The priorities ballot is now open for delegates to Labour Party Women’s Conference to vote for the topics they want to debate and discuss motions on during the weekend (delegates should have received an email). There will be four topics prioritised by CLPs and four by affiliates. There are many important topics to choose from:

The Campaign for Labour Party Democracy is calling on CLP delegates to prioritise the following topics:

• Women refugees
• Social Care
• Food poverty
• Women and healthcare and the NHS

We believe these are the topics that will provide the best opportunity for women to debate and agree the important policies Labour needs.

There will also be four very important topics agreed for support by the trade unions – these DO NOT need votes from CLPs to reach the conference agenda, so any votes cast by CLP delegates to prioritise these topics would be wasted.

• Women’s equality after covid
• Women and the Economy
• Violence Against Women and Girls
• Rights of Women and Pregnancy Loss

CLP motions on these topics will be included in the composites if delegates attend the compositing meetings and at the conference itself, CLP and trade union delegates will be able to request to speak on any of the eight topics and motions selected.

A full list of motions and topics is at: https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Motions-WCAC-Final.pdf

Multiple CLPs have submitted motions noting the dire situation for women refugees in particular pregnant women. They note that the Nationality and Borders Bill will worsen the situation and undermine the 1951 Refugee Convention. This is an urgent opportunity for Women’s Conference to act in the interests of the most marginalised women.

There are also lots of motions – appropriately after the last two years, and the existential threat to the NHS we now face – covering healthcare noting both the large number of women as both workers and users of the NHS. Motions also note with distress the comments of the Shadow Health Secretary, that Labour would use private providers if in government, and calls on Labour to unambiguously reject NHS privatisation.

A wide range of motions note the crisis in Social Care and the particular impact on women as the majority of the workforce and particularly on older and disabled women as recipients of care. While recognising there are differences across England, Scotland and Wales, after last year’s interference in the compositing process, CLPD would like to support delegates calling for a universal, comprehensive, publicly provided social care service free at the point of use.

Finally CLPD is calling for motions on Food Poverty to be prioritised. This is a hugely important campaign particularly in the context of the increasing cost of living and the disproportionate impact on women. Conference should have the opportunity to reaffirm in the interests of women the support passed at Annual Conference 2021 for the Right to Food campaign, championed by Ian Byrne MP amongst others.

These motions build on those passed at the 2021 Annual Women’s Conference and the popular policies of the 2017 and 2019 manifestos, maintaining Jeremy Corbyn’s policy legacy, which we cannot afford to let slip away. We urge delegates to support them to add to the important topics prioritised by the trade unions. Voting alongside other left sisters will ensure that the agenda includes the best possible selection of topics to set the policy agenda we need.