Every party we heard from this conference season, from the Liberal Democrats in Brighton and Labour in Liverpool to the Conservatives in Birmingham, was wrestling with the same question: how do you do more with limited public money? With the Budget on 28 October and a Spending Review next year, it is a question social impact investment can help answer.

Conference is where parties test the ideas that go on to shape manifestos and policy. It is also one of the few moments in the year when social impact investors, philanthropists, purpose-driven businesses, charities and social enterprises can make the case for the “impact economy” together, and far more powerfully than any of us could alone.

Labour, Liverpool: partnership and delivery

As the party of government, Labour's conference is where we had our largest presence. With ministers, special advisers and the backbench members of parliament shaping government policy all in one place, it offered the greatest opportunity to engage with decision makers on our priorities.

This was Andy Burnham's first conference as Prime Minister, and the party chose hope as the central theme of the week. Another recurring theme was partnership, captured in the conference message "All Together Now" and the recognition that the country's biggest challenges cannot be solved by government alone. This is where the impact economy has a role to play. Where the Government sets out what it wants to achieve, social impact investment can help with how it is delivered.

Housing and homelessness featured prominently across the conference. During the week, the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Housing Secretary visited Independence Initiative in Bootle. A £104,500 loan and grant from Big Issue Invest helped the charity grow its transitional accommodation from 19 to 25 beds. It is a clear example of social impact investment helping a local charity expand services that work.

Three conversations stood out for us. We met Stephanie Peacock MP, Minister for the Impact Economy, to discuss how the Government and the impact economy can work together on its priorities. With the Co-operative Party and Lloyds Bank Foundation, we hosted a homelessness roundtable with Local Government Minister Jim McMahon MP, as part of an ongoing programme to engage the Government on how social impact investment can support its homelessness ambitions. Alongside our sister organisation Access – The Foundation for Social Investment and the Co-operative Party, we also convened a roundtable with Martin McCluskey MP and Deputy Mayor of London Mete Coban on how the impact economy can support the Local Power Plan and Warm Homes Plan. The Minister has asked us to reconvene the group to continue advising on delivery.

Liberal Democrats, Brighton: growth, pensions and a nod to our work

Down in Brighton, we spoke with many people about the role social impact investment can play in ending the temporary accommodation (TA) crisis, supporting the energy transition and helping young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) into opportunity.

A clear highlight was Daisy Cooper MP's launch of Our Plan to Get Britain Growing Again, which our team attended. Better Society Capital was referenced in both the paper and her speech. The paper also takes up an issue we have been raising: the way Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) assets are classified. LGPS funds are treated as public money even though they are not controlled by Government. This limits their ability to invest alongside public finance institutions in housebuilding and local projects. Unlocking this could mean more pension capital flowing into the places that need it most.

It was also a great opportunity to build new relationships with MPs and strengthen existing ones, including those from our MP visits programme.

Conservatives, Birmingham: local government and private investment

A week later in Birmingham, the mood was more subdued than in Liverpool, but the party has stabilised since its 2024 election result and is now broadly level with Reform UK on the right. The headline was The Right Way, Kemi Badenoch’s vision for a future Conservative government, which is unusually candid about where Conservative governments went wrong between 2010 and 2024 and proposes a principles-first and policy-second approach to government. The vision was well-received by the membership and demonstrates how Badenoch has restored credibility in the party.

Discussions and panels centred on economic growth, housing and homelessness and placemaking, each of which connects directly to our challenge areas. Highlights included listening to Bob Blackman MP speak passionately about the importance of cross-party working to tackle homelessness, and Neil O’Brien MP on the role of community ownership in strong placemaking. As the party develops its offer for the next election and drafts its manifesto, now is the time for social impact investment be part of that conversation given its role in crowding in other forms of socially-motivated private capital to tackle the most pressing social issues.

What comes next

Every party sees a role for private capital in tackling the country's biggest social challenges. That shared interest is a strong foundation, and we are committed to building relationships across the major parties to ensure social impact investment is part of the solution.

Our immediate focus now turns to the Budget on 28 October, the Spending Review next year and the Government's Homelessness Summit, (which will bring together national and local government, charities and funders to drive progress on the Prime Minister's homelessness ambitions). Alongside these moments, we will be following up on the conversations we started at conference.

A huge thank you to everyone who hosted, spoke at, joined or co-sponsored events with us this season, and to our partners across the impact economy who made such a strong case together. Conference is great fun, but it always has a serious purpose: helping to get more money flowing to the people and places that need it most.

If you are interested in making the case to Government for social impact investment and the impact economy, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch with our Policy and Government Engagement team, George Brewster, Tess Godley and Jovana Lalic, at policyandadvocacy@bettersocietycapital.com.