Thread by @ifgevents

Next up at our #IfGGovt23 conference: a keynote speech from Lisa Nandy MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities.

After her speech, Lisa Nandy will be in conversation with IfG Deputy Director @Emma_Norris

@Emma_Norris We'll be live-tweeting throughout with the hashtag #IfGGovt23 and those following along remotely can ask questions via our Slido link: app.sli.do/event/9KY5VbbH…

Emma Norris welcomes everybody to the next event, thanks Grant Thornton for their support, and introduces @lisanandy.

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Nandy opens her speech by saying that "we are failing" and lots of things need reform, especially the political system. She says housing is a basic human right but we are seeing rising rents and mortgage costs, blocking many from housing.

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Nandy outlines a series failures for the government and says every challenge comes back to "writing off the talents of people in most parts of Britain". She credits the Conservatives with recognising parts of the challenge, but says they have abandoned it

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She says that Labour will "succeed where various governments have failed" by ending centralisation - something she describes as being "at the heart of whether this country has a future or not"

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Nandy is critical of competitive bidding for local authority funding, describing it as a "hunger games-style contest"

Lisa Nandy says the centre-piece of Labour's Take Back Control bill will put the government under a legal obligation to devolve powers or set out a clear explanation why it does not believe it is suitable

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She says that rebuilding the national economy will be driven by local growth and that a Labour government will "match the ambition that is still found in every community in the country"

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Nandy says that the levelling up white paper only has "vague" missions for success, which lack definition, ambition, or clarity. She says "if you cannot deliver it, do not write it down".

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She announces that Labour will introduce measures to assess whether they are achieving strong local economies and communities, backed by an advisory council to address progress.

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She outlines resilience, connectivity, sustainability, and well-being as key aspects of her vision for communities across Britain and will measure success on these grounds.

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Nandy says Labour will go "wide and deep" on devolution - spreading power beyond the cities she says the Conservatives have prioritised. She says "Britain is almost unique trying to power a modern economy with a handful of people in a handful of sectors"

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Nandy rounds up by saying "the time for excuses has long passed, there is no alternative, and failure is not an option"

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We now move onto questions from Emma Norris and the audience. Emma asks if and how Labour's headline objectives for levelling up differ from the Conservatives

Nandy says that the Tories campaigned well on levelling up but they've failed to translate that into action. She says the UK is too London-centric and it is hurting the country. She says her vision is for strong local economies with thriving local communities

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Nandy says she is comfortable with "messiness" in governance arrangements - people need to consent ultimately - but says the government will be required to have devolved powers on offer to all, not just a select few local authorities.

Emma Norris says Labour's plans are about long-term change. She asks Nandy how Labour will go about building long-term support to ensure this long-lasting change. Would she sign up to a cross-party agreement with Michael Gove?

Nandy says that, in local government, politicians have to work with whoever it takes to get change. She says this needs to be the UK Government's approach - respecting democracy and working with whatever politicians the people choose to lead them

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Emma Norris asks whether voting reform would be off the table for Labour to reform the centre of our political system. Nandy says Starmer has put two tests in for policies: how will they pay for it and can it be achieved in the first term of a Labour government

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She says that these tests mean it, like other policies, is not off the table but does not make any commitment to Labour adopting voting reform as a policy for the 2024 election

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We now move onto audience questions. Nandy is asked about her views on the housing market, if the UK Government was wrong to block the Scottish Gender Recognition Bill, and locally-raised funding for local government

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On housing, Nandy says "everything about our housing market is currently broken" and says Labour want to increase homeownership, restore social housing to the second largest type of tenure, and a higher quality private rented sector.

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On Section 35, Nandy says it is "slightly outwith my brief" but it comes from the SNP and the Tories "engineering a row" because it is in their political interests. She says Labour will work respectfully with governments of other political persuasions

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On local revenue, Nandy says her and Rachel Reeves do not plan to increase the tax burden on ordinary families, but points to innovative proposals on voluntary tourist taxes in some city regions. She says the current system does not serve anybody well.

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We move to another round of questions. Nandy is asked about local decisions central government disagrees with (eg. the Cumbria coal mine), Labour plans for council tax and business rates, and relocating Parliament outside London

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On local decisions, Nandy says central government has to get comfortable with decisions it disagrees with. She says the Cumbrian coal mine was "the only game in town" and government should have been able to give them a true choice between coal and nuclear.

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On council tax and business rates, Nandy says Labour are looking at the funding formula for it at the moment. She says the problem with Gove's approach is it harms communities with a lower tax base if local authorities are expected to increase council tax

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On relocating Parliament, Nandy says it is time to start modernising parliament, including moving into a modern office building "if I had my way".

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Onto another round of questions. Nandy is asked about limitations on the Brown review, combining levelling up strategy with industrial strategy, and cross-departmental working more generally

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Nandy says there are various ways to get things done in government, but the most successful approaches have the Prime Minister and the Chancellor bought into the approach. She points to speeches by Starmer and Reeves to show levelling up is a priority for Labour

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On the Brown Review, Nandy says there was no row in Labour about devolution; rather they discussed how devolution can work in four different nations of the UK. She says in Scotland and Wales there are big differences and a need for local devolution there too

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Emma Norris asks an online question from Leighton Park School on the biggest obstacle she foresees. Nandy says the biggest challenge will be taking on those for whom the current system works well - "making it work for most of us, not just a handful of us"

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And that rounds up Lisa Nandy's keynote speech and in conversation event!

We will be back at 4pm with a closely related panel event on devolution and tackling regional inequality.