Brexit will be the subject of vehement debate, as will giving members greater power over how party is run

Jeremy Corbyn will address a rally at Pier Head in Liverpool on Saturday to mark the formal start of Labour’s annual conference. The official slogan is “Rebuilding Britain, for the many, not the few” – but there will be other issues on delegates’ minds too.

Brexit

Last year, with no one keen to puncture the unity that prevailed during the general election campaign, the leadership sidestepped a vote on Brexit on the conference floor.

But with fewer than 200 days to go until Britain leaves the EU, and Theresa May in a standoff with her EU27 counterparts, it will be the subject of vehement debate, with many constituency Labour parties pressing for a “people’s vote” on the final deal to be made formal Labour policy.

Campaigners have produced a Together Against Brexit app, which will help delegates connect with likeminded members in Liverpool from different generations – and advise them on how and when to use their votes most effectively.

Brexit is the first policy issue where Corbyn, a longtime advocate of handing greater power to Labour members, has clashed with the beliefs of many of those who joined the party to support him.

The frontbench is likely to offer a compromise statement, which would not rule out a people’s vote but makes clear Labour would only support it if the party cannot secure a general election.

If Labour is serious about power it must back a people’s vote on Brexit | Polly Toynbee Read more

Party democracy

Giving members greater power over how the Labour party is run has long been a central part of Corbyn’s political creed, and conference is due to consider a raft of rule changes, overhauling everything from how his successor will be chosen, to how local party meetings can be conducted.

An all-day meeting of Labour’s ruling national executive committee agreed some changes, which will now be put to conference, but other contentious issues, including the leadership rules, have been saved up for another NEC on Saturday evening.

Some of the changes pit the grassroots group Momentum, founded to back Corbyn’s leadership, against the trade unions, which are also broadly supportive of his project.

Momentum is lobbying hard against last-minute plans to restore a role for the unions in selecting Labour’s next leader – and does not want to see MPs given a veto either.

The campaign group is also urging the party to adopt open selection for MPs, instead of the current “trigger ballot” system, under which it is relatively difficult to dislodge a sitting candidate.

These proposals are likely to be fiercely contested: veteran NEC member Ann Black said in her report of last week’s meeting: “But underlying the whole open/mandatory reselection argument is the fact that a significant number of members hate Labour MPs, individually and collectively, especially for trying to get rid of Jeremy in 2016, and would be happy to purge the lot of them.”

Government in waiting

Aside from wrangling over internal structures, Labour is keen to present itself as a government in waiting, particularly since May’s fragile authority makes the prospect of an early election look more plausible than it did 12 months ago.

The “Rebuilding Britain, for the many, not the few” strapline is meant to encompass everything from tackling inequality to boosting infrastructure investment – and to allow Labour to rekindle a “Build it in Britain” campaign that it had hoped to focus upon in the summer before the antisemitism row blew it off course.

Expect a rash of policy announcements from frontbenchers, on issues from schools to industrial policy, in a bid to show that Corbyn’s team are serious figures, with practical ideas about how they would run Britain better – and that last year’s manifesto is not set in stone.

Antisemitism

Despite Corbyn’s summer speaking tour of Labour marginals, the headlines were dominated by a bitter internecine wrangle over antisemitism.

After the NEC finally adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, with all its attendant examples, last month, the leadership will hope the issue can be parked.

The general secretary, Jennie Formby, has announced a series of changes, agreed at the NEC, aimed at speeding up and streamlining the way complaints are handled, in the hope that the backlog of claims against members can be cleared.

But the controversy has cast a long shadow, contributing to the resignation from Labour of longtime MP Frank Field, and prompting former prime minister Gordon Brown to make a speech calling it a stain that touched the “soul of the Labour party”.

The issue is likely to feature prominently in the chatter around the conference venue. With strong feelings on both sides among both grassroots members and MPs, and several events on the theme, including a reading group at The World Transformed, it has the potential to erupt again.

Talent-spotting

Conference can be an opportunity for previously little-known MPs – or less prominent shadow cabinet members – to shine. Whichever set of rules for choosing Corbyn’s successor is passed, Labour members are likely to retain the ultimate say over who their next leader will be.

So a series of well-judged interventions at fringe events, a nicely turned speech and a few warm words at a go-to party can be incredibly helpful in building up a reputation among the people who really matter.

A misstep, as when rising star Clive Lewis was blindsided by last minute changes to his conference speech two years ago, can quickly become the talk of the bars.

Emily Thornberry, Angela Rayner and Rebecca Long-Bailey will all be watched closely, as candidates who could potentially win the imprimatur of team Corbyn, whenever the man himself decides to spend more time with his allotment.

Keir Starmer, the ambitious shadow Brexit secretary, will also be addressing a slew of meetings and John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor who insists he has no interest in succeeding his old pal, will be everywhere.

But a string of erstwhile high-flyers, whose views are out of tune with Corbyn’s political project (and thus with many of Labour’s now half-a-million members), will be contenting themselves with a few fringe events. Some revealed they would not attend at all.