Sunday script update
The real story of this conference is that Labour is a growing and united party. Labour
members have provided a massive mandate for unity, the largest direct mandate of any
Labour leader in history. And that is the mood everywhere you go in Conference. We will
use the huge mandate of the new leader to focus Labour's energy on opposing the failing
policies of the government.
Sunday update: A new approach to policymaking
Toplines: This Conference will see Labour set out a new direction: honest, straight talking
politics.
As part of this new approach we are committed to involving and engaging people more
directly, so the NEC has agreed to hold a review of how we make policy as a party to
make it more inclusive, open and democratic.
Script
The old way of doing politics has alienated the public from the political system and from
Labour – we need reform and a new kind of politics that involves and engages people
more directly.
During the leadership election people sent the message loud and clear that they want a
new direction: honest, straight-talking politics where we address the big issues for our
country and the party, and engage people in a serious conversation about the challenges
facing us.
Jeremy Corbyn and Tom Watson were elected on a promise to address this desire – they
are committed to open up policy making to more people, to harness the skills and abilities
of our members, and allow everyone to play a full role in deciding the direction we will take
together.
We want everybody to engage in debate and be able to influence our Party’s policy.
By capturing the new energy and new ideas we can revitalize the party. Our members
work tirelessly on the ground and know better than anyone what works best in their
communities – we need them to take a full and active role. That means instigating,
contributing to and leading the formulation of policy, not just being asked to comment or
‘consult’.
So at this conference we will be launching a review of how we make policy as a party. We
want to hear from our members and supporters what they think works well at present, what
doesn’t work well, and how best we can reform our systems. We need to reform the NPF
so that in the coming years it empowers everyone to play a full and active role.
This will include looking at how we harness technology, how we empower our members
and what the best mechanisms are for tacking the big issues facing the country.
In the weeks ahead we’ll be calling for submissions, following which we will come forward
with proposals for reform to make our policy making more inclusive, open and democratic,
delivering on a commitment to a new direction: honest, straight talking politics.

 Q&A
What are you announcing?
In keeping with the promises of a new kind of politics made by Jeremy Corbyn and Tom
Watson during the leadership election, Conference will see Labour announce a review of
how we make policy as a party, looking at what works, what doesn’t and how best we can
improve our processes so that everyone plays a full and active role and we can together
build a policy programme that commands the support of the electorate and will enable
Labour to win again in 2020.
Following a full review the Party will come forward with proposals in future months on how
our policy making processes should be reformed.
What format will the review take? How can people get involved?
We will shortly be issuing details of how the review will work, including a call for
submissions. We hope as many people as possible will send in their views.
How is policy currently made in the Labour Party?
Policy is made via a rolling programme of policy development through Labour’s National
Policy Forum (NPF). The NPF has responsibility for drawing up policy documents which,
following consultation with the party and the public, are submitted to conference for
agreement. Once endorsed by conference the work of the National Policy Forum becomes
the Labour Party’s policy platform, on which the manifesto is based.
What is wrong with the current policy making process?
The leadership election revealed a desire for a new direction. Members want passionately
to engage in debate and be able to influence party policy and make our party more
inclusive, more democratic and the membership better listened to in the future.
There is much that is good about our policy making processes – it is based on the
everyone having a voice and proceeding on the basis of discussion and consensus we can
best rise to the challenges facing the country – but much more needs to be done. We need
change to reflect a new approach based on inclusivity and openess. For instance we need
to harnessing the opportunities new technology brings us to allow members a much
greater say.
Sunday update: Labour announces new Economic Advisory Committee
Labour has today unveiled its Economic Advisory Committee that will be convened by the
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP, and will report directly to Labour leader Jeremy
Corbyn MP.
Meeting quarterly, the purpose of the Committee will be to discuss and develop ideas
around the official economic strategy that Labour will be advocating under the new
leadership.
The Committee, which contains a broad based group of world leading economists,
includes:
 Mariana Mazzucato, Professor, University of Sussex
 Joseph Stiglitz, Professor, Columbia University, recipient of the 2001 Nobel Memorial
Prize in economics.

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Thomas Piketty, Professor, Paris School of Economics
Anastasia Nesvetailova, Professor, City University London
Danny Blanchflower, Bruce V, Rauner Professor of Economics Dartmouth and Stirling,
Ex-member of the MPC
Ann Pettiffor, Director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME), and an
Honorary Research Fellow at the Political Economy Research Centre of City University

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, said:
“I was elected on a clear mandate to oppose austerity and to set out an economic strategy
based on investment in skills, jobs and infrastructure. Our economy must deliver security
for all, not just riches for a few.
“I am delighted that John McDonnell as Shadow Chancellor has convened this group to
advise the leadership as we set out our economic vision.”
John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, added:
“I am delighted to convene this Economic Advisory Committee that will assist in developing
a radical but pragmatic and deliverable economic policy for our country.
“Our Economic Advisory Committee will assist in developing a fairer and more prosperous
economic alternative based upon investment and growth which reaches all sections of
society.
“Austerity is failing the people of this country. Working alongside world leading economists
Labour will present the coherent alternative our country desperately needs.”
Conference script: A New Kind of Politics

Toplines: This Conference will see Labour set out a new direction: honest, straight talking
politics.

Labour stands for a more equal and more prosperous Britain where wealth is shared by
the many not hoarded by a few; and for a more peaceful and just world.

The Tories are failing to stand up for working people, cutting the tax credits on which they
rely.

Script
This week at Conference, Jeremy Corbyn will set a new direction for Labour…

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Closing the deficit by investing in a growing productive economy
Bringing down the welfare bill with a focus on productivity, regulating rents, boosting
wages and creating a higher skill economy.
Giving parents and local communities greater oversight and accountability over local
schools.
Bringing the railways back into public ownership line by line.
Reviewing legal aid, following cuts by this government that have left many people
without access to legal help or representation.

…this is a new kind of politics: an approach which is enthusing people…
 Jeremy Corbyn is setting out a new direction: honest, straight-talking politics where we
address the big issues for our country and the party, and engage people in a serious
conversation about the challenges facing us.
 Party membership is soaring with people joining and rejoining in unprecedented
numbers. Over 50,000 new members have joined in the first 10 days since Jeremy was
elected Leader and Tom Deputy Leader. Membership now stands at over 350,000 –
nearly double what it was at the election.
 Jeremy Corbyn was elected on an overwhelming mandate – elected by over a quarter
of a million voters (more than the total membership of the Conservative Party) and with
around 60 per cent of the vote.
Labour’s commitment to a more prosperous, fairer Britain stands in sharp contrast
to a Tory Government which is failing to stand up for working people…
 They have broken their promise to be on the side of working families, cutting the tax
credits they rely on. Around 3 million working families will be on average £1,300 worse
off next year as a result of this work penalty which will hit families on middle and lower
incomes
 Their so-called ‘National Living Wage’ is not a real Living Wage and will simply not
compensate these families for their loss of income. Families need action, not false
claims.
 They are failing the test of building a more productive economy to get wages up and
the deficit down. The gap between UK productivity per hour worked and the rest of the
G7 grew to 20 percentage points in 2014 – the widest productivity gap since 1991.
 The NHS is not safe in Tory hands. Waiting lists have risen by almost one million under
David Cameron, thousands of cancer patients are waiting too long to start their
treatment and hospitals are under massive pressure as the Tories have made it harder
for people to see a GP and have cut care in the home for older people.