SME4Labour played to a full house at every one of its fringe events at Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, as ministers, MPs and business leaders warned that the industrial strategy will be judged on whether it lowers the cost of doing business and spreads growth beyond London.
Across Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 September, the programme ran from an early-morning energy breakfast to an evening reception at the SME4Labour Pod in the secure zone at ACC Liverpool, alongside sessions at White Tiger Restaurant by the entrance to the conference arena. Rooms were full from the first session to the last, with standing room only at several.
Speakers returned again and again to the same pressures on small firms: energy bills, access to finance, trade friction with the EU, fragile food supply chains and the viability of housebuilding.
Energising Enterprise: E.ON Business Energy Breakfast
The day opened with a packed breakfast, held with E.ON and chaired by Leigh Ingham MP, with Energy Minister Martin McCluskey MP, Minister for Local Energy and Jobs; Anthony Ainsworth, Chief Operating Officer for Industrial & Commercial at E.ON UK; Dave Robertson MP; and Luke Murphy MP.
"Ultimately, this is about giving us control over the source of energy and price, and that's as important for SMEs as it is for households," McCluskey said of the clean energy transition. He said Britain remains uniquely exposed to volatile fossil fuel markets, and that each new solar panel and turbine means gas sets the price less often.
Ainsworth warned that business bills can stay high even when wholesale prices fall, because network and policy costs keep climbing. He suggested spreading the cost of the transition over a longer period and moving some policy costs off electricity bills. Businesses back decarbonisation, he said, but "not at any cost".
McCluskey said existing support is under-used, with too few small firms applying for heat pumps through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and repeated his call for a "high street test" for energy support, noting that hairdressers and gift shops use about as much energy as a home. Decisions on future support, he said, will come in the Budget. Asked why British manufacturers pay more for wholesale power than competitors in France and Germany, he said Britain "built and stopped, and now we've restarted".
Britain's High Streets: How Do We Save Our Town Centres?
It was standing room only for the high streets session, held with Deliveroo and chaired by David Burton-Sampson MP, with Beth Miller of Deliveroo; Graeme Craig, Chief Executive of Places for London (TfL); Jayne Kirkham MP; Mayor of Newham Forhad Hussain; Dr Sam Rushworth MP; and Jessica Toale MP.
Burton-Sampson set out the government's work on lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure, new council powers to tackle long-term empty properties, and mixed-use town centres with homes, health services and community hubs alongside shops. Craig spoke about the pressure business rates and VAT place on small firms, and what it will take to bring investment back to the high street.
The New Industrial Strategy: How Do We Deliver Growth for the Real Economy?
A full room heard from a panel held with Allica Bank and chaired by Alison Taylor MP, with Lucy Rigby MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury; Perran Moon MP; Sonia Kumar MP; Conrad Ford, Chief Product & Strategy Officer at Allica Bank; and Mark McVitie, former Director of the Labour Growth Group.
Ford said London is the only part of Great Britain where the number of large, established small businesses has risen in the last three years, and cited a small business funding gap of £65 billion since the financial crisis. Kumar, who has brought forward a private member's bill on women's access to capital, said the core problem is a lack of transparency about where investment goes. Both said an expanded British Business Bank should be the main focus.
McVitie said the best industrial strategy is one that lowers the cost of energy, land, capital and technology, because high costs entrench incumbents and shut out challengers. Moon said Cornwall could become an industrial powerhouse as the government backs efforts to reopen tin mines.
Connecting the UK to International Markets: Road Haulage, Trade and Growth
The Road Haulage Association session, chaired by Rachel Taylor MP, drew a full audience to hear Oliver Ryan MP; Gareth Thomas MP; Ruth Cadbury MP, Chair of the Transport Committee; Declan Pang, Director of Policy & Public Affairs at the RHA; and Marco Forgione, Director General of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade.
Thomas said a Swiss-style deal with the EU would be a game changer for road haulage, and called for the SPS agreement and a deal on electricity and emissions trading to be nailed down ahead of a UK-EU summit, ideally before Christmas. Ryan said the UK has missed out on about £4 billion of agrifood exports since 2018. Cadbury raised problems with the EU's entry/exit system and a policy vacuum on facilities for HGV drivers, while the RHA called for a more sectoral approach to driver rules such as the 90/180-day limit.
Annual SME4Labour Conference Lunch
At White Tiger, the annual Conference Lunch, held with British Muslim Friends of Labour, filled the restaurant. Chaired by Shokat Ali, it heard from Blair McDougall MP, Mayor of the East Midlands Claire Ward and Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin.
Britain's Food Security: From Farm to Fork in an Uncertain World
Chaired by Daniel Zeichner MP, the food security session brought a full room together with Chris Hinchliff MP; Terry Jermy MP; Dave Robertson MP; grower Ali Capper; James Bielby, Chief Executive of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors; and Sue Pritchard, Chief Executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission.
Hinchliff proposed contracts for food security modelled on contracts for difference in energy, giving farmers guaranteed prices, alongside national statutory targets. Capper said food security cannot be delivered through slogans, and warned that when the Treasury talks about it, it can mean cheaper imports. Jermy, who has visited 100 farms since the election, described a tired and emotionally drained industry. Pritchard said local leadership, including in schools, could achieve a great deal without new legislation.
Building the Future: Housing Delivery and Planning Reform
The housing panel, chaired by Margaret Mullane MP, played to a packed room with Fabian Hamilton MP; Chris Hinchliff MP; Mayor of Newham Forhad Hussain; Patrick English, Head of Elections and Political and Social Data at YouGov; Amit Singh of St Michaels Advisory; and Neil Hook, Head of Development at Places for London (TfL).
English said public support for new homes falls from 54 per cent to 44 per cent when the question adds "in your local area", but that people can be won over when developments come with GP surgeries and services. Singh said the real problem is viability, with material costs up 40 per cent since 2021. Hinchliff and Hamilton both called for a return to council house building, with Hamilton saying every £1 spent on social homes returns £2.84.
A New Chapter for Turkey? Peace, Democracy and the Kurdish Question
Run with CEFTUS at White Tiger and chaired by Rupa Huq MP, this full-house session on the prospects for peace and democracy in Turkey heard from former Birmingham Perry Barr MP Khalid Mahmood, Sarbaz Barzinji and Cllr Peray Ahmet.
AI for Public Good: Harnessing Technology for Better Public Services
Chaired by Feryal Clark MP, the AI session filled the room with Vicki Sellick, Chief Executive of Good Things Foundation; Dave Robertson MP; Neil Duncan-Jordan MP; Dan Price, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire; Jason Kennedy, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Skyral; and Anneliese Dodds MP.
Sellick called for a national conversation on AI, warning that the digital inclusion gap has taken a leap in the wrong direction. Robertson described an AI tool from his Lichfield constituency that has sped up police overtime sign-off, freeing officers for frontline work. Duncan-Jordan said only 7 per cent of the public believe the gains from AI will be shared equally, and called for the digital services tax to be raised and extended to AI companies.
SME4Labour Conference Reception: Celebrating Small Business at the Heart of Labour
Monday closed with a packed reception, co-sponsored by the Road Haulage Association and chaired by SME4Labour founder Cllr Ibrahim Dogus. Guests included Amanda Martin MP, Hamish Falconer MP, Dr Zubir Ahmed MP, John Grady MP and Georgiana Bristol of the Jobs Foundation.
Labour Home & Labour Friends Groups Lunch
The programme closed on Tuesday with a full house at White Tiger for the Labour Home & Labour Friends Groups Lunch, chaired by Cllr Shahid Nadeem. Speakers included former Ealing Southall MP Virendra Sharma, Rupa Huq MP, Tan Dhesi MP, Adam Jogee MP, Afzal Khan MP and Dr Zubir Ahmed MP.
The test ahead
Full rooms across two days showed the appetite within the movement for a serious conversation about the real economy. The message to ministers was consistent: lower the cost of energy, land and capital, and make sure finance and investment reach every part of the country. The next test will be the Budget, and whether the energy support, finance reforms and cost relief that small businesses asked for in Liverpool make it into the Chancellor's plans.
