We'll be updating this article with our take following each party conference, so bookmark this page for the CBI view.
Each autumn, the CBI is at the heart of the party conference season - hosting the CBI Business Reception, engaging ministers and spokespeople, and representing our members' insights and calls in the media. Above all, we're on the ground tracking the political debate that will shape policy in the months ahead.
Follow this page for our presence across all five conferences and our read on what they meant for business.
You can also register for our exclusive Spotlight webinar on party conferences and what they mean for business. We'll share our insider insights and reflections from our time on the ground, and what they mean for CBI members ahead of the Autumn Budget.
What was announced and what does it mean for business?
Reform UK Party Conference
Birmingham, 3–5 September 2026
Reform UK's conference was themed around the party taking 'the next step'. The CBI attended the party's first-ever Business Day, engaging with senior figures and feeding in the cross-economy business perspective on their emerging policy proposals.
Reform UK arrived at conference seeking to demonstrate that it is moving from insurgent movement to credible government-in-waiting, with its first 100 days and economic plans front and centre including announcements on income tax thresholds, university funding, and household energy bills. However, another financial controversy dominated their agenda, exposing the tension between its ambitions to project readiness to govern - and its perception as a 'bucaneering' 'start-up' protest movement. Nevertheless, its first Business Day provided useful insight into a developing economic offer, with proposals spanning business rates, planning, energy costs, skills and taxation, alongside a clear effort from the party's Treasury spokesperson to build credibility with business and financial markets.
The CBI was an active presence throughout Business Day, bringing members’ expertise and practical scrutiny to discussions with senior Reform figures and helping to test the detail behind their emerging policy offer in roundtables with CBI members.
Our engagement gives us an important window into where Reform UK could create opportunities and risks for business, as well as where significant questions remain about its readiness to govern.
Liberal Democrat Party Conference
Brighton, 19-22 September 2026
The Liberal Democrats put growth and business firmly at the centre of their conference, with Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper launching a new Plan to Get Britain Growing Again. Proposals ranged from a government ‘one-stop shop’ for business and simpler regulation and tax administration, to lower energy costs, support for scaling firms and a new Growth and Defence Partnership with the EU – reflecting significant areas of alignment with CBI priorities.
CBI Chief Executive Rain Newton-Smith joined Daisy Cooper In Discussion as part of Business Day, putting members’ priorities directly to her as the party continues to develop their economic offer. This builds on a roundtable held with CBI members and Liberal Democrat Investment and Trade Spokesperson Joshua Reynolds MP earlier this year on their Clearing the Way programme. The conference showed a party making an increasingly explicit pitch to be pro-enterprise and fiscally credible – and we’ll explore what that means for business in our forthcoming webinar.
Labour Party Conference
- Liverpool, 27–30 September 2026
- The first conference season of the Burnham premiership, Labour in Liverpool will set the government's political tone ahead of the Autumn Budget. Expect debate to centre on the devolved and regional agenda; the energy transition; and Burnham's plans for greater public control.
- The CBI will have a full delegation on the ground and running an active programme of media and stakeholder engagements, including attendance at Business Day. We will also hosting the CBI Business Reception in partnership with HSBC and National Grid (invite-only).
- Come back after conference for the CBI's full read on what we heard, what it means for business, and what comes next.
Green Party Conference
- Brighton, 2–4 October 2026
- The Green Party continues to develop its economic policy offer, with a particular focus on industrial transition, public ownership and energy investment.
- The CBI will be attending to continue learning about the party's policy direction and ensure the business voice is represented.
- Come back after conference for the CBI's full read on what we heard, what it means for business, and what comes next.
Conservative Party Conference
- Birmingham, 4–7 October 2026
- The Conservatives gather in Birmingham as they continue to rebuild their economic and business-facing policy offer in opposition.
- The CBI will have a full delegation on the ground and running an active programme of media and stakeholder engagements, including attendance at Business Day.
- We will also hosting the CBI Business Reception in partnership with HSBC and National Grid (invite-only).
- Come back after conference for the CBI's full read on what we heard, what it means for business, and what comes next.
