Thoughts on Labour’s NPF Report ’25

Critically this article makes a call for a contemporary motion to #Lab25 modifying the NPF report conclusions on relationships with the European Union.

It also looks at the development of Labour’s Policy as its annual Conference approaches. It looks at the rules commitment to “voting in parts”, and reproduces an NPF report reference back motion on the subject of the relationship with the EU that I shall take to my local party. My motion calls to rejoin the single market immediately and to promise to rejoin the EU in the next manifesto.

Each year the Labour Party produce a report from the National Policy Forum which has a major responsibility for developing the manifesto. This year’s report can be found at NPF Report (https) or via my mirror. It has been written in a banal and non-actionable fashion but the party rules permit the report to be voted for in parts,

Chapter 3.III.2.G Party conference shall consider policy reports and draft reports as part of the rolling programme, the NPF report, the NEC annual report, NEC statements and development strategy. Conference has the right to refer back part of any document without rejecting the policy document as a whole.

I have been advised that each organisation can move one reference back per policy commission up to four commissions. Such reference backs should be submitted to the CAC by 5pm, 11 September by emailing cac@labour.org.uk.

I have taken the opportunity to draft a reference back,which will need to be tightened up, on the clauses relating to the relationship with EU. It reads,

Conference notes the NPF silence on relationships with the European Union with the exception of comments on submissions.

Conference  references back paragraphs 3 & 4   of the Britain Re-connected reply to submissions section of the national policy forum report.

The report fails to mention the reset meetings requirements that the UK must fully implement its commitments under the withdrawal agreement, the Windsor framework and the Trade and cooperation agreement and that the reset meeting failed to conclude any improvement in the formal relationships between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Conference calls on the NPF to look beyond the ’24 manifesto commitments with respect to the EU relationship and to press for faster re-alignment with the EU single market within this parliament and to examine the possibility of rejoining  the European Union being a manifesto promise for the next general election.