Motions going forward to this month’s party conference include a four-day week and the abolition of private schools

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Labour activists are planning to put forward the most radical set of ideas ever proposed at party conference later this month as they try to shape the manifesto for an expected snap election.

A four-day week, abolishing private schools and ambitious climate change targets are among the policy ideas campaigners hope will be adopted by the party when thousands of delegates meet in Brighton from 21 September.

Young party members believe Corbyn has allowed radical ideas to flourish, beyond traditional areas preoccupying the left such as defending the NHS and welfare state.

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The leftwing grassroots group Momentum has announced it is backing a zero carbon target by 2030 as part of a Green New Deal agenda, which has been passed by around 90 constituency Labour parties so far and has backing from the Communication Workers Union.

If passed the target will be Labour’s most progressive green policy and among the most radical of any European political party. In the UK other political parties commit to net-zero by 2050.

A Momentum source said: “With members putting forward exciting, radical policy like the Green New Deal just before an election, they’re essentially writing the next manifesto.

“It’s a real chance for members to feed into policy, and it could well result in the most most ambitious, radical manifesto ever put forward by Labour.”

The conference is taking place the day after the youth climate strike and alongside a week of action by Extinction Rebellion, with activists pushing for the climate emergency to top the agenda on the conference floor.

There was some relief among activists that the party conference would run to its full five days and had not been cut short because of an immediate election. Some policies have been in development for nearly a year.

Banning private schools has support from six constituency parties so far and the backing of senior party figures, and is expected to be another key policy debated and voted on in Brighton.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell and former Labour leader Ed Miliband are both supporting the Labour Against Private Schools campaign group, which is running the AbolishEton hashtag on social media.

The motion due to be brought to conference calls for the integration of state and private schools and the end of endowments of private schools.

Teacher and campaigner Holly Rigby, said: “The thing about Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party is it expanded what is possible again for the left.

“For a long time we were just defending the limited rights of the welfare state, but then when Corbyn got elected people started think about what can we could do with the left in power.

“This is why you’re seeing loads of exciting political ideas like a four-day week and abolishing private schools becoming popular. It feels like there’s no limit with how radical people want to go with it.”

Play Video 7:03 Should we abolish private schools? – video

Constituency Labour parties are allowed to back one motion at conference and the cut off date to list support is 12 September.

Other motions include ending detention centres and setting up the “inclusive ownership fund” which was floated by McDonnell last year.

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A source said: “This is probably Labour’s most radical policy to date. This is the wholesale transfer of assets of a large company to the worker.”

The four-day week with no loss of pay is also being backed by Momentum. British workers currently have the longest hours of any European country.

If delegates pass motions they will be taken to the Clause V meeting of the National Executive Committee, shadow cabinet and trade unions where a manifesto is hammered out.