Momentum has announced it will push Keir Starmer to commit to repealing Tory anti-protest legislation, as the group unveiled the motions it is pushing to bring to Labour Conference 2023. The full list of motions – under the banner ‘Policies From the Many, For the Many’ – is available here.

The move piles pressure on the Labour Leader to commit to repealing the Public Order bill, under which peaceful anti-monarchy protestors were wrongly arrested by the Metropolitan Police ahead of the Coronation. Starmer has thus far refused to do so.

Momentum is aiming to establish the repeal of recent Conservative legislation as a key pressure point ahead of Labour’s next manifesto. In a flagship motion entitled ‘For the Restoration of Democratic Freedoms’, Momentum is demanding the Labour Party commits to repeal the Public Order and Police, Crime and Sentencing Bills, which gave police sweeping powers to clamp down on peaceful protest, alongside other pieces of repressive legislation introduced in this Parliament. Also targeted for repeal is the Conservatives’ widely-criticised new requirement for voter ID and the Illegal Migration bill.

Momentum is also seeking to capitalise on polls showing waning support for the monarchy among Labour voters with a motion supporting abolition of the monarchy. The group is not expecting this policy to feature in the manifesto, but wants to “start a conversation about the future of the monarchy” as part of an “urgently-needed renewal of British democracy.”

Kate Dove, Co-Chair of Momentum, said: “The past few days have set the alarm bells ringing for British democracy. From the right to protest to voter suppression to the treatment of refugees, the Conservatives have taken a wrecking ball to our fundamental freedoms. The next Labour government must urgently restore these basic rights, or risk complicity in the erosion of our democracy.” 

Elsewhere, the group is encouraging activists to submit motions on economic issues which enjoy huge support in the Labour Party and amongst the public. Amidst an ongoing sewage scandal, Momentum is calling for public ownership of water, alongside other key industries including energy and mail. Elsewhere, activists will push for free school meals to be adopted by Labour nationally, following in the footsteps of Sadiq Khan and Welsh Labour; and for mass council house building and rent controls, again enjoying support from devolved and regional Labour figures. A motion on wealth taxes aims to counter claims from the Labour leadership that progressive policies are unaffordable.

Dove concluded: “From public ownership of our failing utilites to mass council house building, the labour movement is united behind bold, popular policies to fix the Tories’ broken Britain. With our public services in crisis and millions struggling to make ends meet, while the wealthiest laugh their way to the brink, now is not the time for Labour to settle for status quo politics. Trade unions and Labour members are united behind transformative policies. Labour’s leadership should heed them.”

The announcement comes as the battle around Labour’s next manifesto heats up, with draft policy documents expected this week as part of the Party’s National Policy Forum (NPF) process. The NPF – composed of trade union and member delegates – will then meet in person in July to agree on a ‘party programme’’, from which Labour’s next manifesto is drawn. Momentum has actively campaigned around the NPF.

In addition to policy motions, Momentum is asking campaigners to submit rule changes to us. CLPs now have until 23rd June to submit these rule changes for debate at Conference 2024. You can see more on the rule changes Momentum is supporting here.