Authors
Every year the major political parties hold conferences for their party members and other delegates from all parts of the UK economy and society. The conferences facilitate a wide and varied range of events including fringe meetings, roundtables, and policy discussions. There are also keynote speeches from leading party figures which often contain major policy announcements.
This is a key opportunity for us to reinforce the IFoA’s objective of amplifying the voice and influence of the actuarial profession. We attend the party conferences as they provide an invaluable opportunity to bring the actuarial profession to life to political stakeholders and share our insights on key areas of policy and legislation.
This year we saw a marked move by some party leaders to lay out their personal visions for the future of the country, while others struggled to move past ongoing political scrutiny. Andy Burnham’s first speech as prime minister announced a sweep of bold policies to undo what he sees as an economic and political model that has failed people and communities.
Measures included reform of the pension triple lock, plans for a national care service, greater powers for public control of utilities and housing reform. However, with some of the announcements pushed until after the next general election and a failure to demonstrate how he will reduce – rather than reallocate – government spending, there remain unanswered questions.
In Birmingham, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch put the economic agenda at the heart of her speech, as well as a party-pleasing pledge to remove inheritance tax on family homes. She also provided a clear rebuttal to Reform, saying “we are not like them… We are not uniting with that.” However, Badenoch’s personal poll ratings outstrip those of her party, and she is yet to articulate what exactly the Conservatives path back to power is.
The Liberal Democrats continue a period of self-reflection, as despite their record number of MPs their polling still sits at 10%, behind the Greens, in fifth place. While leader Ed Davey said the party is in “the fight of our lives” against Reform and right-wing politics, others in the party questioned whether they should reposition to target blue wall Conservative voters or urban liberals.
For the populist parties of the right and left, their conferences were overshadowed by controversy and a sense of stalling momentum. While Reform was able to set the narrative for the other parties last year, this year saw their efforts to position themselves as a party ready for government undermined by ongoing scandals. Meanwhile, the Greens saw record number of attendees but a ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion dominated coverage and Labour’s move to the left may see their appeal dwindle.
As ever, the party conference season was a useful touchpoint for the IFoA Policy and Public Affairs Team to engage with the policy-making agenda, help raise the profile of the profession and to meet key decision-makers and political insiders, as part of our work to amplify the actuarial voice and impact policy for the public good.
The IFoA was represented at some of the political party conferences over the autumn to build connections and to better understand the changing political priorities within UK politics. If you would like to learn more about the IFoA’s engagement at party conferences or are interested in our public affairs work, please do reach out at public.affairs@actuaries.org.uk
IFoA briefing: Party conferences 2026
Our full member briefing gives further detail, outlining the party leaders’ speeches and key announcements.