Once a year, the Westminster village decamps en-masse to conference centres across Liverpool, Birmingham or Manchester. This travelling circus gives journalists, businesses and organisations like ours a unique vantage point to observe the changing political landscape and chance to engage with ministers and MPs outside of the tightly regimented environment of Whitehall and Parliament.
In 2024, the mood at the Labour Conference was gloomy, as the realities of government were dawning on politicians and their advisors. That has shifted this year, as the promises of opposition fade further into memory and the stark economic reality has become even clearer. The question of how to achieve growth has become much more prominent, and was the key theme of the Prime Minister’s speech, as well as many other discussions.
For organisations like Walpole, this presents a strong opportunity to raise the profile of our sector, and hammer home the central role that businesses like those within Walpole’s membership can play in delivering growth. Our sector's 11%-a-year growth rate is far greater than the UK-wide growth rate, so there is lots for ministers to learn from our success.
