Chair of National Policy Forum Ellie Reeve’s Speech at Labour Party Conference 2025

Chair of National Policy Forum Ellie Reeve's Speech at Labour Party Conference 2025

Conference this was my first National Policy Forum consultation as NPF Chair. 

It's been an honour to chair this vital link between our party in government and our wider movement. 

I was first elected to the NPF 25 years ago as the youth representative for London. 

Back then as a young activist at every meeting I campaigned for two things. 

First, votes at 16. 

Second an end to the National Minimum Wage age differential. 

Fast forward to today and it is this Labour government that is now legislating for votes at 16. 

And it is this Labour government that has narrowed the pay differential and is committed to ending the discriminatory age bands. 

My values, your values, Labour values.   

Conference, from the very beginning, Labour has been a party rooted in the voices of its members. 

People who believe that by coming together we can change society for the better. 

And this couldn't be more true than when it comes to the National Policy Forum and it couldn't be more important today. 

The National Policy Forum is our Party's mechanism to turn the energy and passion of our movement into a programme for government. 

Members, unions, affiliates, CLPs and elected representatives all coming together to shape our policy platform. 

Thank you to everyone past and present who has been involved. 

And I want to give special thanks to Mick Whelan, vice chair of the NPF and the longest-serving Chair of TULO, who is standing down this year.   

Mick, thank you for your friendship, your dedication and for always ensuring the voice of the trade union movement is rightly heard loud and clear in the Labour Party.   

It is this collective spirit that drives Labour's policy making process. 

And make no mistake it makes a difference. 

Take our Employment Right's Bill.  

Negotiated at the NPF and now put on to the statute book. 

I want to pay tribute to the leadership of Angela Rayner on this. Working hand in hand with the trade unions and businesses to make it a reality. 

And as someone who was a trade union lawyer for over a decade before entering Parliament, I know just how important this is. 

Delivering the biggest upgrade to workers' rights in a generation. 

Ending exploitative zero hours contracts. 

Strengthening maternity rights. 

Cracking down on dodgy fire and rehire practices. 

And rights at work from day one. 

My values, your values, Labour values. 

And that's just one example. 

Great British Energy, an idea championed through the NPF. Now a reality as a public company driving forward our mission to be a clean energy superpower. 

Free breakfast clubs in every primary school, ensuring that no child starts the day too hungry to learn, a policy shaped by members and now being delivered by a Labour government. 

Our commitment to halve violence against women and girls, a priority for me as Solicitor General and a direct result of the priorities our movement set through the NPF. 

And the NPFs call to put a Hillsborough Law on the statute book. 

A landmark step to end the culture of cover up, hold public officials and authorities accountable for their actions and close the chapter on one of the darkest days in British history. 

My values, your values, Labour values. 

That is why our members voices are so important. 

That is why the NPF is so important. 

And that is why it matters so deeply that we have a Labour government.  

Because when we win, our ideas, our policies, and our values are turned into action.   

But when we lose its our opponents that set the agenda. 

And their policy making process is anything but democratic. 

With the Tories it's top down, dictated by whoever happens to be party leader. 

And with Reform, it's even worse.  

Until recently, their party was literally owned by one individual: Nigel Farage. 

A man who when asked about his policies said, and I quote: "If you ask me, how are you going to do this, I can't really give you an answer". 

So how do they solve that problem?  

By importing failed Tories to help them write their policies. 

If the answer is Nadine Dorries, then you're asking the wrong question. 

Conference that is not how a serious Party responds to the challenges our country faces. 

And that's what sets our movement apart. 

We come here to discuss policy, to come to agreement, to shape Labour's agenda. 

That's what conference is. 

The voice of our members, our Trade Unions and our affiliates coming together from the grass roots up. That's what makes our Labour Party so special.    

This year the National Policy Forum held more than 50 events, commission meetings, stakeholder roundtables, and expert evidence sessions and received more than 1,500 submissions.  

We engaged with the breadth and depth of our movement. 

From how to rebuild confidence in the police, to energy security, to the future of our NHS. 

Members have helped shape a powerful NPF report that ensures our collective voice continues to drive our Labour government's work. 

Members like Sabina, a GP from Sussex Weald I met recently. 

She brought her frontline experience to the NPF, making a powerful case for how we can cut hospital backlogs and improve patient care by revitalising community healthcare and bringing back the family doctor. 

Or our affiliates like the Fabian Women's Network. 

Reminding us that there is a well-established link between women's poverty and child poverty and that both must be addressed in any serious child poverty strategy. 

That's what makes the NPF special. 

Real knowledge. Real life experience. Feeding directly into how Labour will renew Britain.   

Conference, whenever our nation has stood at a crossroads. 

Whenever the future is uncertain. 

Our Labour movement has led the way. 

Towards fairness, towards security, towards hope. 

The creation of the NHS out of the rubble of war. 

Setting up Sure Start to give every child the best start in life. 

The National Minimum Wage to deliver security for working people. 

At every defining moment, Labour has looked the country in the eye and changed it for the better. 

The case is no different now. 

And our ambition is no less bold. 

It's laid out in the NPF report that's before you today. 

Clean power by 2030. 

An NHS ready for the challenges of tomorrow. 

An economy that rewards hard work. 

Safe communities where people feel proud to live. 

A country where every child can climb higher than the generation before. 

That's what we're putting into action. 

My values, your values, Labour values. 

Thank you, conference.