Labour’s NPF meets in private to discuss policies and plans for government. But what was decided? Hear from NPF reps on what really happened – and keep the pressure on Keir Starmer with this model motion on child poverty.

As previously reported on Labour Hub, the Party’s National Policy Forum (NPF) takes place this weekend in Nottingham. But most members barely realise it’s happening and will only read what has happened in the papers after the event, as mediated by the spin operation of the leadership. 

So to shine a light on these deliberations and explore what we can expect from a future Labour government, there will be a NPF Grassroots Reps Reportback, supported by Momentum, the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy, the Labour Assembly Against Austerity and Labour Hub, streamed by Arise – A Festival of Left Ideas.

When Tuesday July 25th at 6.30pm

Where On Zoom – register here

With reports from NPF members: Jess Barnard; Mish Rahman; Chloe Hopkins; Rachel Garnham; Jack Ballingham and FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack.

Plus John McDonnell MP and Andrew Fisher, former Director of Policy of the Labour Party.

Meanwhile:

Keep the pressure on Labour’s leadership over its climbdown on child poverty with this model motion for Party and trade union branches:

This CLP

• Believes that the two child limit unfairly penalises children for the size of the families into which they are born, something which is no fault of their own.  

• Notes that maintaining the two child limit is estimated by the Child Poverty Action Group to be responsible for keeping 250,000 children below the poverty line.

• Believes that the two child limit is discriminatory towards members of minority ethnic and faith groups who traditionally have large family sizes, and is damaging to the financial position of women (including single mothers) who have been pressured into having more than two children.

• Agrees with the Deputy Leader of the Party Angela Rayner when she called the two child limit “obscene” and the Shadow DWP Secretary Jon Ashworth when he referred to it as “heinous”.

• Is appalled by the announcement by Sir Keir Starmer that Labour would retain the two child limit in any reform of the welfare system on the grounds of “affordability” and “fiscal credibility”, and notes that it is estimated that this would push 250,000 children into poverty.

• Observes that this policy announcement was made without reference to previous decisions of Annual Conference and in anticipation of the National Policy Forum meeting.

• And therefore calls on Sir Keir Starmer to reverse this ludicrous and damaging position, and instead to develop tax policies which raise revenue from those most able to afford it, and reiterate Labour’s unequivocal commitment to scrapping the two child limit and ending child poverty in the UK.

Image: Keir Starmer. Source: Own work. Author: Rwendland, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.