NEF are hosting a public panel discussion on rent controls alongside a drinks reception and a series of roundtables at the Labour Party Conference. You do not need a conference pass to attend any of NEF’s events.

Ending the rent squeeze: the case for rent controls

Organised in partnership with IPPR and JRF

When: Monday the 28th of September, 3pm to 4pm

Venue: Grace Suite 2 in the Hilton Liverpool City Centre

Opening remarks by George Bangham, head of social policy, NEF

Speakers:

• Paul Dennett, deputy mayor of Greater Manchester & Salford City Mayor
• Tom Copley, deputy mayor of London
• Maya Bhardwaj, campaigns lead, London Renters’ Union
• Steve Akehurst, director, Persuasion
• Rosie Worsdale, senior policy advisor, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Chair: Vicky Spratt, housing & society correspondent, I News

NEF pizza and drinks reception (by invitation only event)

We are delighted to announce that we will be joined by the Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Foreign Secretary and the Rt Hon Miatta Fahnbulleh MP, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, along with further speakers on the night.

The New Economics Foundation, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, is hosting an invite-only drinks reception at this year’s Labour Party conference. Join friends and allies to reflect on all we have achieved together, and how we make the most of this moment to ensure lasting progressive change.

Ending Homelessness for good: What role for Supported Housing? (Private roundtable)

Organised in partnership with Peabody and St Mungo’s

This event is being brought together by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), Peabody and St Mungo’s who are working together as partners supporting the Kerslake Fellowship, established in memory of the late Lord Bob Kerslake.

NEF, Peabody and St Mungo’s are facilitating a discussion about the role of supported housing in the government’s ambition to end homelessness, transitional housing in particular, and to consider the system-wide changes that are needed to give supported housing the prioritisation it needs. This will draw on preliminary findings from research, due to be published later this year, by the Kerslake Fellow, Dr Grace Brown, as well as input from Florence Eshalomi MP, Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, inputs from local government, the PLP and representatives from the wider housing sector.

The roundtable will be chaired by the investigative journalist and author Peter Apps.

Making the most of the UK’s G20 Presidency to drive a progressive economic agenda (Private Roundtable)

Looking ahead to the UK’s Presidency of the G20 in 2027, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) is convening a private roundtable at Labour Party Conference to discuss the opportunity this presents for renewed UK leadership on global development and progressive economic change. Building on international achievements of the past, including in the aftermath of the financial crash in 2009, and at Gleneagles in 2005, our intention is to create a space to discuss the art of the possible.

This conversation will build on a collection of essays from UK parliamentarians, ​‘Rethinking the UK’s Role in a Fractured World’, that NEF has published. This collection includes contributions on the multilateral system, illicit financial flows, debt relief and coordination on tax matters.

How can the government boost energy investment under current macroeconomic constraints? (Private Roundtable)

In partnership with Systemiq

At this year’s Labour Party Conference, NEF and Systemiq are convening a high-level private roundtable focused on the role for public sector investment in the energy transition with input from Michael Shanks MP, the Minister of State for Energy.

This will draw on NEF’s recent work on PFI performance (‘Firing up the Fund’), and Systemiq’s in-depth assessment of options for utilising the UK public balance sheet more effectively to reduce financing costs for the energy transition. We are especially keen to draw on examples from other European countries including France and Germany, and to explore whether there are lessons for the UK, including in their treatment of public corporation debt.

NEF spokespeople will be appearing at:

Sunday the 27th of September

The wealth tax conversation: evidence, politics and opportunities

Hosted by Tax Justice UK and Patriotic Millionaires UK

When: Sunday 27th September, 5- 6pm

Where: Albert and Johnstone Suite, Novotel Liverpool

Speakers:

• Anneliese Dodds MP
• Faiza Shaheen, CEO of Tax Justice UK
• Arun Advani, director of the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation
• George Banhgam, head of social policy, NEF

Monday the 28th of September

Bond markets — can governments drive the economy? Or are they in hock to the bond markets?

When: Monday 28th September: 9am — 10:30am

Where: Quaker Meeting House, 22 School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BT

Speakers:

• Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP (invited)
• Theo Harris, assistant researcher, New Economics Foundation
• Vince Gomez, former bond trader, The 99% Organisation

The politics of public control

Organised by Common Wealth

When: Monday the 28^th 11am – 12pm

Where: Quaker Meeting House, 22 School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BT

Speakers:

• Mat Lawrence, founder and director, Common Wealth
• Hannah Peaker, deputy chief executive, New Economics Foundation
• Dan Mead, economics adviser, ThinkLabour

Chaired by Abby Jitendra, policy director, ThinkLabour

Building the productive state: The pillars of progressive reform

Organised by Common Wealth

When: Monday 28^th September 2pm – 3pm

Where: Quaker Meeting House, 22 School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BT

Speakers:

• Mathew Lawrence, founder and director, Common Wealth
• Hannah Peaker, deputy CEO, NEF
• Steve Akehurst, director, Persuasion
• Alfie Sterling, head of policy and insight, JRF

Chaired by Sarah Nankivell Tomanovic, Common Wealth

Overview: The session will be based on the Productive State — a public institutional architecture for the supply side of the economy, designed to intervene at the specific sites where instability, extraction and underinvestment originate. We will ask how the new Government can build an economy of abundance, security, and stability – a decommodified foundation of essentials, a stabilised and dynamic market middle, and an innovation frontier enabled by the security the foundation provides.

The UK’s 2027 G20 presidency: a historic opportunity to fix the financial system

Organisers: Labour Campaign for International Development (LCID) and Bond

Date and time: Monday 28th, 4 – 5pm

Location: Large Meeting Room, Quaker Meeting House, 22 School Lane Liverpool, L1 3BT

Speakers:

• Romilly Greenhill, CEO, Bond
• Danny Sriskandarajah, CEO, NEF
• Liam Byrne MP

Chaired by Maria Finnerty, Exec Committee of LCID

Overview: This panel will set out Britain’s role as a global financial superpower and what’s at stake as we approach the UK’s 2027 G20 Presidency. Experts from government and civil society will make the case that, under Labour’s leadership, the G20 Presidency is a historic opportunity to build a less corrupt, fairer, and more functional global financial system that serves ordinary people, both at home and abroad. It will present a compelling and cost-free package of reforms – including to the structures that enable tax abuse, extraction, corruption, and unjust debt – to free up billions for development and climate action.

Investment in every postcode: The opportunity for public financial institutions

Organised by Positive Money

Time: Monday 28th September, 5 – 6pm

Location: Quaker Meeting House, 22 School Lane Liverpool, L1 3BT

Speakers:

• Kate Bell, assistant general secretary , Trades Union Congress
• Danny Sriskandarajah, CEO, New Economics Foundation
• Professor Mariana Mazzucato, director, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Chaired by Sara Hall, co-executive director of Positive Money

Overview: The UK’s financial system is skewed towards London and systematically underinvests in the real economy, particularly in small and medium-sized businesses. Meanwhile, achieving the UK’s ambitious Clean Energy mission and climate goals requires patient, long-term finance that is currently poorly delivered by the private sector.

Public financial institutions like the National Wealth Fund can play a pivotal role in addressing these interlinked problems — bearing risk the private sector cannot whilst ensuring the public shares in the benefits, as well as reshaping the financial system itself to better serve societal needs. However, their potential remains untapped, with the National Wealth Fund sitting at just a fraction of the size of European public banks.

Tuesday the 29th of September

The extreme wealth challenge

Organised by Oxfam and War on Want

When: Tuesday 29th September, 9 – 10am

Where: Hilton Hotel – Grace Suite 2, 3 Thomas Steers Way, Liverpool, L1 8LW

Speakers:

• Professor Mariana Mazzucato, director, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
• Ruth Maina, policy, research and advocacy manager, Tax Justice Network Africa (online)
• Fran Heathcote — general secretary, Public and Commercial Services Union

Chaired by Danny Sriskandarajah, CEO, NEF