Labour Party Conference 2026 · Liverpool
The voice of small business at the heart of conference
SME4Labour returns to Labour Party Conference with our biggest programme yet — a full day of fringes at the SME4Labour Pod, ACC Liverpool, plus exclusive lunches across the week, bringing together ministers, MPs, business leaders, trade unions and policymakers.
Our 2026 programme
Fringe events & lunches
Join us for a packed programme of panel discussions, receptions and exclusive lunches on the issues that matter to the UK’s 5.5 million small and medium-sized businesses.
Monday 28th September
SME4Labour Pod, ACC Liverpool
08:30 – 09:30
Energising Enterprise E.ON Business Energy Breakfast
SME4Labour in partnership with E.ON UK
Chair: Leigh Ingham MP
- Martin McCluskey MP
- Anthony Ainsworth (Chief Operating Officer, npower Business Solutions)
- Dave Robertson MP
SME4Labour Pod, ACC Liverpool
09:45 – 10:45
Britain's High Streets: How Do We Save Our Town Centres?
SME4Labour in partnership with Deliveroo
Chair: Lee Baron MP
- Blair McDougall MP (Invited)
- Kate Dearden MP (Invited)
- Gareth Thomas MP (Invited)
- Beth Miller, Head of Public Affairs, UK&IE (Deliveroo)
- Jayne Kirkham MP
- Dan Tomlinson MP
- Mayor Forhad Hussain
SME4Labour Pod, ACC Liverpool
11:00 – 11:45
Illegal Trade: Protecting High Streets, Retailers and Consumers
SME4Labour
Chair: To be Announced
- Peter Nixon, MD
- Kate Dearden MP (Invited)
- Gill Furniss MP (Invited)
- Liam Byrne MP (Invited)
- Lord Michael Bichard (Invited) (Chair of the National Trading Standards Institute)
- Florence Eshalomi MP (Invited)
- Tony Vaughan MP
- Chris Evans MP
- Elsie Blundell MP
SME4Labour Pod, ACC Liverpool
12:00 – 12:45
Connecting the UK to International Markets: Road Haulage, Trade and Growth
SME4Labour in partnership with Road Haulage Association
Chair: Tony Vaughan MP
- Richard Smith, MD (Road Haulage Association)
- Rachel Taylor MP
- Chris Bryant MP (Invited)
- Blair McDougall MP (Invited)
- Lee Baron MP (Invited)
White Tiger Restaurant
12:00 – 14:00
Annual SME4Labour Conference Lunch
SME4Labour
Chair: Kate Osborne MP
- David Burton-Sampson MP (Invited)
- Mayor Claire Ward (Invited)
- Mayor Tracy Brabin (Invited)
- Blair McDougall MP
SME4Labour Pod, ACC Liverpool
13:00 – 13:45
Britain's Food Security: From Farm to Fork in an Uncertain World
SME4Labour
Chair: To be Announced
- Jayne Kirkham MP
- Dave Robertson MP
- Sue Pritchard (FFCC)
- Chris Hinchliff MP
SME4Labour Pod, ACC Liverpool
14:00 – 14:45
Building the Future: Housing Delivery and Planning Reform
SME4Labour
Chair: Margaret Mullane MP
- Florence Eshalomi MP (Invited)
- Steve Reed MP (Invited)
- Fabian Hamilton MP
- Mayor Forhad Hussain
- Amit Singh
- Patrick English (YouGov)
- Chris Hinchliff MP
SME4Labour Pod, ACC Liverpool
15:00 – 15:45
The New Industrial Strategy: How Do We Deliver Growth for the Real Economy?
SME4Labour in partnership with Allica Bank
Chair: Andy MacNae MP
- Conrad Ford (Chief Product and Strategy Officer)
- Lucy Rigby MP (Invited)
- Miatta Fahnbulleh MP (Invited)
- Liam Byrne MP (Invited)
- Perran Moon MP (Invited)
- Chris Curtis MP
- Sonia Kumar MP
White Tiger Restaurant
15:00 – 16:00
Building the New Syria: The Kurdish Role in an Inclusive Future
SME4Labour in Partnership with Kurdish Progress and Kurds for Labour
Chair: Peter Lamb MP
- Hassan Mohammad Ali (Syrian Democratic Council)
- Feryal Clark MP
- Bambos Charalambous MP (Invited)
- Catherine West MP (Invited)
- Alex Barros-Curtis MP
SME4Labour Pod, ACC Liverpool
16:00 – 17:00
Resetting UK Energy Policy: Reducing Import Reliance, Protecting British Jobs and Powering Economic Growth
SME4Labour
Chair: To be Announced
- Gary Smith, GMB General Secretary
- Amjad Bseisu, Enquest Energy CEO
- Dale Vince, Ecotricity
- Kathryn Porter, Watt-Logic
White Tiger Restaurant
16:00 – 17:00
A New Chapter for Turkey? Peace, Democracy and the Kurdish Question
SME4Labour in Partnership with Ceftus
Chair: Sarbaz Barzinji
- Afzal Khan MP (Invited)
- Nesil Caliskan MP (Invited)
- Peray Ahmet
SME4Labour Pod, ACC Liverpool
17:00 – 17:45
AI for Public Good: Harnessing Technology for Better Public Services
SME4Labour
Chair: Feryal Clark MP
- Kanishka Narayan MP (Invited)
- Lee Baron MP (Invited)
- Vicki Sellick, CEO of Good Things Foundation
- Anneliese Dodds MP
- Dave Robertson MP
- David Pinto-Duschinsky MP
- Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
SME4Labour Pod, ACC Liverpool
18:00 – 18:45
On The Cusp of a cure for Glioblastoma Brain Tumours
SME4Labour in Partnership with Margaret's Legacy Campaign
Chair: Baroness June Sarpong MBE (Invited)
- The Rt Hon Wes Streeting (Invited) ( former Sec of State for Health)
- Dr Paul Mulholland (Invited) (Leading Medical Oncologist UCLH)
- Dr Scott Arthur MP (Author of The Rare Cancer Act 2026))
- Siobhain McDonagh MP (Invited) (Chair All Party Group on Brain Tumours)
- Chris Evans MP
SME4Labour Pod, ACC Liverpool
19:00 – 21:00
SME4Labour Conference Reception: Celebrating Small Business at the Heart of Labour
SME4Labour
Chair: Cllr Ibrahim Dogus
- Amanda Martin MP
- John Grady MP (Invited)
- Steve Rotherham, Mayor of Liverpool (Invited)
- Jonathan Reynolds MP (Invited)
- Zubir Ahmed MP
- Louise Haigh MP (Invited)
- Lucy Powell MP (Invited)
- Angela Rayner MP (Invited)
- Blair McDougall MP (Invited)
- Hamish Falconer MP (Invited)
- Stephen Kinnock MP (Invited)
Tuesday 29th September
White Tiger Restaurant
12:00 – 14:00
Labour Home & Labour Friends Groups Lunch
SME4Labour in partnership with LabourHome
Chair: Cllr Shahid Nadeem
- Virendra Sharma
- Rupa Huq MP (Invited)
- Ruth Cadbury MP (Invited)
- Seema Malhotra MP (Invited)
- Sarbaz Barzinji (Invited)