26:26.science and research, as well as the unbeatable privilege and skilled

:26:27. > :26:32.work of rearing stock and growing crops. Labour will protect rural

:26:33. > :26:36.communities by making sure settlements hit the right balance

:26:37. > :26:40.between farming and environmental measures, not segregating the

:26:41. > :26:43.measures but integrating them, never forgetting smaller producers. We

:26:44. > :26:46.will extend and protect environmental protections but will

:26:47. > :26:50.not compromise production. And we will ensure that all the risks of

:26:51. > :26:56.food production do not fall on farmers. With Labour, the grocery

:26:57. > :27:01.code adjudicator would have extended powers to provide protections right

:27:02. > :27:05.through the food production chain. Today I give a clear commitment to

:27:06. > :27:10.farmers and food manufacturers. Under Labour, the workforce you have

:27:11. > :27:19.recruited, invested in and trained from the EU, will have the right to

:27:20. > :27:23.stay and keep their jobs. APPLAUSE It'll give you security. It will

:27:24. > :27:29.give them security, and it will give their children security. We will

:27:30. > :27:33.also establish a new agricultural sector Council to underpin all

:27:34. > :27:41.issues related to employment, including wages across the sector.

:27:42. > :27:44.Labour will revive rural communities through digitalisation, reaching all

:27:45. > :27:48.with broadband and mobile coverage so businesses are not just

:27:49. > :27:52.restricted to urban settings and a mobile workforce can relocate.

:27:53. > :27:56.Labour will revive rural communities by addressing the rural transport

:27:57. > :28:04.crisis, building homes local people need, and with better rural policing

:28:05. > :28:09.we will serve rural Britain. At the forefront of many of our minds,

:28:10. > :28:14.floods. I know the harm and cost flooding brings. Hundreds of

:28:15. > :28:17.residents and businesses in my constituencies were devastated when

:28:18. > :28:21.storm either struck. Many are still recovering. We will not stand by

:28:22. > :28:25.when it comes to climate change. Labour will do everything we can to

:28:26. > :28:28.reverse the impact on the world stage and here at home. Unlike the

:28:29. > :28:34.government we will be getting on with implementing catchment

:28:35. > :28:38.management, farmers, businesses and residents deserve better. And on

:28:39. > :28:46.floods, the Fire and Rescue Service will have a statutory duty to deal

:28:47. > :28:51.with flooding. Revive in urban communities, rural communities, and

:28:52. > :28:56.coastal communities. I grew up in a coastal, semi-rural community and I

:28:57. > :29:00.know the importance of fishing to local communities. To ensure fish

:29:01. > :29:05.stock is sustainable and through maritime regeneration, we will

:29:06. > :29:09.ensure a fair distribution of quotas to revive fishing communities. We

:29:10. > :29:16.need to heartless the natural resources of the sea and coasts. --

:29:17. > :29:20.we need to harness. As a country we have forgotten the wealth that

:29:21. > :29:24.living by the coast rings us. Governments have let coastal

:29:25. > :29:30.communities fade. No longer. Labour will put you back on the map again.

:29:31. > :29:42.And another community that needs Labour, badges. -- badgers. When

:29:43. > :29:47.every shred of evidence says bovine TB will be beaten with better

:29:48. > :29:51.testing, vaccination and animal husbandry, a government that ignores

:29:52. > :29:58.scientists, academics and its own experts and many farmers, and

:29:59. > :30:09.instead turns it's frustration on a badger, has lost hope.

:30:10. > :30:17.Animal welfare is at the heart of what we all care about, whether our

:30:18. > :30:21.wildlife domestic league, commercially or internationally.

:30:22. > :30:24.With Labour launching our consultation on animal welfare, we

:30:25. > :30:29.want you to shape the policy for the future. But whether animals, birds

:30:30. > :30:35.or our plant life, label will work to ensure that a whole biodiversity

:30:36. > :30:39.system thrives again. For too long, government has made its starting

:30:40. > :30:44.point rules and regulation. Labour's starting place is people,

:30:45. > :30:50.communities and our amazing actual world. Labour is the party with a

:30:51. > :30:54.fresh vision to revive our rural, coastal and urban communities.

:30:55. > :30:56.Labour are the party for environment, food and rural affairs.

:30:57. > :31:09.Thank you. APPLAUSE

:31:10. > :31:16.Thank you very much. We will now take the debate on the transport

:31:17. > :31:23.policy commission report which is pages 42 to 46 of the MPF report and

:31:24. > :31:32.the priorities issued document on pages 102 to 106. Our first speaker

:31:33. > :31:41.to move the report is I am Holland. -- Ryan Holland.

:31:42. > :31:46.Thank you very much. It is normally when I get up to speak about women

:31:47. > :31:56.and equality that everyone leaves the room expert Tony-macro! But this

:31:57. > :32:03.time it is about transport. As co-convenor of Labour's transport

:32:04. > :32:09.policy commission, I can report that Labour's transport policy unites us

:32:10. > :32:16.all. I'm like this Tory government, we are united against rising fares,

:32:17. > :32:20.the isolation of rural communities, cuts to services and safety, and

:32:21. > :32:27.their divisive agenda of deregulation and privatisation. We

:32:28. > :32:32.know, as the Labour Party, just how important transport is to all our

:32:33. > :32:42.communities. Which is why, Labour opposes Tory plans to ban future

:32:43. > :32:46.emission pool -- future municipal offer companies. And why Labour is

:32:47. > :32:55.committed to bringing our railways into public ownership.

:32:56. > :33:02.CHEERING It is just too important to be left

:33:03. > :33:07.to the market alone. Transport connects us all. It is a public

:33:08. > :33:12.service we all need, a major employer, vital to economic growth.

:33:13. > :33:17.We know that we need at transport policy which supports public out and

:33:18. > :33:22.we need transport to be included in planning and housing developments as

:33:23. > :33:28.well. We want transport to be integrated, access affordable and

:33:29. > :33:32.following the last debate as well, sustainable for people and for

:33:33. > :33:38.freight, and all transport must be properly included. Buses as well as

:33:39. > :33:43.trains, seaports as well as airports, lorries as well as cars,

:33:44. > :33:52.and right at the heart of transport policy where they belong, walking

:33:53. > :33:58.and cycling as well. We want transport hubs that work, that join

:33:59. > :34:03.up, and we want the right decisions taken at the right level, the right

:34:04. > :34:07.people at the table and democratic accountability as well. It is not

:34:08. > :34:13.too much to ask for, it is what people want, and it is what they

:34:14. > :34:16.want to vote for. Our policy commission has discussed how lack of

:34:17. > :34:23.transport leads to loneliness and isolation. We had been alerted to

:34:24. > :34:27.the need for community transport to include passengers with learning

:34:28. > :34:29.disabilities as well. We have considered innovative and

:34:30. > :34:33.imaginative transport solutions across councils, across Scotland and

:34:34. > :34:38.Wales and in London and throughout Europe and we have looked at the

:34:39. > :34:42.rest of the world. Cutting emissions, pedestrianisation, park

:34:43. > :34:47.and ride, truck stops and more. And the impact of new technologies and

:34:48. > :34:50.the EU referendum vote on transport and the environment and on jobs,

:34:51. > :34:56.there are opportunities and there are problems. And we have learned

:34:57. > :34:59.directly from the experience of transport workers themselves, as

:35:00. > :35:04.Unite's assistant General Secretary for quarter of a million transport

:35:05. > :35:09.workers and many of you here in the room across our movement, I would

:35:10. > :35:17.like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all transport workers for

:35:18. > :35:23.the vital work they do. So in closing, I also want to thank

:35:24. > :35:27.everyone who has made submissions. Commission members, our co-convener

:35:28. > :35:32.'s Andy McDonald and Lillian Greenwood and Adam Scott our policy

:35:33. > :35:37.officer. This report is just a start. Transport can really make a

:35:38. > :35:45.difference for the better. Let's make sure Labour transport policy

:35:46. > :35:53.does just that. I move. APPLAUSE

:35:54. > :35:54.Thanks, Diana. Can I see all those who want to talk in the debate,

:35:55. > :36:07.please? Are there any women who want to

:36:08. > :36:37.speak in the debate? I will take more contributions, we

:36:38. > :36:44.will just call up these three for now.

:36:45. > :36:56.Chair, conference, Tosh McDonald from Aslef, rising to support Labour

:36:57. > :37:01.Party policy on transport. Labour's policy on public ownership of the

:37:02. > :37:05.railways, and let's see really publicly owned, publicly accountable

:37:06. > :37:10.transport policies, transport networks throughout Britain, the

:37:11. > :37:16.road, the rail. Let's see municipal bus companies being run. Let's have

:37:17. > :37:20.no more deregulation. Let's see it being run together with rail. I have

:37:21. > :37:27.to be careful what I say, not because I am scared of being purged,

:37:28. > :37:30.but because Southern have a couple of injunctions out against Aslef.

:37:31. > :37:34.Rather than trying to sit down and discuss and talk about the way

:37:35. > :37:41.forward in our industry, they decided to take our members on

:37:42. > :37:46.industrially and take Aslef on in the courts. I'd tell you, we do

:37:47. > :37:51.stand side-by-side in our colleagues -- with our colleagues in other

:37:52. > :37:55.grades, in other unions being forced out of the industry. We do not

:37:56. > :38:00.believe driver only operation is the way forward for the industry. We do

:38:01. > :38:04.not believe closing booking offices and making people in booking

:38:05. > :38:10.offices, platform staff redundant, is the way forward for the industry.

:38:11. > :38:16.It has long been the policy of this great party at many conferences

:38:17. > :38:21.about public ownership for the rail network. We have a leadership now

:38:22. > :38:30.who believe in public ownership of the rail network. And we know that

:38:31. > :38:36.it works. We saw five years of east coast in public ownership before

:38:37. > :38:42.National Express and GN ER failed to run it privately. They could not

:38:43. > :38:48.make enough profit but in five years as East Coast we made ?1 billion

:38:49. > :38:55.back for the Exchequer. We invested ?40 million into East Coast. That

:38:56. > :38:59.works. I am employed by Northern Rail, one of the big franchises in

:39:00. > :39:05.the north. A strange thing happened to me on the 1st of April, at two

:39:06. > :39:10.o'clock in the morning. I went from being employed by the Dutch state

:39:11. > :39:15.role way to being employed by the German state railway. The Dutch

:39:16. > :39:19.state railway sent me a pen through the post with a name on it saying

:39:20. > :39:25.thank you for the 12 years of blood, sweat and toil that you have given

:39:26. > :39:33.them. If you believe that, you will believe anything. The German state

:39:34. > :39:38.railway sent me an LAN yard so that when I am on a train people would

:39:39. > :39:43.know who I belong to. You will see me with an Aslef lanyard on. That is

:39:44. > :39:48.who I belong to. The one thing I will say is we have got the policy,

:39:49. > :39:53.we have won the argument and public ownership on the passenger side, we

:39:54. > :40:02.need to win that argument also won the freight sector in transport. We

:40:03. > :40:06.have seen the doubling of tax on coal. The end of coal being moved

:40:07. > :40:10.around the country. We have seen train drivers being made redundant

:40:11. > :40:16.for the first time since British Rail days. The German state railway,

:40:17. > :40:21.the big owner of Britain was that freight now. When the downturn came

:40:22. > :40:25.in 2008, they moved freight drivers into the passenger sector because

:40:26. > :40:34.they could. The same company made drivers surplus because they were

:40:35. > :40:38.not all one row away. So let's not just the publicly owned railways,

:40:39. > :40:44.but let's see a publicly owned railway that works together in

:40:45. > :40:48.conjunction, freight, passenger, let's do it all together.

:40:49. > :40:54.APPLAUSE And when we have a publicly owned

:40:55. > :40:58.railway, publicly owned buses, when we have a transport system

:40:59. > :41:04.integrated that we can all be proud of, let's let pensioners travel

:41:05. > :41:09.free. Let's let disabled people travel free like the Freedom Riders

:41:10. > :41:15.in South Yorkshire are fighting for. Let's let children travel free as

:41:16. > :41:20.well, right across the age spectrum. Publicly owned transport is the way

:41:21. > :41:26.forward, publicly owned, publicly, hours, nationalised. It is not a

:41:27. > :41:30.dirty word. It works and I would like to see it working for the

:41:31. > :41:50.utilities as well. Thank you, comrades.

:41:51. > :42:01.I was just going to come up and say I move. James Mitchell, Unite the

:42:02. > :42:06.union. Speaking on the report in respect of the issue on buses. I am

:42:07. > :42:11.a bus worker and I work in London and I am speaking on the bus service

:42:12. > :42:17.there today. Buses are the most frequently used and most dramatic

:42:18. > :42:24.form of public transport, depended on by all parts of society,

:42:25. > :42:29.including young and elderly. They are lifeline to our communities. The

:42:30. > :42:36.bus service will attempt to re-regulate the bus market which we

:42:37. > :42:41.do welcome. Franchising would allow some local transport authorities to

:42:42. > :42:47.determine, for example, the frequency and standard of service

:42:48. > :42:53.and fares. But we have concerns. As a bus worker myself, I know

:42:54. > :42:59.first-hand the disaster of privatisation and deregulation in

:43:00. > :43:02.the bus industry. Polls show that a majority of the British public think

:43:03. > :43:14.local authorities should be allowed to set up public bus companies.

:43:15. > :43:16.Research finds we should save ?506 million the year by bringing buses

:43:17. > :43:23.outside London into public ownership. Yet, the bus service bill

:43:24. > :43:30.includes a clause that would ban councils in England from setting up

:43:31. > :43:34.new municipal bus companies. That clause should be removed, and we

:43:35. > :43:41.welcome Labour's commitment to opposing it.

:43:42. > :43:44.APPLAUSE If the Government is genuinely

:43:45. > :43:56.interested in local authorities being able to meet locals' needs, we

:43:57. > :44:00.believe municipal live nation needs to be available to all local

:44:01. > :44:05.authorities, but there are other changes concerning bus workers that

:44:06. > :44:09.should be made in the bill. First, trade unions should be included as

:44:10. > :44:22.statutory consultees as workers' representatives. Unions denied in

:44:23. > :44:27.the bus industry, or density in the bus industry is among the highest in

:44:28. > :44:32.the economy. Bus workers deserve to be represented as well as the bus

:44:33. > :44:37.passengers who have already been given statutory consultees status.

:44:38. > :44:41.Secondly, the bill does not appear to offer protection for new

:44:42. > :44:48.employees who are not covered by the TP pension protection in the bill.

:44:49. > :44:54.This could lead to operators bidding for contracts and driving down costs

:44:55. > :45:01.by cutting terms and conditions for further employees with risks to

:45:02. > :45:05.further service delivery. Unite members, and we represent 90,000 bus

:45:06. > :45:11.workers, have been in the forefront of trying to repair the damage

:45:12. > :45:16.caused by bus deregulation. We need Labour to be in the forefront of

:45:17. > :45:24.challenging any threats to bus services in the bus service bill.

:45:25. > :45:28.And we need a Labour government to deliver a strong integrated and

:45:29. > :45:32.sustainable transport strategy that recognises the importance of

:45:33. > :45:39.transport and the value of transport workers to society, to the economy

:45:40. > :45:43.and to the environment. Because let's make one thing clear, this

:45:44. > :45:43.country cannot move without us. I move.

:45:44. > :45:46.APPLAUSE