Community at Labour Party Conference 2026

Community Union had an exciting and productive week at Labour Party Conference this year.

Our jam-packed schedule included the official launch of our education campaign, ‘Retention, Retention, Retention’, as well as a fringe event with UK Steel and Heathrow Airport.

Community opens 2026 Conference with annual reception

📽️ Our annual reception at @UKLabour conference was a great showing of solidarity, demonstrating the strength of our union.

Only through working together can we improve the lives of our members and all workers across the UK. 🤝

Thank you to all the Labour MPs for your support.… pic.twitter.com/ZMFAGLiGFF

— Community Union (@CommunityUnion) September 28, 2026

On the Saturday evening, we held our annual conference reception, which was attended by a number of key political speakers, including Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, Chancellor John Healey, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Community Parliamentary Group Chair Jessica Morden.

The speakers gave impassioned speeches about our union wins, including the passing of the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Act and the Employment Rights Act.

The Chancellor also told guests of the important relationship between the trade unions and Labour and said he was “proud to be a Community Union member”.

Following on from the reception, hundreds of delegates, including our own, piled into the conference hall on Sunday when the annual four-day event officially got underway.

Our staff members set up our Community Union stall in the exhibition centre and spoke to MPs, members, delegates and other visitors about the exciting new campaigns we’ve launched – including our campaign about women’s health in the workplace, Supporting Her Together.

New education campaign launched

Marcus Johns, Gareth Cox, Helen Osgood and Alasdair McDiarmid

On Sunday afternoon, we launched our new education campaign which builds on research we conducted alongside the Fabian Society looking into the severity of the school’s retention crisis.

Among the speakers at our event for ‘Retention, Retention, Retention’, were Community Assistant General Secretary Alasdair McDiarmid, Adam Jogee MP, the Fabian Society’s Marcus Johns and our own Community rep and teacher, Gareth Cox.

As part of our campaign, Community is urging UK governments to take steps to; reduce teacher workload; improve pupil behaviour; and ameliorate the burden of assessments and inspections.

Chancellor brings back Union Learning Fund

On Monday, Community warmly welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement that the Union Learning Fund would be reinstated in England after it was scrapped by the Tories in 2021.

The ULF, which was set up in 1998 to increase access to learning and training in workplaces, will be hugely beneficial in helping to address the workplace skills shortage in England.

In response, our AGS Alasdair McDiarmid said:

“The ULR supported thousands of our members across England with workplace education and skills training until it was scrapped by the Tories in 2021, and our members in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – where the scheme was upheld – have continued to benefit from it.

“The Chancellor’s decision today will open up opportunities, and we look forward to working with the Government to ensure as many of our members as possible can participate in the renewed programme. Again, this demonstrates that the Labour Government is firmly on the side of working people.”

Community AGS speaks at important fringe events

The week also saw our AGS attend a couple of fringe events that explored topics of relevance to the union.

This included a panel discussion with Google on “bridging the UK’s AI skills gap”, which was held by cross-party think tank the Social Market Foundation.

At a separate event, our AGS highlighted the key issues affecting the steel sector during a panel discussion with representatives from UK Steel and Heathrow Airport.

Heathrow signed the UK Steel Charter last year, making a commitment to use British-made steel in the construction of its third runway.

After the panel discussion, our Llanwern reps had the opportunity to engage with the steel minister, Blair McDougall MP, and tell him of the ongoing issues at the plant.

Elsewhere, our General Secretary, Roy Rickhuss, attended a number of important meetings during the Conference and spoke to MPs including Lucy Powell and Gen Kitchen at our Community Union stand.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham gives rousing speech

On Tuesday afternoon, the Prime Minister gave a compelling speech outlining the Government’s commitments to workers’ and the economy.

The stand-out announcement was that of a National Care Service that would give “peace of mind over care needs in later life”.

The promise of care without personal cost will greatly benefit society as a whole and should prove to be a turning point for our members in the adult social care sector, whose hard work has gone underappreciated for far too long.

Andy Burnham also said that changes would be made to Government procurement so we can “back British business”, something Community has long called for.

Thank you!

A big thank you to all of our delegates and to our staff for working on the stand and doing the important job of representing Community at Labour Party Conference 2026.