By Chris Walker
This year the Policy and Government Affairs team had a presence at all five major English political party conferences – Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, and the Green Party. The fluctuating polling numbers and ongoing battles on the Left and Right of British politics mean that engaging with parties across the political spectrum on behalf of our members has never been more important.
While the politics and policies may differ wildly across the parties, there were some overarching themes from all the conferences and events that we attended that are important for our industry. These included:
“It’s the economy, stupid”: These immortal lines from Bill Clinton’s campaign strategist, James Carville, nicely sum up the approach taken by all five parties in 2026. After years of different policy priorities rising up and down the agenda, economics is firmly back on top. Cost-of-living, consumer and business confidence, the future of taxation, tackling the NEETs and future jobs crises – all of these issues were being discussed by every party.
AI, AI, AI: Unsurprisingly, AI was at the forefront of a lot of panel events and discussions (and a subtext to many others). Many of the conversations at Labour focused on the impact on jobs, particularly entry-level roles, and linking it to the NEETs crisis. Other parties focused in on jobs but also debated the benefits and drawbacks of the AI revolution and how Britain can best position itself to take advantage.
To regulate… or not: That was one of the main dividing questions between the parties – particularly between Labour, who are seemingly adopting a more interventionist approach (or certainly more readily willing to reach for the stick rather than the carrot), vs. Conservatives and Reform UK who are both putting forward policy agendas with a focus on deregulation and removing ‘friction’ from the business environment.
Tax and the size of the state: Another dividing line which will likely only become more prevalent after the upcoming Budget – how big should the State be and who should be paying for it? This is a classic political debate and one which looks certain to become more prevalent as the parties revert to more traditional positions.
I started this summary by saying that five-party politics has made our political system wider-ranging than ever. While that remains true – and the post-conference polls all have Labour, Conservatives, and Reform UK within a couple of points of one another – there is certainly a feeling in the air that the political winds may be blowing us back to the more traditional two (or three) main party debate.
Andy Burnham and Kemi Badenoch are leading parties who feel more confident and are claiming their more traditional political home grounds, which may move voters to start to pay more attention to their policy platforms. Meanwhile, Reform UK and the Greens have been beset by controversy around their conferences, and the Lib Dems are undergoing a fierce internal debate about the future of their leadership.
At the AA, we will continue to engage with politicians and policymakers across the political spectrum on behalf of our members and the sector. But we will also be keeping a close eye on where the political parties are heading – particularly with the possibility of a snap general election being talked up amongst the warm white wine and canapes at the conference networking events.
