Labour’s conference: what’s in it for the East?

The overarching, official theme of this year’s Labour Party Conference was “Hope Again”. And there was no shortage of bold policy announcements designed to achieve this. So how should we read this through an East of England lens?

Andy Burnham’s programme promises greater public control over essential services and more power for places. For the East, that direction deserves a welcome. Its success will depend on whether Government can bring together policies that have too often been designed and delivered separately.

Start with the infrastructure. The proposed Great British Grid, a publicly owned body within Great British Energy, is intended to speed up business connections and help bring down energy costs. For the East’s offshore wind economy, this could strengthen the link between generating clean power and securing jobs, investment and industrial activity onshore.

That opportunity should reach beyond the coast. Reliable electricity capacity matters to laboratories, manufacturers, food processors and new housing. The regional priority should be a clear programme connecting energy projects with business needs, local supply chains and technical training. Communities hosting infrastructure must also be able to see the benefits in their own places.

Water presents an equally important test. Labour’s promise to remove the legal barrier to public ownership of water companies and give mayors stronger powers to hold them accountable responds to understandable public frustration. But the East needs those powers to produce an investment programme that secures supply, improves river health and supports development.

Changing ownership rules alone will not fill a reservoir. The region should press for coordinated action on leakage, winter water storage, agricultural reservoirs and efficient use, alongside environmental protection. Housing and economic plans need to be developed with water availability firmly in view. Greater local influence will be valuable if it helps resolve these competing demands before they become barriers to investment.

The new Your First Home scheme brings that connection into sharp focus. Expected to offer eligible first-time buyers a 2.5% deposit backed by a 20% government equity loan, it could help people who can afford mortgage repayments but struggle to save while renting. Household income limits and local property price caps are still to be confirmed at the Budget.

Its design will matter in places such as Cambridge, Chelmsford and St Albans. Support that fits one housing market may be inadequate in another. And where building is constrained, additional purchasing power risks feeding prices rather than creating enough homes. Deposit assistance should therefore sit alongside infrastructure investment and affordable housing delivery. Stronger council powers over empty homes and protections for the social housing stock could complement that approach.

The same need for coordination applies to care. Burnham’s proposed National Care Service would provide free personal care for older people in phases during the next Parliament, financed through changes to the pension triple lock from April 2030. Care-home accommodation would remain chargeable, with means-tested council support.

This could bring meaningful protection to households in the East’s ageing communities. Yet a future entitlement needs a functioning service behind it. Norfolk’s needs assessment projects that residents aged 65 and over will account for 28% of its population by 2032. Across the Eastern region, Skills for Care recorded around 13,000 vacancies in 2024/25.

The conference commitment to a collective pension scheme for care workers could help retention, alongside fair pay and clearer careers. But councils and providers need the funding to sustain services now. National care funding must recognise the additional travel and staffing costs of rural delivery. Local partners also need room to integrate care with community health, suitable housing and support for unpaid carers.

Devolution offers a way to connect this agenda. The summer commitment to give mayors a share of income tax and business rates predates conference, but provides an important foundation for its ambitions. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough should use that opening to make the case for investment across its economy. Places still moving towards strategic authorities need a credible route to comparable powers and resources.

Retaining more local revenue could strengthen incentives to invest. It will also require safeguards: areas with weaker tax bases or greater care needs cannot be left dependent on what they can raise themselves. Local freedom and national redistribution must develop together.

There is a smaller, immediate connection to the region’s market towns and visitor economy. The previously announced 20% business rates reduction for eligible pubs, clubs and live music venues from April 2027 could help sustain valued community businesses. It should be understood as targeted relief, rather than support for every hospitality firm.

The implications for the East of England will depend on how these proposals are funded and implemented, and whether they reflect the region’s varied needs. Water and energy capacity, housing affordability and access to care remain pressing concerns across its communities. As further details emerge, the test will be whether the measures improve services, remove barriers to investment and give local leaders the resources to respond effectively.