The Labor leader will use next weekend’s conference to set out key dividing lines after the government’s mini-budget on Friday, with announcements on tax cuts, bankers’ bonuses and borrowing dominating policy debate for months to come. However, the party will also face some of the issues that have divided members and MPs over the summer. Among them will be several demands from local parties to make it clear that Labor MPs can join picket lines, an issue likely to resurface this autumn as more public sector workers consider strike action. Starmer sparked outrage among MPs when he sacked Sam Tarry after he joined a group of rail workers and advocated pay rises in line with inflation. The party said he was fired for supporting policies not agreed to by the leadership rather than standing by the striking workers. Labor frontbenchers had earlier been instructed not to join the picket lines. Several motions backed by the country’s most powerful unions have been tabled at the conference, underscoring the duty of MPs to support strikers. Unions have significant power over what is discussed at the conference. The issue of greatest concern to the leadership, however, is the demand from delegates for the party to support wage rises that match inflation – a key policy for many unions. Starmer has not backed public sector pay rises in line with inflation, which currently stands at almost 10%, despite serious pressure. Another conflict looms over the renationalisation of the water industry, Royal Mail, the railways and large parts of the energy industry. A motion on the matter calls for renationalisation “so that British people are no longer uprooted and workers get a fair deal”. It comes after Starmer admitted he had backed away from support for the renationalisation of some industries which he promised during the Labor leadership election. There is also growing support for Labor to back a change to the electoral system that would see them lose their historic support for the first time since the post, used in a general election. Some senior executives are now supporting calls for proportional representation. Labour-affiliated unions have stood in the way of the party advocating for a change, but many are now in favor of moving away from the current electoral system. High-profile figures such as Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham have spoken out over the summer in favor of a change. Writing in the Observer, he said it would allow more co-operation between political parties for urgently needed social reform. A similar resolution on proportional representation was defeated last year, but advocates say opposition has softened further since then and more unions have backed a change. The left has put forward changes to the rule that would allow Jeremy Corbyn to back Labour. Photo: Penelope Barritt/Rex/Shutterstock However, there are figures on the right and left of the party who are opposed to being removed from the top spot. In a vote at last year’s Brighton conference, just under 80% of Labor votes in the constituency supported the proposal, but affiliated unions and groups overwhelmingly opposed it. The left of the party has also brought forward rule changes designed to ensure former party leader Jeremy Corbyn can stand as Labor’s candidate at the next election. Several local chapters have pushed for a change that would allow its return, with supporters trying to win union support for the measure. Corbyn remains a member of the Labor Party but has been stripped of the whip, meaning he cannot be a Labor MP. According to current party rules, only Labor caucus MPs can stand again under its banner. The change would widen the rules to include Labor members, giving Corbyn a way back. Not standing for Labour, Corbyn faces a re-election challenge in Islington North. He is said to have significant support from his local party, but officials may well find reasons to reject attempts to allow him to back Labor again.
