What a pleasure it was to be in the swing of things at the SNP, Lib Dem, Labour, and Conservative conferences - in that order - this autumn. With the backdrop of Labour’s first >100 days in power and a month before the first Labour budget in almost two decades, 2024’s Conference season couldn’t have been more important, offering the chance to get a sense of the key issues that matter to the membership of the main political parties.
For Electrical Safety First, this was an opportunity to remind parliamentarians of the critical role we play in reducing the number of electrical deaths, injuries, and accidents in the home. And it arrived at the perfect time, as the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill has just embarked on its journey through Parliament, starting in the House of Lords. The Bill is expected to enable key areas to be addressed through future secondary legislation, including the safety of products sold on online marketplaces and the regulation of high-risk items like e-bikes, e-scooters, and their batteries - two of our key campaign areas.
While this is a welcome first step, it’s key that this Bill provides the levers to adequately tackle modern-day safety issues, protect consumers, harness opportunities that deliver economic growth, and ensure a level playing field for responsible businesses operating online or on the high street. This is why Electrical Safety First hosted exhibition stands at all the main party conferences this autumn and met with stakeholders - old and new - to build support for our key asks ahead of the Bill’s second reading on 8 October.
Most (honest) public affairs folk will attest that spotting all the new MPs proved more challenging than in previous years, and rumour has it some [redacted] peers admitted even they couldn’t recognise all the newbies in their own party. However, we were able to spot a fair few by appealing to their competitive natures with our House of Hazards, challenging them to name as many electrical dangers as they could within 20 seconds.
We held a ‘Safety in Active Travel Summit’ at the Labour Party Conference to discuss the growing safety concerns surrounding e-bikes, e-scooters and their batteries and the subsequent reputational impact on the active travel industry. And importantly, how the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill must address these growing risks. Chaired by Haringey District Council’s Cllr Mike Hakata, the panel sparked a robust discussion, with broad support for stricter product safety regulations to ensure e-bikes and e-scooters remain a key part of the net zero movement.
Simon Lightwood MP, Minister for Local Transport, rightly labelled the growth of battery fires as a ‘public health issue’, while our Chief Executive Lesley Rudd told stark truths about the continued property damage, injuries, and deaths we will see without third-party certification, safer disposal practices, and the introduction of a government standard for conversion kits and chargers.
Offering a different perspective were industry experts Alice Pleasant from Lime, and Julian Scriven from Brompton Bike Hire, who warned of the reputational damage bad operators and substandard products are causing to active travel’s role in the UK’s journey to net zero.
Other Conference highlights include attending an insightful fringe event on urban transport at Conservative Conference, conversations in Brighton with peers such as Lord Fox, who is helping to steer the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill through the Lords on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, and at SNP in Edinburgh where we discussed our proposals with Scottish Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop MSP.
This Conference season was a first for some of our growing public affairs team, highlighting our commitment to delivering political campaigns that benefit every UK resident. Our policy and research officer, Dylan, enjoyed discussing our policy asks with politicians – and perhaps even more so the free haircut that he, and our policy and public affairs advisor, Henry, got from an exhibitor supporting this year’s Movember campaign!
All in all, this year was full-on, and many of us ended the month with only a faint memory of what a vegetable looks like, fatigue, and, for Labour Conference-goers, water-logged shoes. But it was worth every moment, and we can’t wait to do it all again next year.
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