Conference these days includes slots that are left blank when the agenda is published, and that can be filled later by topics that become evident at a later date.

The deadline for – well pretty much everything, actually, including emergency motions, amendments, appeals, questions and so on – was yesterday.

LDV is aware of two emergency motions that have been doing the rounds asking for support. Firstly there’s one insisting that social services remain accountable to local people through local councils. A government paper launched on the 14th July suggested the creation of a national care body to take some of the responsibility.

Secondly, as this trade press article details, Gareth Epps and Greg Mulholland MP are promoting a motion to take steps to even the balance between landlords and pubcos – a topic we’ve written about before on LDV – here, here and here.

Gareth Epps surveyed landlords in Reading:

Epps’ survey shows three-quarters of licensees, mainly tied, have an annual income below £15,000 a year and half think they won’t be running a pub in five years’ time. He said: “While increased taxation by the Labour Government, cut price supermarket booze and the smoking ban haven’t helped, it’s the pubcos that twist the knife.”

So far, then so far as we know, there are two slots for emergency motions, and two motions we are aware of. It’s rarely that simple however. The Conference Committee will have the full list of motions submitted, and has to judge each on its merits: is it really an emergency topic? is it the sort of motion Conference ought to consider (there are drafting guidelines, for example). If there are more motions than slots, it goes to a ballot of conference reps – full details are in the Conference Agenda.