从伯恩茅斯到利物浦:总结2023年的政党会议

The long shadow of the coming general election loomed large over this year’s party conferences. There was a noticeable change in tone as parties sought to establish ownership over key issues, to reassure vital stakeholders and to ensure that their party members are motivated.  

保守党和工党, this meant reassuring businesses hoping to be seen as the champions of economic growth and productivity. It meant showing an ability to adapt to and take leadership on newer technologies such as AI, and trying to harness the energy of campaigning groups to secure their backing, 或者至少不要把它交给他们的对手.  

作为第三方, 既不是政府也不是反对派, the focus for the Liberal Democrats was on emphasising a small number of issues on which they could make a unique contribution to the national debate – in particular environmental sustainability and the cost-of-living crisis. 

作为内务部的公共事务主管, I attended all three of the major party conferences to represent the interests of our members and the digital advertising industry. 整体, they presented many opportunities for stakeholder engagement and to improve our insight into the parties’ policy thinking and internal priorities. 以下是对每一次的关键经验的简短总结.  

保守党 

保守党 conference was in many ways the most interesting this year – though, 我们稍后会讲到, 这更多的是工党的设计，而不是他们自己的. 与我们行业相关的主要焦点包括: 
 

• 真正的兴趣 人工智能和数字服务 作为英国经济所需要的难以捉摸的增长的可能来源, recognising the need for increased dialogue and engagement – and possibly at some point in future, 对法定监管采取更宽松的方式.  

• 网络安全 和监管, where debate centred on whether the Government had gone too far with “heavy-handed regulation” and if at some point pivot towards more of an emphasis free speech. 

• 这个角色 中小企业 can play in improving regional growth and the standard of living outside of London. 我们的 数字红利 report gave us valuable points to make on the value of digital advertising to small business growth.  
   

Reflecting the eagerness of Ministers to shift the debate and identify popular and effective policies, high-ranking Conservative politicians were available in abundance at the conference and very open to conversations.  结果是, we emerged from the Conservative Conference having had some very positive conversations and with a good clutch of Ministerial follow-ups and a large assortment of Parliamentarians and think tanks keen to engage further. We enhanced this by co-sponsoring the Conservatives in Communications reception which had over 350 attendees and was a valuable opportunity for us to engage with stakeholders who make and influence policy affecting digital advertising.  

工党 

Labour’s leadership is convinced that the party’s electoral success in the mid-1990s was built on providing reassurance to the business community and avoiding any sudden lurches in policy or overly regulatory impulses that would drive them away, 他们现在正在寻求复制这种方法. This year’s incredibly disciplined and focused conference seemed to fully deliver on that objective.  

在一个又一个面板上, 政党发言人在政策细节方面透露得很少, 但是像伙伴关系这样的词, 可预见性和协商一直存在. There was some recognition that on issues such as regulation of online safety and AI, Labour would likely want to go further than the current government – but surprises would be avoided. 

和保守党一样, 中小企业 were being embraced as a key part of Labour’s economic thinking and we had a similarly enthusiastic response to our findings and messages from the 数字红利 report.  

这是一次比平常规模大得多的工党会议, 扬声器供不应求, 因此很难抽出时间与影子部长们会面. 那些我们谈过的人, 以及工党高级议员和智囊团, indicated enthusiasm to engage now and in the future and we are taking them up on their offer!  

自由民主党 

Environmental sustainability was a key priority at the Lib Dem conference which was taking place the week after the Government had downgraded some of its Net Zero policies. Fringe events railed against this – and questioned the sincerity of wider business support for action in this area. Being able to highlight the positive work being done by the digital advertising industry on environmental issues helped to engage senior Lib Dems in conversations about this and to highlight wider points about the industry’s economic value.  

The cost of living was another key topic where we could add meaningful contributions to the discussion, drawing on the findings from our 数字红利 report that show the extent of savings that digital advertising delivers for consumers, 甚至产生更大的消费价值. 

So, after a busy few weeks for politicians and public affairs professionals, what’s next? All eyes are now on the King’s Speech on 7 November that will set out the final legislative programme of the current government, 大选的进程又向前推进了一步.