Blog: Reflections from the Party Conferences

I was delighted to attend both the Labour and Conservative Party Conferences as part of the UCL delegation, joining colleagues from across the university and the exceptional team from the UCL Policy Lab. These conferences are not only important opportunities for political debates but also for reflection on how academic evidence, lived experience, and policy engagement intersect.

The discussions, exchanges and encounters with colleagues, leaders and CEOs from major charity groups offered rich insights for UCL’s Grand Challenge of Inequalities, the latest theme of UCL’s Grand Challenge programme. UCL Grand Challenges brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to tackle some of the most pressing global issues through a challenge-led, cross-disciplinary approach. By connecting academic insight with real-world experience, the programme seeks to drive innovative, evidence-based action on complex structural problems that cannot be solved by any single sector alone. As Pro-Vice-Provost for the theme, I am working alongside Dr Victoria Austin to lead a five-year programme focused on generating bold, evidence-based solutions at a time when inequalities are deepening both locally and globally.

A striking theme emerged across the two conferences this year: a return to community as the anchor for rebuilding the social fabric of the nation. At the Labour Party Conference, the message centred on “ordinary hope”, a belief that change is built from everyday acts of care and civic pride. The emphasis on place, belonging, and shared responsibility resonated deeply, as did the recognition that people’s identities are shaped by where they live and by the relationships they form with others in those spaces. At the Conservative Party Conference, discussions occurred on what could be a revised ‘Big Society’. Conversation revisited questions of trust, partnership and the balance between local autonomy and national coordination. Across party lines, there was a palpable recognition that communities thrive when they are trusted, empowered, and adequately resourced. It was also made very clear that civil society has a vital role in helping public systems adapt to complex social challenges.

Three overarching lessons stand out, each of which will inform the evolving work of UCL’s Grand Challenge of Inequalities.

First, place matters. The way inequality manifests is always spatial. It is felt in local economies, neighbourhood infrastructures, and access to essential services. Policy interventions succeed when they engage with the lived realities of places and recognise the value of local knowledge. As the Inequalities programme develops, we will continue to explore how structural, economic and digital inequalities intersect across different geographies, and how place-based innovation can inform national and global systems.

Second, trust is foundational. Both in political debate and in evidence from local practice, it is clear that trust between institutions, funders, and communities determines whether collective action can succeed. When funding and decision-making are decentralised, and when governance is built on partnership rather than compliance, communities are more agile, resilient, and equitable. Trust also underpins how knowledge is produced and used, ensuring that research and policy align with the realities people face every day.

Third, ensuring that everyone is heard and not left-behind is crucial. There is a renewed appetite across political divides for more inclusive policymaking. But inclusion must go beyond consultation. It requires co-creation, shared ownership, and sustained dialogue to ensure everyone is heard, from the most vulnerable to those who cannot yet vote, i.e. children and young people. Embedding lived experience as a legitimate form of expertise is essential for creating fair, just and workable solutions.

The discussions I have been part of and debates I assisted do clearly reveal that addressing inequality is not a partisan concern; it is a shared societal imperative. Whether expressed through commitments to levelling up, civic renewal, or social justice, there is an emerging consensus that the health of democracy and the economy depends on reducing inequality and rebuilding trust in institutions. This aligns directly with the vision of UCL’s Grand Challenge of Inequalities, which aims to connect UCL’s research, education, and civic engagement capacities to develop structural, systemic and place-based responses to inequality.

Our programme is structured around three pillars, which provide a framework for this work:

· Cultural Pillar
Focuses on identity, belonging and diversity, exploring how different ways of living and working together can foster inclusion and respect.

· Political Pillar
Examines engagement, representation and governance investigating how power, participation and accountability shape inequality.

· Economic Pillar
Addresses productivity, growth and wealth as well as the ways these intersect with access, opportunity and wellbeing.

Together, these pillars will guide our partnerships and research agendas over the next five years, helping UCL play an active role in designing and testing the solutions, policies and practices that can move societies from inequality toward justice. We will engage with key priorities that have been at the core of Party’s discussions, such as growth and economic development, housing provision and the future of planning, education, access to food as well as equality, diversity and inclusion.

Such reflections reaffirm the urgency of our mission. Reducing inequality will require not only better evidence, but also new forms of collaboration between universities, policymakers, I/NOGs and the communities they serve. It means aligning national strategies with local innovation, integrating digital and spatial approaches, and investing in civic capacity as a cornerstone of resilience.

As we begin our five-year journey, the Inequalities programme seeks to harness the collective expertise and imagination of the UCL community and its partners. By working together, across disciplines, sectors, and political perspectives, we can help generate the evidence and practice needed to drive meaningful change and relevant solutions that rebuild trust, strengthen communities, and enable all people and places to flourish.

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• Reach out directly to Pro-Vice Provosts Inequalities: Lauren Andres l.andres@ucl.ac.uk and Victoria Austin victoria.austin@ucl.ac.uk