Labour is to overhaul the way it makes policy, announcing reforms at the start of its annual conference this weekend in the hope they will reverse a steep fall in membership.

In a document that sets out a three-year timetable leading to Labour's next general election manifesto, Ian McCartney, party chairman, warns that the relationship between grassroots campaigners and the government risks being "damaged" if members become "disillusioned and frustrated" because of an unbalanced policymaking process.