Our current constitution allows for too much of the power and decision making to take place in Westminster and Whitehall. This excludes entire regions of the UK especially in England from being able to make a contribution to decisions that affect them. 

Communities feel unable to control what happens in their local areas. This leads to a  dangerous feeling of powerlessness and alienation. 

The Conservative government talks of “levelling up” the UK yet consistently hordes all the power down in Westminster. It fails to disperse decision making throughout the country. 

Healthcare data matters. But so too does privacy.  The collection and sharing of population health data is vital in advancing medical treatments and improving our nation’s health. However, the public has a right to know exactly how their data is collected, stored, and shared. 

The Government has quite happily been collecting our healthcare data without paying much attention to privacy. It’s time that changed.

We should be able to trust our government to handle our information securely and with total transparency. 

The sickening treatmeant of the Uyghur people by the Chinese Government is genocide. 

And we cannot stand idly by while these gross violations of human rights are perpetrated. 

The Uyghur population are being rounded up and forced into internment camps.

Soaring temperatures worldwide, flash flooding in central London and increasing numbers of wildfires. These are just a few ecological disasters we are seeing as a result of climate change. It is painfully obvious we must act. 

We need to be ambitious. It is only by working with every single nation across the globe that we can hope to take on this challenge. 

Climate inaction is simply unacceptable. As president of COP 26, we should lead by example. 

The UK can lead the world in climate policy. We are hosting the UN Climate Conference (COP 26) in November 2021. We must lead the world to do what is required: limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. 

There are almost one hundred thousand children in care in the UK and they face significant disadvantages in life.

they face significant disadvantages in life”

The average child in care enters care at age 14, which is a crucial point academically. Only 12% of care leavers have entered higher education by the age of 23 and many care leavers rely on Universal Credit as their main source of income.

Too often children in care ‘pinball around the system’ meaning they don’t have the opportunity to build strong support networks. Care leavers have sometimes lived in up to 20 foster placements or care homes. On leaving care, 1 in 4 young people have to sofa surf, and 4 in 10 are unable to pay the required deposit for housing.

they don’t have the opportunity to build strong support networks”

This is simply unacceptable.

That’s why at our conference today, members voted for new policy supporting children in care and care leavers:

1. Increasing support for care leavers, so they all have access to support with advisors or mentors until age 25 including the option of remaining in care under full support of the local authority.
2. Supporting children with more control of where they live whilst in care to limit the unsettling disruption of switching between foster homes.
3. Doubling the Care Leaver Bursary from £1000 to £2000.
4. Offering extra tutoring and mentoring from age 13 as children in care are far more likely to have had hugely disrupted and inconsistent schooling.
5. Care leavers should be supported with access to university and given a mentor to help with university, apprenticeship and sixth form decisions.

Read our new policy in full

All children and care leavers deserve far more support than is currently on offer.

The Government must introduce further measures to ensure that adverse circumstances early in life are not a barrier to reaching a young person’s full potential.