The Labour party’s Annual Conference returns to Liverpool this Sunday 27 September. Under new leadership, and enjoying stronger public favour, Labour enters this year’s conference with fresh political momentum. Andy Burnham will use his first conference as Prime Minister to articulate his priorities and outline the direction of his premiership on key issues. PLP will be following his speech alongside those of key ministers; we hope to hear a renewed commitment to protecting human rights and upholding the rule of law. Two key issues for PLP that we expect to feature prominently are immigration and AI. The controversial Immigration and Asylum Bill is now at committee stage in the House of Commons where it is under line by line review. Under current proposals, the legislation would undermine judicial independence and standards, further weakening human rights protections and failing to address one of the main drivers of delays and backlogs in the asylum system: poor quality decision making by the Home Office. PLP is calling for an asylum system that keeps people safe from persecution and serious harm and treats everyone with dignity and humanity. Accountability and regulation of the use of AI has also attracted significant political and media attention in recent weeks following the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ report on Human Rights and the Regulation of AI. PLP’s evidence is cited extensively throughout the report and is reflected in the conclusions and recommendations. If implemented in the right way, for the right things, AI has the potential to improve the quality of state decision-making. However, we remain concerned about its proliferation, which is outpacing existing legal frameworks, creating opportunities for exploitation, discrimination, and exclusion. Action is needed to plug the gaps in the existing transparency requirements if the government wants to meet its aspirations of transparent and accountable public body use of AI. Last year’s conference attracted more than 20,000 delegates, and with over 800 fringe events scheduled this year, we expect a bustling, high-energy atmosphere. PLP will be speaking on the ‘AI Accountability in the Public Sector’ panel hosted by Scientists for Labour. We will be calling on the government to take urgent action to ensure our legal and regulatory frameworks keep pace in order to meet their objectives of harnessing AI for good. If you are in Liverpool, we hope that you will join us. Our work will continue after conference ends, as we strengthen connections established and sustain the momentum required to drive meaningful progress towards our vision for a fair and inclusive society, secured by a just and confident state. Image: Mike Hughes