Conference Season Wrap-Up
BRC had a presence at both Conservative and Labour Party Conferences this year, emphasizing retail's priorities ahead of the next general election.
At Labour’s conference we saw some excellent tangible results, with the Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announcing Labour committing to a standalone offence for violence against shop workers. It’s been a long time coming, with work across our membership and with other organisations, so it was a welcome development in our campaign to protect retail colleagues.
BRC Chief Exec Helen Dickinson OBE was inviting to sit front row for Rachel Reeves speech, where we heard more on business rates and planning. It’s been good to see Labour engaging with businesses and listening to issues the retail industry is facing.
It was also fantastic to see so many members across both conferences. Helen spoke on KFC’s panel on Apprenticeship Levy reform, and we were able to connect with lots of members on their stands. It’s obviously a crucial couple of weeks in our government engagement, but now is the time to keep pushing and make sure retail’s voice is heard as we lead into the election campaign.