POLICY MAKING IN THE LABOUR GOVERNMENT

Policy in the Labour Party is made through a process called Partnership in Power (PiP) which is designed to involve all party stakeholders (including members, local parties, trade unions, socialist societies and Labour representatives) as well as the wider community in shaping party policy and support the relationship between the party in the country and the party in government.

Introduced following the decision of Annual Conference in 1997, Partnership in Power has since proved to be a huge success.  It has led to the production of two general election winning manifestos; provided a model to facilitate policy development at all levels of governance; and provided a framework for the partnership between government and party.

With PiP, more members have been involved in discussing and debating party policy than was ever the case before 1997, and the engagement between Labour ministers and party members has been far greater than during any of Labour’s previous periods in government.  The last cycle of Partnership in Power saw us receive thousands of submissions from local parties, affiliates and community groups with many thousands of party members taking part. We also took our debate out to the wider community both through the consultation documents and through the development of the ‘Big Conversation’ style events.

PiP supports the campaigning work of local parties and Labour representatives providing an avenue to discuss policy issues and broaden local networks. And because PiP develops policy over a three year cycle and has discussion and debate at its heart, it proved to be a good vehicle for developing party members’ political knowledge.

These pages explain how policy is made in the party though Partnership in Power, highlight the improvements to PiP agreed at Annual Conference 2007, describe the institutions that drive the process and show how all party stakeholders can best engage on the party’s policy development work.

Find out more by clicking on the links below:

Policy development cycle     
Policy in the Labour Party is made on a rolling three-year cycle designed to recognise that every party member should have a role in our policy making processes. Read more here.

Partnership in power institutions
Annual conference, the National Policy Forum, Policy Commissions and the Joint Policy Committee.

Policy commissions
In this section you can read about our six policy commissions which consider policy submissions from all sections of the party and have a responsibility to ensure engagement on topical issues as well as building a maintaining year-round dialogue between the party and government.

Improving Partnership in Power
The Partnership in Power reforms introduced in 1997 have ensured more members have been involved in discussing and debating party policy than was ever the case before. At Annual Conference 2007 delegates voted to build on these reforms and further improve the way our party makes policy.

Having your say
We consult all members in policy development because we recognise that we stay relevant as a political party through our connections to, and involvement in, our local communities.  All members, local parties and affiliates as well as other party stakeholders have the right to a direct say in the party's political development.  Find out how you can get involved here.