Autumn is Party Conference season in UK Politics, and this year the Federation of Master Builders were at the Lib Dem, Labour and Conservative events to highlight the challenges the construction industry faces in Britain. Jeremy Gray, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the FMB discusses the mood on the ground, and what the FMB got up to.
The Party in power
Labour may be in power, but the mood didn’t reflect a party that had just won a historic victory – there was an unease, possibly at the scale of the challenge ahead or possibly the ongoing freebies scandal. But that aside, the conference offered the first real chance for industry to engage with the new Government, and with Ministers already pledging planning reform, new house building targets and a skills revolution, we wasted no time in making the voices of our members heard in the debate.
Hosting an event alongside CPRE, the Countryside Charity, and SME4Labour, Brian Berry spoke about the need to focus on expanding the housing market to restore small, local house builders. The new Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook MP’s comments at the conference, backing the FMB’s calls for greater diversification of the housing market away from a small number of volume housebuilding firms, shows that our message is cutting through the noise. We also hosted a roundtable event with The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), joined by the Construction Minister Sarah Jones MP on how the industry will address the skills shortages.
The Party out of power
They Conservatives are out of power, but someone forgot to tell the delegates who all cut upbeat figures, in stark contrast to the Labour Conference. This Conference was an excellent opportunity to help shape the construction conversation from the foundations as the Party looks to rebuild following their defeat. The FMB once again co-sponsored this year’s Enterprise Forum, joined by Shadow Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt MP, and Shadow Business Secretary Kevin Hollinrake MP, looking at how industry can work with the Party to deliver positive change for our industry.
Brian Berry made clear to Jeremy Hunt MP, the essential role for SME House Builders will need to play in delivering the homes Britain needs
The Lib Dems have 72 MPs!
We headed to the Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton, joining the Business Day events to talk about how a strong opposition Like the Lib Dems can help push the FMB’s messages. The Lib Dems have 72 MPs, the largest third party in a century and believe me they liked to remind you of it! But aside from the reminders of the number of MPs they have, we had a productive time at what was a very upbeat conference with chances for us to rub shoulders with Lib Dem Leader Sir Ed Davey MP, along with Housing Spokeswoman Helen Morgan.
Where does all that leave us?
The next 12 months is likely to be a busy time in British politics, as the new Government looks to put their stamp on the country, and being involved in the conversation at an early stage is crucial in representing the interests of FMB members right across the UK. The past weeks have been a great success for the FMB in getting our vital message across, now we look to the Budget and beyond.
