Briefing | Championing better working lives and increasing productivity: CIPD at the 2025 party conferences

At the Conservative Party conference

Head of Policy and Practice Ben Willmott represented the CIPD at the Conservative Party conference, joining an event with the Work Foundation and several MPs to discuss how to get more people into work and training.

We hosted a lively panel on artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, chaired by Rt Hon Dame Maria Miller, featuring Julia Lopez MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Science and Technology, Anthony Impey MBE FCGI, John Park from Accenture, and Liz Williams MBE from FutureDotNow. At the joint event with FutureDotNow, Willmott highlighted how employers can better grasp the opportunities offered by AI and the critical role of people-focused adoption strategies in enabling that transformation. 

The discussion centred on:

• the business case for understanding the people factors of AI adoption and the need for improved digital skills
• insights from new CIPD research on how AI is (and isn’t yet) reshaping work
• the need for collaboration between employers, policy-makers and educators.

With a wave of new policy announcements at this year’s conference, the CIPD ensured that the HR profession’s voice remained central to the conversation about how technology can boost productivity, provided employers understand the people factors needed for effective adoption.

At the Labour Party conference

At the Labour Party Conference, CIPD Chief Executive Peter Cheese joined business and trade union leaders to discuss the major changes ahead for employment and skills policy.

Cheese spoke with Kate Dearden MP, the newly appointed Employment Rights Minister, to explore the next steps for the Employment Rights Bill — the centrepiece of Labour’s first-year legislative programme and where people professionals will be on the frontline of a generational shift in employment law.

In a series of panel discussions, Cheese emphasised the importance of AI readiness — calling for skills policy and employer practice that help organisations harness technology responsibly, ensuring that innovation supports performance and productivity.

The CIPD’s message throughout was clear: the people professional is central to the future of the workplace and investment in skills – understanding new employment rights and the people factors of AI adoption are all vital areas where HR leaders are boosting performance and productivity across the UK economy.

At the Liberal Democrat conference

On 22 September, Policy and Practice Manager Claire McCartney represented the CIPD at the Liberal Democrat Business Day in Bournemouth.

The day began with a business panel moderated by former BBC journalist Carolyn Quinn and featuring Daisy Cooper MP, Deputy Leader and Treasury Spokesperson, alongside business experts. Discussions centred on stimulating growth and productivity, investing in skills, supporting SMEs, and driving green energy innovation, with a shared message about the value of testing policy ideas with business to maximise real-world impact.

We later joined roundtables hosted by Lord Fox, Business and Trade Spokesperson in the House of Lords, covering topics from energy, construction, and manufacturing to technology, AI, and entrepreneurship. The day concluded with a keynote from Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP and a reception with Sir Ed Davey MP.

At the TUC Congress

The CIPD also took part in this year’s TUC Congress, joining Prospect Union to discuss  the implementation of the Employment Rights Bill — the government’s core piece of first-year legislation.

The panel explored how employers, trade unions, and government can work together to improve employment levels, employment relations, and partnership working.

Peter Cheese highlighted the challenges facing employers, particularly around reforms to unfair dismissal, and underlined the need to upskill HR professionals, employers, and union representatives in what good employment relations look like under the new framework.

The discussion, chaired by Delphine Strauss of the Financial Times, brought together General Secretary of Prospect Mike Clancy, Alison McGovern MP and General Secretary of USDAW Joanne Thomas — all emphasising the importance of collaboration and shared understanding as the bill moves from legislation to implementation.

At the SNP conference

CIPD Senior Public Policy Adviser (UK Nations) Marek Zemanik joined the SNP in Aberdeen for its 91^st Annual Conference. With opinion polls showing Scottish Labour in a distant second, the SNP are looking at entering its third decade in power over the next Holyrood term. 

The next Scottish Parliament election campaign is now in full swing. While there were interesting policy conversations across some of the fringe events, it is the Constitution that took centre stage again. A bolder, more confident First Minister is looking at the rise of Reform and an unpopular Labour Government as the best chance in over a decade to shift the dial on independence. In that context, the government’s policy record, and its plans for a fifth term in office, will likely only play a supporting role in its 2026 campaign.  

Shifting polls for the political parties

With the rise of Reform in the polls, new leadership for the Green Party, and the Welsh Government looking set for change next year, UK politics is becoming increasingly fragmented. At its conference, Reform focused on immigration, with a proposal for people with indefinite leave to remain to instead be required to regularly renew their visa – a policy which could impact employers’ ability to hire and retain staff if adopted.

While the next UK-wide election is still several years away, many of the other parties focused their attacks on Reform and its policies during the conference season. The polls increasingly show Reform ahead of what have traditionally been the main UK parties, with Reform currently set to be in a race with Plaid Cymru to be the largest party after next year’s Welsh Senedd elections.

For the CIPD, this will mean engaging with key government agendas, while looking to ensure our messages and key policy priorities continue to reach across the political spectrum as the political landscape shifts and changes.

Bringing the people profession to the public policy table

Across all parties and the trade unions, this year’s conferences highlighted the need for the CIPD to ensure the voice of the people profession is heard to help boost skills and productivity and underscore the need to focus on policies that can improve work and working lives in an era of rapid technological change.

By working with politicians, unions, and business leaders, the CIPD continues to represent the HR and people profession - bridging evidence, practice and policy to help build a future of work that drives improved performance and productivity across our economy.