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Category: Speeches

  • Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on the Middle East

    Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on the Middle East

    The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, on 4 October 2025.

    Hamas’ acceptance of the US peace plan is a significant step forwards. We strongly support President Trump’s efforts, which have brought us closer to peace than ever before.

    There is now an opportunity to end the fighting, for the hostages to return home, and for humanitarian aid to reach those who so desperately need it. We call on all sides to implement the agreement without delay.

    The UK, alongside our partners, stands ready to support further negotiations and to work towards sustainable peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2025 Speech at the North East Chamber of Commerce

    Bridget Phillipson – 2025 Speech at the North East Chamber of Commerce

    The speech made by Bridget Phillipson, the Secretary of State for Education, in Sunderland on 3 October 2025.

    This is an organisation that has stood the test of time. Because 1815 is not only the year the Battle of Waterloo was won.

    Perhaps more importantly even than that, it was the year that the Chamber was established.

    So I want to thank the Chamber for centuries of work giving the businesses of this region a voice.

    And I have to say, it’s always so nice to be here, back home in the North East. I grew up not far from here, just several miles down the Wear to Washington.

    That’s the community I’m from. Where I was born, where I went to school, where I made my first friends.

    I have spoken about how during that time there were ups and downs where I grew up. There was deprivation and there was crime in our community.

    But there was kindness too. And resolve to make the most of things.

    And I saw those sharp contrasts when I came back home to the North East after university.

    I worked in the women’s refuge here when I was in my early 20s.

    And in those years I saw some of the worst things you could ever see, the impact of the worst violence and abuse.

    But I also saw the best of our community too.

    I saw resilience, strength.

    I witnessed so many women rebuild their lives with dignity and determination.

    And it was a real honour to be able to help them do it.

    So when I think about home, I think about community.

    I reflect on what that word means for all of us.

    Not just as a proud native of the North East, but as a proud member of this government.

    Because what we want to see as this government is to grow strong communities across the North East and across this country.

    Communities filled with optimism and opportunity.

    But how do we do that? What does a community need?

    You won’t be surprised to hear me as Education Secretary say that every good community needs a brilliant school.

    A brilliant college. An engaged university not too far away.

    But it also has to provide proper support for families too. Our government funded childcare entitlement. Our school-based nurseries.

    Our Best Start Family Hubs.

    But a strong community full of opportunity needs more than that.

    It needs great employers, it needs all of you here, in this room.

    Because all of you in this room are drivers of growth and opportunity.

    In manufacturing. Logistics. Hospitality. Tourism. Tech. Energy.

    Education. Finance. Construction. Defence. Social enterprise. Healthcare, you name it.

    Here in this room we have the diversity of enterprise that makes our region great.

    And you are crucial to two of this government’s missions – growth for the British economy, and opportunity for the British people.

    So I want to say a big thank you for the role you all play in your local communities.

    And I want to thank you for working so closely with the North East Combined Authority in that endeavour.

    Our mayor Kim McGuiness is doing a fantastic job creating opportunities for young people.

    And I know so much of this region’s good work runs through the local skills improvement plans.

    Because to play your vital role as good businesses in the communities that you serve you need a skills system fit for purpose, a system that works for all of  you.

    One that is both comprehensive and cohesive.

    One that focuses on actual skills needs – both locally and nationally.

    Because I know that there is nothing more frustrating for you than being ready to expand, ready to contribute to the success of your communities, but not being able to find the right people with the right skills.

    And trust me, that’s frustrating for us as government too.

    And for young people – who have big dreams, who want to work hard, to get on, but who can’t find the right pathway –  for them, that’s not just a frustration.

    It’s crushing.

    That’s the thing, skills are the route to prosperity for employees and for employers.

    A skills system that works for young people is a skills system that works for business.

    And that’s the vision for our upcoming post-16 education and skills white paper.

    To build a system that drives growth through the industrial strategy.

    That’s not the work of one department, but the work of the whole government.

    To open up opportunity in all of our communities.

    And there are opportunities to be seized.

    Evidence from Skills England shows why that’s so important.

    By 2030 we’ll need 900,000 new jobs in priority sectors.

    Like digital, clean energy, advanced manufacturing.

    900,000 opportunities for your businesses to expand.

    900,000 opportunities for our people to get on.

    But to grab those opportunities we need change. We need a rebalancing of what it is we value.

    Our universities, including here in the region, are truly world-leading, a brilliant source of national pride. But for too long, our further education colleges have had to exist in their shadow.

    So it’s time we recognised the value of our colleges too.

    And, just as we are driving up standards in our schools, it’s time to drive up standards in our colleges as well.

    We’ll work with our brilliant FE staff, to harness their passion, to unlock their expertise, and to set in motion a skills revolution in our colleges.

    Universities are the right route for many of our young people.

    And we’ve got to make sure that all who want to go to university have the means to follow that dream.

    That’s why in my speech this week at Labour Party Conference I announced that we will introduce new targeted maintenance grants for students who need them most.

    Available for students pursuing higher level study at college or university on courses aligned with the government’s missions and the industrial strategy, because we value the technicians as well as the engineers, because what matters is not the building you study in, but the skills that you hone, because university is a fantastic option for many of our young people, but it’s not all of our young people, and they need strong roots too.

    That’s why in his conference speech the Prime Minister announced we’ll move away from the target, around 50% of young people to go to university.

    Instead, Keir set a new ambition, fit for this country’s future, fit for the modern world, for two-thirds of young people to reach higher-level study.

    Whether that’s at university. Whether that’s in a college.

    Or whether that’s through an apprenticeship.

    I’m serious about skills. The Prime Minister is serious about skills. And this government is serious about skills.

    And that requires a prestigious, world-class further education system.

    Raising standards. Bolstering teaching quality. Empowering our high-performing FE leaders.

    And so we’re backing our FE colleges with more funding.

    Investing nearly £800 million extra next year.

    Supporting an extra 20,000 16-19-year-olds with the skills that they need to get on.

    And we’re going further.

    We’re transforming FE colleges into specialist Technical Excellence Colleges.

    And they’ll focus on key sectors to support our industrial strategy.

    Back in August I went to Derby College to announce the selection of 10 Construction Technical Excellence Colleges, covering the whole of England.

    And we’re investing £100 million to get this right and deliver high-quality construction skills for our young people.

    And I’m delighted that the Construction Technical Excellence College for the North East is right here at the City of Sunderland College.

    And we worked hand in hand with the North East Combined Authority to get this right.

    In fact, the college’s brand-new Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy is just right over the way from here. You might be able to see it if you shuffle down.

    It’ll be a centre of excellence, partnering with FE colleges, universities and employers like you across the region.

    And now we’re launching another 14 Technical Excellence Colleges in three more sectors for 2026 right across the country – on top of the five we announced as part of the Defence Industrial Strategy.

    That’s one route for young people to get the skills that your businesses need and that we all need.

    Another is apprenticeships.

    I know that they haven’t always offered the flexibility you need, they haven’t always reflected the realities of the modern world.

    When the right skills can be gained in under a year, for example. Or when learners aren’t starting from zero.

    That’s why last month we reduced the minimum duration to 8 months, to make apprenticeships work better for learners and better for you.

    Also tearing away the red tape on English and maths, to open up opportunities for adult learners.

    And for young people in targeted sectors we’ve introduced foundation apprenticeships – to give them a route into good careers in critical sectors.

    But I know that sometimes supporting someone starting out in their career who needs extra support can be expensive for employers.

    So we’ve backed the new foundation apprenticeships with support for employers of up to £2,000 for every foundation apprentice that you take on.

    And It’s a similar story for T Level placements.

    They’re an essential part of these really high quality top-quality qualifications.

    But that doesn’t mean they’re cost free for you.

    So we’ve brought in a new Employer Support Fund.

    £6.3 million this year to support you with the costs of hosting a T Level industry placement.

    Alongside this action on apprenticeships and T Levels sit our skills packages across government.

    £625 million investment in construction skills.

    £182 million for defence.

    £172 million for engineering.

    And £187 million for digital.

    Skills aren’t just a lever to pull, they’re the cornerstone of our plans to get growth moving in every community.

    But they’re no good in isolation. For that growth to be felt by local families, they have to be centred in local businesses, and we need to take a step back.

    Because new skills are no use to the new dad who can’t go back to work because childcare is too expensive.

    A new qualification is no use to the mam who can’t get up her hours in the office because school drop off is too late.

    That’s why we’re rolling out 30 hours  of government-funded childcare for working parents, until their child reaches school.

    And it’s why we’re racing ahead with free breakfast clubs for every primary school in the country.

    To give parents the choice and freedom to work the hours that suit them.

    But it’s more than that. We’re growing a network of up to a thousand Best Start Family Hubs.

    The best of Sure Start, reimagined for the future – bringing together all of the help and advice that our  families need.

    This is at the root of how we will  eradicate the stain of child poverty in our region – and across the country.

    Parents with the right support, with the right skills to find the work that’s best for them.

    Ending child poverty is the moral mission of this government.

    Giving parents the power and the choices they need to build a better life for themselves and their families is my promise.

    And some might wonder what’s the relevance for business in all of that.

    But they’re wrong.

    As leaders you know the value of strong and supportive communities.

    The value of healthy and happy members of your team.

    That’s why we’ve been working with business on our Make Work Pay initiative.

    To drive up working conditions.

    To share best practice.

    To boost innovation.

    Because the best businesses are proud to be trusted sources of good, secure jobs in their local communities.

    And that’s my ask of you as I wrap up.  

    To partner with us to revitalise our communities.

    To take on that young apprentice with plenty of talent but who’s still got plenty left to learn.

    Welcome that T-Level placement student who otherwise wouldn’t get the practical experience they need.

    Engage in T Level Week later this month and share your success stories.

    Invest in your workforce, not just for today but for tomorrow too.

    And work with us in government. Work with Skills England. local colleges, your local university. Work with the team delivering the Local Skills Improvement Plan for your area.

    You do all this already, because you know there is such strength in our community here in the region, but only when we work together.

    So, please, keep doing it. And I’ll keep on working in partnership with you.

    Because you are at the centre of what this government wants to achieve.

    Our skills white paper is coming – and in partnership with you it will deliver the step change in skills that our country needs.

    But that’s not the end game.

    Because ultimately skills are a means to an end.

    A means to many ends, in fact.

    Driving growth.

    Ending child poverty.

    Breaking the link between background and success.

    Security and prosperity, for businesses and workers alike.

    Strong and healthy communities.

    Opportunity for all.

    Skills are the passport that take us from we are now to where we want to be.

    As businesses, as communities, and as a country.

    And that’s a journey I want us all to take together.

    Thank you very much.

  • Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on the New Archbishop of Canterbury

    Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on the New Archbishop of Canterbury

    The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, on 3 October 2025.

    I welcome the appointment of The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally D.B.E as the new Archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to hold the role.

    The Church of England is of profound importance to this country. Its churches, cathedrals, schools, and charities are part of the fabric of our communities.

    The Archbishop of Canterbury will play a key role in our national life. I wish her every success and look forward to working together.

  • Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on Manchester Terror Attack

    Keir Starmer – 2025 Statement on Manchester Terror Attack

    The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, on 2 October 2025.

    Good evening. Earlier today, on Yom Kippur – the holiest day for the Jewish community – a vile individual committed a terrorist attack. That attacked Jews because they are Jews, and attacked Britain because of our values. So many Jewish families first came to this country as a place of refuge, fleeing the greatest evil ever inflicted on a people. And Britain welcomed them. Communities, like the one attacked in Manchester, provided safety, but also the security that comes from a promise that this is a country that stands up to hatred. And that we don’t just provide refuge, we provide a home. For so many Jewish families – that is the story of Britain. But Britain is also a country where Jewish buildings, synagogues, and even schools require round-the-clock protection. Where dedicated, specialist, security is necessary because of the daily threat of antisemitic hatred. Today’s horrific incident shows why. And while this is not a new hate, this is something Jews have always lived with, we must be clear – it is a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again. 

    On behalf of the nation, I want to offer my condolences to the families and victims affected. I want to thank the Greater Manchester Police, the first responders, and those dedicated security specialists. There is no doubt whatsoever that they have prevented an even greater tragedy, and we thank them for their bravery. But to every Jewish person in this country, I also want to say this: I know how much fear you will be holding inside of you. I really do. And so on behalf of our country, I express my solidarity, but also my sadness that you still have to live with these fears. Nobody should have to do that – nobody. And so I promise you that I will do everything in my power to guarantee you the security you deserve, starting with a more visible police presence, protecting your community. I promise you that over the coming days, you will see the other Britain – the Britain of compassion, of decency, of love. And I promise you that this Britain will come together to wrap our arms around your community and show you that Britain is a place where you and your family are safe, secure and belong. Thank you.

  • Kemi Badenoch – 2025 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Kemi Badenoch – 2025 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    The speech made by Kemi Badenoch, the Leader of the Opposition, in Manchester on 8 October 2025.

    Only the Conservative party can deliver the stronger economy and stronger borders that will give people a more prosperous future.

    Every generation must face its test.

    In the 1940s, our test was to defeat fascism and ensure the victory of freedom.

    In the 1980s, it was to banish socialism and deliver prosperity.

    And in the 2020s, our test is to restore a strong economy, secure our borders, and rebuild Britain’s strength so our children inherit a country that works.

    Ladies and Gentlemen, Conference, thank you.

    Thank you, for standing by the only party that can meet the test of our generation.

    The only party that can deliver a stronger economy and stronger borders.

    Everything else relies on getting this right.

    National security, order on the streets, decent healthcare, high quality education, cohesion in our communities.

    None of this exists without a strong economy and strong borders.

    A weak economy makes us poorer.

    The services we rely on get worse and people cannot build a better life for themselves or their families.

    Weak borders allow people to exploit our generosity, put our housing and public services under pressure, and fracture our sense of who we are as a nation.

    A weak economy and weak borders mean steady decline.

    I reject that fate.

    Together, we Conservatives will save Britain from that fate.

    And we can do it together because we are a strong team.

    My fantastic shadow cabinet Mel, Chris, Claire, Laura, Rob, Andrew – both of them, James – both of them, Mims, Jesse Stuart, all of you: thank you. Thank you so much.

    My front bench, experienced hands and rising stars.

    Conference, we know our MPs and peers have more collective wisdom than the rest of Parliament put together.

    And it’s not just them, lets to forget Darren and our MSs in Wales, Russell and our MSPs in Scotland, our fantastic mayors.

    Labour beater Ben Houchen and Reform slayer Paul Bristow, Councillors, activists.

    You are our party. Thank you.

    I joined our party as an activist 20 years ago.

    I was with you delivering leaflets and knocking on doors.

    I sat in this hall listening to speeches.

    I celebrated all our wins, and I felt the pain of every defeat.

    I cannot tell you how honoured, how privileged, and how proud I am to stand before you as Leader of our party.

    Leader of the Conservative Party.

    The only party that can meet the test of our generation.

    You are more than just a political party to me.

    You have supported me, you have stood by me, you have enabled me to achieve more than I ever dreamed.

    You are my family, in many ways quite literally.

    I married the deputy chairman of my association, and I certainly would not be standing here today without my husband, Hamish. Thank you.

    I love this party for what it has given me but more than that, I love it because it has made life better for so many in our country and will do so again.

    Time and time again, guided by our values.

    And our principles.

    We have steered this country through its darkest days.

    And today, we must be ready to do the same again.

    Because we are the only party that has the vision, the courage, and the competence to tear up a broken political model, deliver a new blueprint for our country, and together take Britain into an era of prosperity and security.

    To do this, Conference, we must be frank about the problems our country faces.

    Because they are not the same ones that we faced in the 1940s, or the 1980s, or even the 2010s.

    The country that Hamish and I were born in, had its issues.

    But thanks – in large part – to hard choices taken by this party

    Opportunity was there for people who worked hard.

    People had a sense of pride in our national story, and excitement about the future.

    I am not sure young people feel that way anymore.

    They feel they are living somewhere where things never get any better.

    Britain is stagnating, while the world around us moves on.

    We are competing with restless and ambitious countries around the world.

    We are competing with a billion people in India striving to become middle class.

    We are competing with economic success stories like Poland.

    15 years ago, Polish workers came here to find opportunity.

    Now, Poland is growing twice as fast as we are.

    While Britain was redefining what a woman is, China was building five nuclear reactors.

    Conference, people around the world are determined to lift their lives, and their children’s lives up to a standard that we have taken for granted.

    Some countries won’t be able to do this.

    And in those countries millions of people will decide that they want to come here instead.

    And if our borders are not secure, they will succeed.

    Especially, if our economy is addicted to migration.

    Of course, we want brilliant minds and great talents to come here.

    But at the moment we are not just taking in doctors, engineers, and scientists.

    We are accepting hundreds of thousands of people, some with many dependents.

    Some with no skills at all.

    This broken immigration model is heaping pressure on our public sector.

    A public sector which already every year, demands more and more and more of our money, yet services don’t get better, they get worse.

    Everyone in this room knows what I am talking about.

    We have all felt it.

    We used to ring up our GP and get an appointment the same day.

    Now, now we have to wait on the phone to see if we’re one of the lucky ones.

    We have potholes that have been around, so long people are holding birthday parties for them.

    Underneath all of this, is a society which is struggling to cope.

    Struggling to cope with the reality of getting poorer, struggling to cope with the erosion of a sense of who we are as a country.

    We cannot drift our way into solving these problems.

    We know what drift looks like.

    It looks like allowing the trade unions to overturn years of progress in school standards.

    It looks like letting our veterans face vexatious prosecutions when we should be worrying about the strength of our military.

    Drift looks like Labour’s one-in-one-out returns deal with France that ends up letting 100 people in, for every one who leaves.

    Being timid will get us nowhere.

    We need bold ideas.

    We need a positive vision for this country.

    And a plan to deliver it.    

    We need a new approach.

    A new approach that delivers a stronger economy and stronger borders.

    We owe that to our children.

    During our time in government, we did great things.

    Labour, want to pretend the last 14 years were all bad.

    They want to forget that they were losing all that time.

    Let’s remind them.

    Between 2010 and 2020 we slashed the deficit.

    We lifted millions of people out of tax and got millions in to work.

    We sent English schools soaring up the international league tables.

    We led the coalition against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    But Conference, the truth is we didn’t always fight hard enough for what we believed in.

    We need to remember who we are fighting for.

    We are fighting for people who work hard and do the right thing.

    We are fighting for people who ask, “why do sickness benefits pay more than the minimum wage?”

    More than the living wage even.

    We are fighting for small business owners, people who take risks and get things done.

    We are fighting for the victims of crime.

    They want to know that we are on their side.

    That criminals will face the full force of the law.

    We are fighting for the farmers, putting food on our tables.

    These are our people.

    They are the backbone of our country.

    We fought for them before.

    And we will fight for them again.

    Conference, time and time again, we have been the only party that is bold enough to do what is needed.

    The only party that is competent enough to do it properly.  

    We were bold enough to create the modern police force, to introduce free state education for every child.

    We were radical enough to launch the Right to Buy, to free the workplace from the dead hand of the state, to give working men the vote and — better late than never — women too.

    We were courageous enough to introduce same-sex marriage.

    And of course, brave enough to take Britain out of the European Union, honouring the biggest democratic mandate in our history.

    All, Conservative, achievements.

    Yes, all of that was us.

    But enough about past glories.

    Actually, how about one more.

    Conference, do you know the one thing we Conservatives have done the most throughout our history?

    Clear up the mess left by Labour.

    And my goodness, they are making one hell of a mess.

    Never in the field of human history have so many been let down by so few.

    All they have delivered is a doom loop of higher taxes, weaker borders, and month after month of chaos.

    They had a plan to win, but no plan for power.

    No vision for Britain.

    They know how to make promises, but not how to deliver them.

    This year, the Prime Minister was asked to name his best moment in office.

    Do you know what he said?

    “Walking into Downing Street.”

    For once, I agree with him.

    It’s all been downhill all the way since.

    What have Labour given us?

    An anti-corruption minister under investigation for corruption.

    A homelessness minister who made her own tenants homeless.

    A Housing Secretary sacked for dodging housing taxes.

    You couldn’t make this stuff up.

    We had a transport secretary fired for stealing a phone.

    And our Ambassador in Washington thrown out in disgrace.

    There is an old joke, that a diplomat is someone sent abroad to lie for their country. Well at least in Peter Mandelson they had a man of experience.

    Just look at the spectacle we saw in Liverpool last week.

    Minister after Minister failing to rule out the tax rises, we all know are coming.

    The Mayor of Manchester touting his own manifesto for the country.

    But to be honest I can’t blame Andy Burnham for that one, who doesn’t want to get rid of this utterly useless weak Prime Minister.

    After five years as Labour leader, people still don’t know what Keir Starmer stands for.

    And you know what the real problem is?

    He doesn’t know himself.

    Today we learn, today we learn that Labour deliberately collapsed the trial of two men accused of spying on MPs for China because the PM wants to suck up to Beijing.

    This is squalid.

    We have got the measure of them.

    Just look at Shabana Mahmood, the new Home Secretary.

    She’s trying to convince us she’s tough.

    Right.

    I remember when she tried to stop foreign criminals being deported. Do you remember that one?

    I remember when she lay down on the ground in front of a Sainsbury’s protesting because they were selling food from Israel.

    So, forgive me, if I treat this new-found tough image with a little scepticism. You remember.

    Labour represents everything that is wrong with politics.

    Rachel Reeves likes to congratulate herself for breaking the glass ceiling.

    But what she’s really broken, is our economy.

    Attacking those who work hard, destroying business confidence, forcing wealth creators to leave the country, piling debt onto our children.

    We know, that in her November Budget of Doom, she will give us all something to cry about.

    The highest business taxes since the 1970s.

    Taxes on farmers.

    Taxes on education – an unprecedented tax punishing parents who work hard to invest in their children’s future.

    Shameful.

    The tax burden is so high.

    It is making Britain poorer.

    Because business is giving up.

    Business is leaving.

    And as they leave, or never start in the first place, people’s livelihoods, people’s hopes, people’s dreams, go with them.

    Grangemouth refinery gone, Merck, BMW, Ineos pulling investment.

    Schools for children with special needs, are shutting their doors.

    Farmers feeling they’ve got no way out.

    The London Stock Exchange dropping out of the world’s top 20 for listings.

    Our party knows that a job is the best route out of poverty.

    We got unemployment to a 40-year low.

    And what has happened since Labour came in?

    A jobs tax.

    Unemployment up.

    Inflation up.

    Borrowing up.

    These are the real-life consequences of a weak, directionless, government.

    Conference, last year, the public voted for change.

    But all they have been given is change for the worse.

    And because they are still angry with us, parties that in normal times would never be seen as a serious option for government are gaining ground, making promises they will never be able to keep.

    Let’s look at what’s on offer out there. for all those disappointed by Labour.

    Reform promising free beer tomorrow.

    Jeremy Corbyn promising free jam.

    Lib Dems promising free lentils.

    All of them promising more spending.

    Blowing up the public finances.

    Whether it’s Starmer, Farage, Corbyn or Davey all these men are shaking the same magic money tree.

    Following the same, failed playbook.

    No plan for growth.

    No honesty about the scale of the challenges.

    And it always leads to the same result.

    More government, more taxes, more debt.

    It’s irresponsible, it’s cynical, and it’s why Britain needs Conservatives back in charge.

    But we can’t beat them, simply by attacking them.

    As George Bernard Shaw said.

    ‘Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.’

    We have to offer something better.

    So, what are we going to do?

    Conference, as you may have heard, I am an engineer.

    My starting point is always to carry out a diagnosis, before producing the blueprint to put it right.

    Since I became your leader, my Shadow Cabinet and I have analysed the problems facing the country.

    Our diagnosis is clear: Britain is being held back by a broken model.

    A model which says that government always knows best.

    That high immigration is always good for the economy.

    That Britain should apologise for its history rather than be proud of it.

    We lost because we accepted the status quo.

    No more.

    When Margaret Thatcher was Leader of the Opposition, she said this.

    “If every Labour Government is prepared to reverse every Tory measure, while Conservative Governments accept nearly all socialist measures the end result is only too plain.”

    She was right. To fix our country, we must reverse Labour’s measures.

    So, we will cancel their vindictive tax on education, Vicki knows what’s coming, we will scrap their tax on family farms, Andrew, we will scrap their tax on family businesses.

    And we will reverse the terrible measures in Angela Rayner’s Unemployment Bill, written by the unions, for the unions.

    A bill that will wrap firms in red tape.

    Cost business £5 billion.

    And make Angela Rayner one of the last people in Britain to ever be legally sacked.

    But conference, simply unwinding Labour measures isn’t enough.

    We are Conservatives, not anarchists.

    I am an engineer, not an arsonist.

    So together, we are going to build something better.

    We are creating a Blueprint for Britain – a new settlement – based on Conservative values.

    So, what’s in it?

    Firstly, securing our borders.

    On Sunday I announced our plan.

    To take the UK out of the ECHR.

    To scrap the Human Rights Act.

    To deport 150,000 illegal immigrants.

    This is a plan, not a slogan.

    Next in my blueprint, work, and welfare.

    If we want to end our over-reliance on immigration, then we must make sure that every British citizen who can work, does work.

    Right now, there are six and a half million working age adults claiming benefits instead of working.

    You heard me right six and a half million.

    That is the entire population of Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow, and Manchester.

    Combined.

    Being paid to sit at home all day.

    We cannot expect people to get up and go to work, and pay more and more in taxes, to subsidise millions of others not to work.

    It is not controversial to say this.

    Conference, we have done the hard work.

    And we have a plan to cut welfare spending.

    First, British benefits for British Citizens.

    It is common sense that you should not draw out of a system that you haven’t paid in to.

    Second, we will restrict benefits to those with more severe mental health conditions – not anxiety or mild depression.

    Yes, these challenges are real, and people should get support.

    But they cannot be treated as a reason for a lifetime off work.

    And third, we will restrict Motability vehicles to people with serious disabilities.

    Those cars are not for people with ADHD.

    These are the first steps of a radical reform of our welfare system.

    We will return to its founding principle.

    That support only goes to those that really need it.

    This should be common sense.

    But only the Conservatives understand this.

    Labour, the Liberal Dems, Greens, the nationalists, and Reform are all demanding more welfare spending.

    They don’t care that it’s not fair, but we do.

    After Covid, 2,000 people a day were being signed onto out-of-work sickness benefits.

    It is a national tragedy.

    That in just one year of Labour the latest figure has more than doubled.

    5,000 new people are signing on every single day.

    Many are young people, who are losing the chance to make something of themselves.

    Never knowing what it’s like to pay their own way.

    This isn’t just about saving money – important though that is.

    It’s far more than that.

    It is driven by our deep, Conservative conviction that work is a good in itself.

    And as people work, as they strive, as they provide for themselves and their families, they should not pay more and more of their money in taxes, to a state that provides less and less.

    So, fixing the state is next in our Blueprint.

    Since Brexit and Covid the size of the Civil Service has swollen by over a third.

    There are now more than half a million civil servants.

    And have you noticed?

    Is Government working a third better for you?

    I don’t think so.

    So, we are going to reverse this.

    We are going to cut the civil service back to where it was in 2016.

    And as Conservatives, we don’t just believe in reducing the size of the state.

    I have always said, that while Government should do less, what it does, it should do well.

    Let me give you an example.

    Conservatives are proud of our police.

    Unlike Labour, we will always have their back.

    But security and prosperity cannot exist, in a country where the law is mocked, where crime is ignored, and where criminals laugh at justice.

    Right now, tens of thousands of police hours are wasted every year on “non-crime hate incidents” and form-filling.

    Officers chasing tweets instead of thieves.

    The Shadow Justice Secretary is stopping more fare evaders than Transport for London. Thank you, Rob.

    Conference, we are going to free the police to protect the public.

    Not to chase political correctness.

    Right now, our police are spending 800,000 hours every single year waiting with mental health patients.

    Eight hundred thousand hours.

    That’s the equivalent of 400 police officers doing nothing else all year except waiting around.

    No more.

    Every single officer we free from pointless paperwork.

    We will put back on our streets.

    We will send them after the shoplifters making life a misery for high streets.

    And we will triple stop and search.

    Because the more people we stop and the more people we search, the more knives we take off the streets.

    Across public services, we are developing similarly detailed plans to make things work better.

    In the NHS, industrial action has kept waiting lists high for far too long.

    Enough is enough. We will ban doctors from going on strike.

    In education, Labour have bent over to the teaching unions – and are removing our academy freedoms which have been so successful.

    We will reverse this act of educational vandalism.

    And we will make sure that brilliant schools and teachers have the freedom to do what they do best. Teach.

    Because education should be how people change their lives.

    It should help you develop the skills you need to get on in life.

    It should ensure you get the job you want.

    So, if your name’s Rachel, you can be an economist instead of working, in customer complaints.

    And speaking of customer complaints, let’s talk about university.

    Every year thousands of young people go off to University but leave with crippling loans and no real prospects.

    Nearly one in three graduates see no economic return, and every year taxpayers write off over £7 billion in unpaid student loans.

    Wasted money, wasted talent. Its every year.

    A rigged system propping up low-quality courses, while people can’t get high-quality apprenticeships that lead to real jobs.

    And this is personal for me.

    I did two degrees.

    One in engineering. One in law.

    And I also had an apprenticeship first.

    But while I can’t remember how to do parallel integration.

    I can remember how to fix a broken computer.

    Which I learnt to do during my apprenticeship.

    I was working with adults.

    I was paying my own way.

    And it gave an eighteen-year-old me a self confidence that my university degrees never did.

    And unlike my degrees, I wasn’t left with any debt.

    So, we will shut down these rip-off courses and use the money to double the apprenticeship budget.

    We will be giving thousands more young people the chance of a proper start in life.

    Just like I had.

    Which brings me Conference, to the most important task that we will face, and the centrepiece of our blueprint.

    The reason, why the Conservative Party is the only party in Britain who can be trusted to meet the test of our generation is that none of this works without a strong economy.

    Securing our borders.

    Getting people into work.

    Policing our streets.

    Defending the nation.

    None of it is possible without the money to pay for it.

    And we are the only party with a plan to get our economy back on track.

    It starts with fiscal responsibility.

    We have to get the deficit down.

    And we must also show how every tax cut or spending increase is paid for.

    So today, I am introducing a new Golden Economic Rule.

    Every pound we save, will be put to work.

    At least half will go towards cutting the deficit.

    Because living within our means is our first priority.

    And with the rest, we will get Britain growing and bring down the taxes stifling our economy.

    Over the next decade, Rachel Reeves is going to double the deficit with her borrowing and tax doom loop.

    She is stealing from our children and grandchildren.

    And Conservatives will put an end to it.

    We will always explain – up front – where we will make these savings.

    We’re not going to do what Labour did – promise not to cut public spending, only to snatch away pensioners’ winter fuel payments.

    We are doing things differently.

    Thanks to the hard work of the Shadow Cabinet, we have already identified £47 billion in savings

    Priti has earmarked £7 billion from the overseas aid budget.

    Alex has identified £8 billion from cutting the civil service

    Helen has found £23 billion from welfare.

    Under our Golden Rule – half of those savings will go towards reducing Labour’s deficit.

    With the rest, we are going to unleash our economy.

    That’s the Conservative way.

    Responsibility today. Opportunity tomorrow.

    Like so many young people, all of my first jobs were on the high street.

    Yes, in McDonalds, have I ever mentioned that?

    But it wasn’t just me, my friends were working in similar jobs.

    Cafés, local pubs, family run shops.

    The places that make our high streets what they are.

    The shops and businesses essential to communities in every town and village.

    And so, on Monday, you will have heard Mel, make our commitment to abolish their Business Rates.

    Whether you’re a councillor, a mayoral candidate, a campaigner, I want you to go out there and spread the word.

    That the Conservatives are bringing back the high street.

    Conference, energy is growth.

    It always has been, and it always will be.

    Countries with cheap energy grow faster.

    Countries with expensive energy decline.

    Right now, we pay four times what industry in the US does for electricity.

    The result.

    We are deindustrialising.

    It’s not just manufacturing that is disappearing.

    Not just steel, not just chemicals, not just ceramics, not just oil and gas.

    We are losing our farming industry.

    We are losing our fishing industry.

    These are the foundations of a strong economy, and they are going all because we chose a slogan of Net Zero over a serious strategy for a stronger economy and a better environment.

    So, I am saying, enough.

    I am reversing this.

    We will get rid of the Climate Change Act and replace it with a proper strategy that actually works.

    A strategy which protects the natural environment and landscapes we love.

    A strategy that takes sensible steps to tackle climate change, without bankrupting ourselves in the process.

    We will cut bills for families, slash costs for businesses, end the madness that you have to tear out your boiler, or disconnect your gas hob.

    We are going to bring industry and jobs back home.

    This is real action Conference, not slogans.

    Conference, I am not a climate change sceptic.

    But I am a Net Zero sceptic.

    Britain has already done more than any major country to cut emissions.

    But we cannot have a law which will make this country poorer, while creating jobs abroad and increasing our reliance on hostile states.

    So, we will axe the Carbon Tax on electricity.

    We will scrap Labour’s wind and solar levy.

    And instead, we will give you our Cheap Power Plan.

    Through this plan we will cut bills by £165 for the average family.

    Nearly £5,000 for the average restaurant.

    And over £1,100 for the average pub.

    Those are costs that are passed on to consumers.

    Conference I won’t promise you free beer, but I do want you all to have cheaper beer.

    Now it is time to put British prosperity first, give this country the cheap, reliable energy it needs to thrive again.

    Backing nuclear but also recognising that it is pure folly to ban new oil and gas extraction, while paying to import resources that Norway takes from the very same basin.

    So, when it comes to the North Sea, we have a very simple policy, drill our oil and gas now.

    Conference, you’d would have seen, you will have seen it, out there in the fringes all over Manchester, that this is a Party fizzing with ideas, building our policy programme, setting out our plans.

    A tax cut for our high streets, a helping hand for the young with our first-jobs bonus, reforms to welfare, 10,000 new police officers, tripling stop and search, scrapping the sentencing council, a new removals force, improving behaviour in schools, doubling apprenticeships, support for our veterans, £165 off your electricity bills, drilling in the North Sea, an end to the Energy Profits Levy, scrapping the Family Farm Tax, scrapping the Family Business Tax, scrapping VAT on School Fees, out of the ECHR, a plan for our borders, a plan for a stronger economy.

    And Conference.

    Because of all the savings we’ve found and costed.

    Because of the tough decisions on what the government shouldn’t do.

    Because of our golden economic rule.

    We can afford to make one more announcement.

    As the Conservative party, we know who our people are.

    They are people who work hard.

    They are the people who save hard.

    They are the people who understand the importance of putting down roots.

    They are the people who make sacrifices today for a better life tomorrow.

    They do the right thing.

    Our people are the Brits who want to get ahead in life.

    At the heart of a Conservative Britain is a country where people who wish to own their own home, can.

    I remember the joy, when I got the first set of keys, to my first flat.

    The excitement of opening my own front door for the very first time.

    The smell of the fresh paint. I remember it just like yesterday.

    I want everyone in our country to have that feeling.

    To know, it’s your place, your house, your home.

    We Conservatives believe that owning your own home gives you a real stake in society, roots in your community.

    But our housing market is not working as it should.

    Because there’s a big barrier that keeps getting in the way.

    That barrier, Conference, is the tax you have to pay when you buy your home.

    I haven’t even said what it is yet, but you all know.

    You all know that barrier is stamp duty.

    Young people trapped in the pain of renting.

    Workers who want to further their career.

    Pensioners who want to downsize but can’t afford the thousands of pounds they have to pay in tax.

    Conference, Stamp Duty is a bad tax. It is an unConservative tax.

    The last Conservative Government cut stamp duty for thousands of homebuyers.

    But now we must go further, we must free up our housing market.

    Because a society where no one can afford to buy, or move, is a society where social mobility is dead.

    So I have looked at the Stamp Duty thresholds to see if we can change them.

    I have looked at the rates you have to pay to see if we can lower them.

    I have decided we can’t.

    Because that simply wouldn’t be enough.

    Conference, the next Conservative Government will abolish stamp duty on your home. It will be gone.

    I thought you’d like that one. Thank you.

    That is how we will help achieve the dream of home ownership for millions.

    Home ownership should be a dream that’s open to everyone.

    Abolishing stamp duty on your home is a key to unlock a fairer and more aspirational society.

    We cannot unpick every tax, the debt, the deficit and the damage this Labour government is creating means we cannot do everything all at once.

    Scrapping stamp duty will benefit people of all ages because Conservativism must speak to all generations.

    The young professional, buying their first flat.

    The couple looking for somewhere to bring up their first baby.

    The growing family hunting for their forever home.

    The pensioner who wants somewhere a little smaller, or maybe to move nearer the grandchildren.

    No longer will they be punished with a tax that is a barrier to doing the right thing for them, for their family, and for society.

    And this change will bring wider benefits to our economy, too, because every time a home is sold it triggers a chain reaction of activity.

    Movers, builders, decorators.

    Flat pack furniture and DIY.

    Trips to Next, John Lewis and IKEA.

    And I can afford to do this while still leaving space within my golden economic rule.

    Because that’s the fiscally prudent way to do things.

    That’s what Conservatives do.

    Conference, I want to see a better Britain, where people have a brighter and more prosperous future.

    The Labour Party fails when it follows its principles.

    We fail when we don’t follow ours.

    We are going to follow the same timeless, Conservative principles which have led us to success in the past.

    Personal responsibility.

    Free enterprise.

    Family.

    Freedom of speech.

    People want to know what I stand for; I stand for a government that takes less of your money and doesn’t interfere in your life.

    Where the state does less but does it better.

    Where those who create wealth are welcomed with open arms, not driven from our shores.

    Where reward matches effort.

    Where Britain stands tall in the world.

    I stand for an economy where profit is not a dirty word.

    Where enterprise is supported not crushed.

    I stand for a country where what you put in determines what you get out.

    Where excellence is celebrated.

    I stand for a country where actions have consequences.

    Where we talk about responsibilities as well as rights.

    Where crime is punished and justice is served.

    Where the welfare of victims outweighs the welfare of criminals.

    I stand for a society where free speech trumps hurt feelings.

    Where everyone knows what a woman is.

    Where people are judged by the content of their character not the colour of their skin.

    Where the vulnerable are supported.

    But where freeloaders are told where to get off.

    Conference, I stand for stronger borders and a stronger economy.

    So that the young can fulfil their potential, the old can live out their years in dignity, and everyone can achieve their dreams – to own a home, run a business, raise a family.

    This is the Britain I stand for.

    If it is the Britain, you stand for then stand with me.

    And let’s build it together.”

  • Helen Whately – 2025 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Helen Whately – 2025 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    The speech made by Helen Whately, the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, in Manchester on 6 October 2025.

    Good afternoon, Conference.

    Craig is an extraordinary inspiration.

    I remember back in 2015, he turned up in an ancient Land Rover to campaign with me in a housing estate in Maidstone.

    Back then Craig had a no nonsense, pull your socks up attitude.

    He’s been through a lot since then, and he still has it.

    I asked Craig to kick off this session, not only because I knew he would do a great job, but because his attitude is what the whole country needs.

    Everyone goes through hard times.

    I am sure all of you have, one way or another.

    I bet you have always done your best to find your own way through.

    That’s the Conservative way.

    And it’s not just us. That is how most people think.

    But not everyone.

    We are here because we know we have a really important job to do – if not us, who?

    But millions of people right now, are sitting on the sofa at home.

    Millions have got themselves a sick note from the GP and signed onto sickness benefits with just a form and a phone call.

    Millions are getting benefits for anxiety and ADHD, along with a free Motability car.

    TikTok videos tell you how – and some people even pay for VIP services to boost their chances of a successful benefits claim.

    Yes, there are people with serious illnesses and disabilities,

    But one in four people now describe themselves as disabled, so what does the term even mean?

    We’ve got 10 million people of working age now claiming benefits

    1 million young people not in employment, education or training.

    Just when they should be getting going. Getting experience, and that feeling of having money in your pocket that you’ve earned yourself.

    I genuinely feel we’re at risk of a wasted generation.

    And our economy needs people – not just migrants imported to fill the gap.

    The right answer has to be: get British people into work.

    Last week I went to Teeside, and I visited a great British family business, Pickerings Lifts.

    They install lifts, all round the country, and they have a great apprenticeship scheme.

    There are 5,000 people unemployed there, in Stockton-on-Tees.

    And right on their doorstep is an estate which was in the infamous Benefits Street documentary.

    We were talking about the jobs situation, and the MD of Pickering said “Actually, we’ve got lots of vacancies, it’s really hard to get people to do these jobs – and stick at them”.

    And I’m sitting there thinking, what an earth. People tell me the problem is all the jobs now are in social care or the gig economy – or need skills people don’t have. But here you have exactly the sort of jobs people say they want, along with training, a decent salary, and good career prospects.

    So, what are people doing instead of working at Pickerings?

    The problem is, you can get 5,000 pounds more a year on sickness benefits than a minimum wage worker.

    So, no surprise that’s what many people are choosing.

    And it’s wrong. Our welfare system should be a safety net, not a lifestyle choice.

    Keir Starmer has said he wants to make welfare savings.

    Back in the summer he tried.

    But he failed so catastrophically, that instead of saving money, he ended up forking out 300 million pounds of your money to get his backbenchers to vote for his bill.

    That’s what a weak leader looks like, Keir cowering in fear from his left-wing backbenchers.

    In a few weeks’ time, Rachel Reeves will be putting up our taxes again.

    We will all be paying more because Labour MPs would rather hike your taxes than get a grip of their welfare system.

    So would the Lib Dems, the Greens, the SNP, Plaid and even Reform.

    All of them want the Government to spend billions more on welfare.

    £3.5 billion more, just to end the two-child benefit cap.

    Where will they find that money?

    And it’s not fair.

    People in work make tough decisions about whether they can afford to even start a family, and they don’t get paid more if they have an extra child.

    Believe me, I am all for encouraging people to have kids.

    But people on benefits should face the same decisions as the rest of us.

    It’s about taking responsibility for the choices you make.

    That’s the Conservative way.

    Labour doesn’t get it – and Nigel doesn’t either.

    We need a government with the courage to do what’s right, not just what sounds nice.

    That leaves us as the only party who can fix welfare.

    That’s why I’ve got my common sense plan for savings.

    Fix the ‘sick note’ system, bring back face-to-face assessments, end sickness benefits for low level mental health problems, stop the abuse of Motability, and put British citizens first in our benefits system – just living here is not a reason to get money from taxpayers.

    And that’s not all.

    We will change our sickness benefit system, so it helps those who really need help and stops turning people into victims.

    We will make the benefits cap do what it should, so that families on benefits aren’t better off than those in work.

    And we’ll tackle the massive hike in housing benefit.

    All that gives you billions of savings off the benefits bill.

    Savings that can help us balance the country’s books and money to help people into work.

    Because this isn’t just about savings, it’s about turning people’s lives around.

    And for us to succeed as a country, we need everyone to put their shoulder to the wheel.

    Conference, it’s time to return to the Conservative principles we know are the secret to our country’s success.

    Personal responsibility, aspiration, fairness, real compassion, living within our means.

    Labour have only one playbook. Handouts and higher taxes.

    Reform, in the words of their newest MP, will spend like drunken sailors.  

    The job of fixing welfare falls to us. All of us.

    I have a plan but there’s more to do.

    The hard yards, the hard thinking, the tough decisions to turn this country around.

    From stagnation to growth, from envy to aspiration, and from despondency to hope.

    Thank you, Conference.

  • Victoria Atkins – 2025 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Victoria Atkins – 2025 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    The speech made by Victoria Atkins, the Shadow Environment Secretary, in Manchester on 6 October 2025.

    Thank you, everyone, and welcome to the Conservative Party Conference.

    I extend a particular welcome to Oli and all the farmers here today.

    We have invited farmers from across the country to our conference to see for themselves that we care, we are listening, and we have their backs.

    You may have noticed that we are doing things a little differently this year.

    I am not up on the main stage.

    We are having a rally, in honour of the rallies that have happened across the country.

    Over the past 12 months, Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer, the farmer harmer, have caused a nightmare for farming.

    Just a year ago, she stood up and announced the family farm tax and the family business tax.

    You have heard from Oli today about some of the problems this is already causing.

    Under Kemi’s leadership, we opposed that policy immediately because we knew it would stop business investment.

    It has done.

    It would cost people’s jobs.

    And It has done.

    It was snatching families’ futures away.

    We have marched with tens of thousands of farmers up and down Whitehall.

    We have climbed into their tractors.

    Two hundred and sixty-five thousand people have signed our petition to axe the tax.

    We have done everything we can in Parliament to hold this socialist government to account and try to get them to U-turn.

    We forced a vote.

    We gave Labour MPs the chance to vote this tax down.

    How many of them voted to axe this tax?

    Zero, a big fat zero.

    That is what we are dealing with.

    I love dragging Labour ministers to the despatch box.

    We do not have to put up with quite the same microphones in the chamber.

    When I see Labour MPs sent out by their whips to defend the indefensible, hiding behind their AI-generated speeches like some sort of trade union automaton, I know they know they are wrong.

    It is because of the pressure that farmers have kept up over the past 12 months, and us working together, that they are beginning to feel the pressure.

    We must keep it up.

    If Rachel Reeves tries a fudge at her budget in a desperate bid to save their rural seats, should this happen, be in no doubt: it is because of the campaigns of farmers across the country and the pressure we have put on them together.

    However, if she does try to fudge it, it is too late.

    The harm has already been done.

    Unlike Keir Starmer, we have been listening to the heart-wrenching stories of family farms and farmers across the country.

    The distress of families who simply do not know how they are going to pay these gigantic tax bills is palpable.

    I was speaking to Joss today, 18 years old, desperate to carry on his farm, yet at that age, he is already worrying about the tax bill when, God forbid, his parents die.

    That is not right.

    That is shameful.

    Cancer patients are genuinely refusing treatment now to avoid the deadline of next April because they know what it will cost their families if they live beyond that date.

    Just think of that for a moment.

    Then there are families already mourning the loss of loved ones who have taken the tragic step of taking their own lives to protect their farms and families from the clutches of Labour.

    This is happening, and Labour are ignoring it.

    These people’s lives and dreams have been shattered by this government.

    Farmers will not forget, and neither will we.

    It is shameful.

    It is enraging.

    It is an assault on the countryside.

    We will not stand for it, and we will not back down.

    I make this solemn promise to any farmers watching: we will axe the family farm tax and the family business tax when we are back in government, and we will keep fighting for you, because we know that a strong countryside makes a strong country.

    In our first year, my fabulous team of Conservative Shadow DEFRA Ministers, Robbie, Neil, Massey, David, Ashley, Jerome, and Afra, have started as we mean to go on.

    We have already dispatched one useless set of failing Labour ministers.

    Goodbye, City Steve.

    I shall almost miss him, but he has been reshuffled off to go and mess up housebuilding.

    Instead, City Steve has been replaced with the City Minister from the Treasury, who is imposing these taxes.

    You could not make it up.

    They have gone from City Steve to Urban Emma, the tax inspector.

    We know that these death taxes are not the only assaults on the countryside and the coast.

    Eighteen months ago, many in rural, agricultural, and fishing communities lent their vote and gave Labour a chance.

    My goodness, that Labour Party has completely let you down.

    Apart from raising inheritance tax, they are raising so many other taxes I have not got time to list them.

    They have cancelled SFI and other farm payments.

    They have sunk the UK fishing industry with their EU deal.

    They are ignoring food and water security, delaying biosecurity investment.

    They are making rural services even harder to deliver by getting rid of the rural services grant.

    They are bringing pubs and the hospitality sector to their knees, and much more.

    You have told us that it is getting harder to pay the bills, to grapple with the red tape, to keep your businesses going.

    This matters to us all, whether we live in the depths of the countryside or in the city.

    Funnily enough, we all eat food, and as we know, the cost of food is climbing due to Labour’s policies.

    Labour’s last budget is causing, in part, rising food prices, record farm closures, two pubs or restaurants closing a day, farms facing an SFI and custodianship scheme cliff edge, food producers facing a new tax this month, another one, on packaging, and 80 per cent of farmers fearing their farms will not survive.

    This is a food and farming emergency.

    If this emergency is not dealt with urgently, we will see even more farms, agribusinesses, food and drink manufacturers, and hospitality businesses close.

    We will see workers laid off, tenant farmers evicted, food production tumble, and food prices continue to rise.

    I hate to break it to you, but Labour is coming back for more in their budget.

    We need to act fast and act together.

    I am calling, before the budget, a food and farming emergency summit, where I shall bring farmers, food producers, and fishermen together to come up with the urgent solutions you need to address this emergency.

    I am going to do something different.

    Once we have those solutions, I shall put party politics to one side and offer them to the government at the budget.

    I am doing this because we, as Conservatives, caring deeply about the countryside and our country, will always put our national interest first.

    This will be a test for Labour.

    If they ignore those policies, if they shun them, they will show that they are not to be trusted.

    I put this challenge to the Labour government: you have not listened to the countryside so far.

    Will you listen to us this time?

    This is your countryside, your future, and we have your backs.

    Responding to this Labour-inflicted emergency is only part of my plans for the future.

    We are doing a lot of longer-term thinking for the years ahead and beyond the general election.

    Just like farming, we need to plan in opposition.

    Since the general election, I have been frank: we got some things right in government, and we got some things wrong.

    We did a lot of good in farming and environmental policy, about which we can rightly be proud.

    However, we lost our focus for a while on the primary purpose of farming: to grow food.

    That changes now.

    Food production and food security will be at the heart of Conservative agricultural and environmental policy.

    We will start with DEFRA’s regulations and regulators.

    Did you know DEFRA has one of the highest numbers of quangos in the whole of government?

    However well-intentioned, this system of 34 quangos that regulate our land, our water, and our food, led by Natural England, is outdated and now seems to work against rural communities, not for them.

    It is a system built on the best of intentions, but it has morphed into a labyrinth of bureaucracy.

    A farmer told me last week that it feels as though the system of Natural England and the Environment Agency is there to trip you up, not help you.

    Labour wants to make it even worse, because they are pushing through Parliament at this moment greater powers for Natural England.

    They are giving them draconian compulsory purchase order powers to enable Natural England, an arm of the state, to seize private land from us and not pay market value for it.

    You heard that right: they want an arm of the state to seize land from us.

    Agricultural land and gardens are in the frame if Natural England judges it to be in accordance with their plans.

    If that is not modern-day Marxism, I do not know what is.

    This is what we are up against.

    We must stop these powers.

    When we are in government, we will review the regulations and regulators to ensure that we can get cracking, fixing the regulators and the regulations.

    Some will say that to speak in these terms, to question the current system, is to be against nature, that to protect our rural communities and the environment is a binary choice, and the only answer is to maintain the status quo.

    Such arguments ignore the reality of flooded communities, stifled rural economies, and villages desperate to attract young people and families.

    They ignore the fact that the status quo is not working as we would wish for nature recovery either.

    If we want to recover nature, we will need to reform our current approach.

    We are going to work out a system that is fair to rural communities, fair to the environment, and works for us all, for the greater good of our countryside and coast.

    This also means looking after rural and coastal economies.

    I know from my beautiful constituency of Louth and Horncastle in Lincolnshire, and I am pleased we have some yellow bellies in the audience, that it is, I shall annoy other MPs by saying, clearly the best constituency in the country.

    It is an incredibly rural constituency but also has wonderful miles of coastline.

    I know, from my own constituency, from friends and neighbours there, that if local areas prosper, that is for the benefit of the whole of society.

    What we are worried about in rural areas is the threat of stifling rural economies and a youth drain away from our countryside.

    We do not want that.

    You do not want that.

    Part of the work we are going to do is to ensure that we bring the rural economy back to life.

    I say this very conscious that I am standing in front of, perhaps, the shiniest tractor we have ever seen, a magnificent JCB tractor.

    JCB is the epitome of a rural family business.

    It was started in the market town of Uttoxeter.

    It now employs 8,500 people in the UK alone and is an international brand, known all over the world and sold in 150 countries.

    We are so lucky this year that they have driven their tractor into our conference because they are celebrating their 80th anniversary.

    What an amazing achievement.

    What a great rural business.

    The rural economy accounts for some 3.8 million jobs and 500,000 businesses, and then, of course, even more in the coastal economy.

    The Shadow Chancellor, as we heard this morning, is confronting some of the hard truths of the inheritance that we will have from this dreadful socialist government.

    Mel and I, I promise you, will be working together in the coming months to draw up plans for a truly revitalised and exciting rural economy and coastal economy offer.

    Please, feed in your ideas because we want you as our members to be a part of this.

    We want to ensure that with all of this, our values are at the heart of what we do.

    I am going to finish where I started, with the family farm and the family business tax.

    The reason we were able to oppose this immediately is precisely because of our values.

    We have that love of family, that belief in community and citizenship, that trust in personal freedom and responsibility.

    We have fidelity to the rule of law.

    We believe that we should be passing on a better country than that which we inherited, whilst respecting what has gone before.

    We, as Conservatives, believe in the very conservation of Great Britain, and these values will inform our policies and the values of rural and coastal communities.

    You might not think this matters, as I say, if you live in the city, but of course it matters because this is the fabric of our country.

    We want to ensure that we are not only doing the hard work now in opposition to create the policies of the future but doing so with those values at the very core of everything we want to achieve for Great Britain in the future.

    We, as Conservatives, will not let this socialist government destroy our countryside and our communities.

    We, as Conservatives, believe in the countryside and rural Britain and coastal Britain.

    Join us to axe the family farm tax, to fix the regulators, to save British farming, and to help make our countryside a stronger countryside for a stronger country.

  • James Cartlidge – 2025 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    James Cartlidge – 2025 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    The speech made by James Cartlidge, the Shadow Defence Secretary, in Manchester on 7 October 2025.

    Good afternoon everybody,

    There are few greater examples of our armed forces’ unshakeable commitment to this nation than the crews of our Royal Navy submarines.

    HMS Vanguard is one of those submarines, charged with delivering our Continuous at Sea Deterrent, which has been in place every hour of every day since 1969.

    In March, Vanguard’s crew returned home following the Navy’s longest ever patrol, 204 days at sea.

    That’s nearly seven months away from their families to keep all of us safe.

    I had the privilege of meeting Vanguard’s crew on three separate occasions.

    Most recently, I bumped into them, in their uniform, outside a pub in Westminster.

    They had decamped there following afternoon tea in Downing Street, which they had rightly received as thanks for their extended deployment.

    Now, I thought they deserved a pint, after all, I wonder which felt longer, 204 days at sea or an afternoon with Keir Starmer.

    Prior to that, as a Defence Minister I sailed with Vanguard for her Trident test-firing and witnessed first-hand the extraordinary skill and professionalism of her crew.

    But it was the first time I met Vanguard’s crew, visiting their base in Scotland, that left the greatest impression.

    Recruitment and retention is our single biggest challenge, not just for submariners, but for the whole armed forces.

    So, I asked the crew, if there was one thing the Government could do to improve retention, what would that be?

    One of the officers replied:

    “We just want to know that the country’s got our back”.

    Conference, that crew goes to sea with a cargo so lethal it is beyond imagination; an extraordinary burden of responsibility.

    But like every single person who serves, what they need to know is that Britain is behind them.

    So, I am determined to show unequivocally that we, the Conservative Party, have and will always have the back of all who serve our country.

    That means focusing not just on our serving personnel, but on their families too.

    That’s why the first Shadow Defence policy I announced in June was the creation of an Armed Forces Housing Association.

    I believe that would be the best way to rebuild service family homes that is needed, but which was only made possible by the decision I took in Government to buy back the Defence estate.

    Why does this matter?

    Recruitment and retention is no longer just a policy challenge, it is existential given the threats we face.

    In 2022, the world changed.

    The era of the ‘peace dividend’ was shattered as Putin’s tanks rolled into Ukraine.

    Conference, there are those who claim that Nigel Farage’s party are the ‘true conservatives’.

    But let us remind ourselves what happened when Putin launched his all-out invasion.

    On that day, what did Farage do? Whose side was he on, as our continent was suddenly threatened with war for the first time since 1945?

    That day, he chose to blame NATO for provoking Putin.

    What did we do that day?

    Instead of blaming our closest allies, we took real action to defend freedom, by arming the Ukrainians at lightning speed.

    With NLAW anti-tank weapons.

    Half a million artillery shells.

    The first Government to provide main battle tanks and long-range missiles.

    And by training 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers.

    This is what it means to be a true Conservative, standing up to Putin, just like Churchill did to Hitler; and Thatcher to Galtieri, in this Party we will always stand up for freedom and be prepared to defend it.

    While we should all be incredibly proud of our efforts to help Ukraine avoid an early collapse, the war rages on and the threats to our own nation are only growing.

    Royal Navy ships attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea.

    Russian spy vessels threatening our critical national infrastructure.

    And now Russian drones and jets violating NATO airspace.

    Putin is deliberately testing our resolve and, in response, we must stand strong with our NATO allies and be prepared to take all necessary action to defend ourselves.

    On the home front this demands a total focus across Government on rearmament and war readiness, because the best way to avoid war is to deter it from happening in the first place.

    And that’s why the huge gulf between Labour’s rhetoric and reality on Defence is so alarming.

    For all Starmer’s claims on Defence, Labour have simply not shown the urgency the threat requires.

    The threat we face is now, but Labour’s defence promises, deliver at best, in a decade.

    Labour’s big headline from their Strategic Defence Review was up to 12 attack submarines by the 2040s.

    Now, that’s a key phrase, ‘up to 12’ submarines.

    Conference, I could promise to buy up to 12 Ferraris, but it won’t happen if I haven’t got the money.

    Like my Ferraris, those submarines are a fantasy, because the money to pay for them doesn’t exist.

    Strong defence needs a strong economy.

    Instead, we have Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer unable to cut welfare and deliver the cash defence needs.

    As a result, they’ve had to resort to smoke and mirrors to make defence spending look bigger than it really is.

    Because if Labour get their way, defence spending could be redefined to include rural broadband; the Lower Thames Crossing and civil scientific research vessels.

    Conference, I kid you not, in future, UK defence spending could include, BOATY McBOATFACE.

    In the meantime, with no real extra money for Defence, procurement is effectively frozen.

    Our brilliant British businesses have provided some of the very best drones and counter-drone technology used on the frontline by Ukraine.

    But almost none of this kit has been made available to our own army.

    In their first financial year, Labour confirmed to me they only bought three new drones for the British armed forces.

    Not three thousand or even three hundred. Just three drones.

    Conference, with all our experience supporting Ukraine, the UK could be leading the drone revolution. Instead, Labour’s penny pinching is starving our defence industry of cash and stifling our fighting capability.

    But Conference, there is one exception where Labour have allowed the MOD to urgently commit taxpayers’ money.

    Thirty-five billion pounds on their crazy Chagos deal, to lease back British territory that we currently own freehold.

    At the same time, surrendering sovereignty over Diego Garcia, one our most important military bases.

    Now when Labour announced their Chagos deal in Parliament, they said those who opposed them were siding with Russia, China and Iran.

    Well conference, opposing Labour’s Chagos deal does not make us traitors, it makes us patriots.

    Now, I’m sure we can all think of better ways to spend thirty-five billion pounds of public money than on tax cuts for the people of Mauritius.

    For me, it’s pretty straightforward, we should scrap Labour’s Chagos deal, and spend every penny on the British armed forces.

    But when it comes to investing in our military, whilst drones and technology are vital, the most important capability of all is still our people.

    Those who serve today, but also those who served in the past, especially in Northern Ireland.

    Because of our Legacy Act, those brave veterans who protected all of us from terrorism could sleep soundly in their beds, safe from the fear of a knock on the door in the middle of the night.

    So what madness is it, that at a time of war in Europe, this Government should be reopening the floodgates of vexatious claims against those who served this country to keep us safe.

    Ladies and gentlemen, our veterans defended us and now it’s our turn to defend them.

    So can I ask you to join me in welcoming on stage two of the staunchest defenders of veterans of the British army:

    Former soldier and spokesman for the Northern Ireland veterans movement, Paul Young. And my fellow Shadow Armed Forces minister Mark Francois.

    Conference, you’ve heard first-hand the sheer strength of feeling from our veterans.

    All of us struggle to understand how a Government could be enabling the persecution of our former soldiers when the threat we face is so stark.

    So why is this happening?

    The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn, has been crystal clear why he is scrapping our Legacy Act, and I quote exactly what he said:

    “Because the legislation is incompatible with our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights”.

    Now, I’m someone who has always recognised that the ECHR was set up for good reason in the aftermath of the tragedy of the Second World War.

    But as Shadow Defence Secretary it’s become blindingly clear to me that the ECHR totally undermines our ability to deter the renewed threat of war that we face today.

    The most basic duty of Government is defence of the realm.

    But no Government can discharge that duty if the rule of an international court overrides our sovereign right to defend this nation.

    Because it’s not just our Legacy Act that’s at risk; it’s not just veterans.

    Lord Wolfson warns that there is even a threat that our 2021 laws which protect UK forces on overseas operations, could be struck down if we stay in the ECHR.

    What would that mean for today’s soldiers if they are sent peacekeeping in Ukraine?

    The thought is chilling.

    I therefore wholeheartedly support Lord Wolfson’s conclusion that remaining in the ECHR makes it impossible to fully protect our veterans and service personnel from the threat of vexatious claims.

    Thank you.

    Because this would be serious at the best of times; but with the military threat as intense as it is, this is simply unacceptable.

    Conference, Kemi has taken the crucial decision to commit a future Conservative government to leave the ECHR.

    Knowing that we will not be bound by its strictures; I can give you this guarantee.

    If new laws are required to give legal certainty on overseas operations, we will pass those laws.

    If Labour repeal our Legacy Act, we will legislate to restore full legal protection for our veterans.

    Whatever it takes,

    You have my word,

    We will protect those who protected us.

  • Robert Jenrick – 2025 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Robert Jenrick – 2025 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    The speech made by Robert Jenrick, the Shadow Justice Secretary, in Manchester on 7 October 2025.

    Hello Conference,

    It’s great to see you all today.

    Isn’t Donna brilliant?

    Conference, we are going to get Donna elected as the first Mayor of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

    Forget the King of the North; we’re going to have a Queen of the South.

    And it’s going to be Donna Jones!

    Now, I want to talk to you today about how four famous blondes tell the story of the predicament our party faces today and how we’re going to overcome it.

    Because right now, it’s true: it’s tough being a Tory.

    Six months ago, the Tory legend Sir Michael Fabricant went on the Big Brother House.

    He lasted four days.

    Last week, one of our most energetic young campaigners, Emily Hewertson, entered the Big Brother House.

    She lasted just 11 hours.

    She didn’t even get to spend the night.

    And now, Conference, I’ve heard that a third Tory blonde is in negotiations to enter the Big Brother House: Liz Truss.

    But negotiations have broken down, Conference.

    She’s asking to be paid by the minute. Too soon, perhaps?

    Look, I’ll come back to the blondes in a moment. But, Conference, it’s not all doom and gloom right now.

    Last month, I received some good news, courtesy, surprisingly, of Angela Rayner.

    Keir Starmer’s emergency reshuffle, otherwise known as, remember, Phase 2. Anyone recall that? Well, I think Keir Starmer would like to forget it too. Anyway, it led to a great privilege for me.

    I now shadow a new Justice Secretary: David Lammy.

    Now, David has a somewhat chequered past.

    You may recall his appearance on the BBC’s Celebrity Mastermind.

    David Lammy. Celebrity Mastermind.

    You don’t need to be a lawyer to know that was a violation of the Trade Descriptions Act.

    He was asked, “Which famous blue cheese is paired with port?”

    He replied, “Red Leicester.”

    It gets worse.

    “Which Marie won the Nobel Prize for Physics?”

    He responded instantly, “Marie Antoinette.”

    And my personal favourite:

    “Which monarch succeeded Henry VIII?”

    His answer? Henry VII.

    Now, just to clarify, Henry VII preceded Henry VIII, not the other way around.

    I’m not sure Mastermind was the show for David.

    Perhaps he could try Pointless.

    He’d work as either a contestant or an answer.

    But in all seriousness, it’s great to be here in the proud, historic city of Manchester.

    A city that has given our country so much but which has also suffered great tragedy.

    Most recently, last week, when Heaton Park synagogue was attacked.

    It was an attack on us all.

    Thoughts and prayers? Yes, absolutely.

    But I don’t know about you; I’m fed up with platitudes. We’ve had enough of those, haven’t we? I believe in justice and action.

    While other parties have waxed and waned, I am so proud that our party, the Conservative Party, has always stood with our Jewish community.

    And under Kemi’s leadership, I know we always will.

    Because, Conference, a Britain where our British Jewish friends are afraid is just not Britain. And we will never stand for it.

    Next year marks the thirtieth anniversary of another devastating attack in Manchester.

    The IRA unleashed the biggest bomb to explode in England since the Second World War.

    In more recent times, long after the Troubles ended, IRA members used so-called human rights laws to sue the British government for compensation while dragging our soldiers through the courts.

    To stop this injustice, the last Conservative government passed the Legacy Act.

    We took the side of our brave servicemen, the side of the victims, and above all, the side of the decent people of Britain.

    We refused to give in, and that’s something everyone in this room should be truly proud of.

    Now, I had a moral reason to back that bill, but also a personal one.

    Like most Saturdays, my nan and grandad, Ivy and Sid, were here in Manchester city centre when that bomb went off.

    We heard about it back home on the radio and had an anxious couple of hours while we waited.

    Until finally, we heard that my grandparents had arrived home safely and were unharmed.

    Fast forward to today, and elderly veterans who risked their lives to protect us from terrorists like those who bombed this city face spending their final days being dragged through the courts.

    Why? Because Labour wants to repeal our Legacy Act.

    It is shameful. Let that sink in.

    The last generation’s heroes, betrayed by this generation’s sellouts.

    It’s not right. It’s not justice.

    And, Conference, never on our watch.

    Now, we all knew Keir Starmer would be a bad Prime Minister.

    But I don’t think anyone anticipated he would be this bad.

    He’s combined the management style of David Brent with the administrative grip of Blackadder’s Baldrick.

    He’s proven himself to be a freebie-grabbing, free speech-stifling, criminal-releasing, tax-raising, farmer-hating, Brexit-betraying, aspiration-sapping, sorry excuse for a leader.

    And, Conference, this is someone who makes a hole in the air look substantial, Peter Mandelson appears trustworthy, and Mr Bean seems a model of competence and grip.

    Despite all this, and this might surprise you, I think we have reason to be optimistic.

    Because in the ways that matter most profoundly, the fantasists masquerading as experts are seeing their myths busted.

    The people got it right while they got it wrong.

    Wrong on mass migration.

    Wrong on free speech.

    Wrong on net zero.

    Wrong on two-tier justice.

    Make no mistake.

    The old order is collapsing, and a new one is coming.

    For too long, the chattering classes drowned out the voice of the people.

    Our job, Conference, is to ensure that the people’s will prevails.

    But it won’t be easy.

    Because right now, the gap between the government and the governed is wider than ever before.

    And, ladies and gentlemen, let me give you just one example of that great gulf: the Attorney General, Richard Hermer.

    Like one of those infamous mafia lawyers of yesteryear, Hermer always chose a particular type of client: Shamima Begum, Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man, terrorists involved in 7/7.

    Since taking office, we’re told Lord Hermer’s advice to Starmer and his cronies has been to give away the Chagos Islands to an ally of China and to pay billions of pounds for the privilege. In each of these incidents, he’s wasted no time establishing himself as a useful idiot for our enemies.

    His rise symbolises the central truth of Keir Starmer’s government.

    Labour is just not on Britain’s side.

    Why on earth would Britain’s Attorney General change the law to enable our country’s enemies to sue the very government he represents?

    Well, it makes more sense when you realise another of Lord Hermer’s former clients was, you guessed it, Gerry Adams.

    Not long ago, a man with his past would have had no place in mainstream politics.

    Now he sits at the cabinet table and influences decisions about our country, the same cabinet table the IRA tried to blow up in 1991.

    Shame on him and shame on the man who appointed him.

    Last week, at Labour Conference, Labour lined up to attack me for scrutinising judges for mind-bogglingly absurd judgments, like the Albanian criminal who avoided deportation because his son didn’t like the taste of foreign chicken nuggets in Albania.

    Labour just don’t get it. They really don’t.

    Now, you might be wondering what I have in this box.

    Well, don’t worry; I’m not about to do a Michael Fabricant tribute act.

    This is actually serious.

    For those of you at the back of the room who can’t see, I have here a judge’s wig.

    It’s something we should respect and revere.

    When a judge dons their wig, it signifies a transition from their everyday personality and identity to that of a legal arbiter.

    It’s a visual representation of the judge’s role as an unbiased mediator, focused solely on upholding the law and delivering justice.

    An unbiased mediator: that is what a judge should be.

    That is what the vast majority of judges in our legal system do.

    They wear the wig. They respect and revere it.

    And that’s why, in turn, our legal system is respected and revered all around the world.

    But we’ve got a problem, Conference.

    Today, I’ve uncovered dozens of judges with ties to open-borders charities, who take to social media to broadcast their open-border views, who’ve spent their careers fighting to keep illegal migrants in this country.

    Some even continue to do so while, astonishingly, serving as judges.

    It’s like finding out halfway through a football match that the referee is a season ticket holder for the other side.

    The public rightly ask, how independent are they?

    They dishonour generations of independent jurists who came before them and undermine the British people’s trust in the law itself.

    Judges who blur the line between adjudication and activism can have no place in our justice system.

    Which is why we won’t just tinker with a broken system and reform immigration tribunals.

    We will abolish them, once and for all.

    And we won’t stop there.

    We will restore the proper role of our judiciary, putting ultimate power back where it belongs: in the hands of Parliament and ministers accountable to you, the people of our country.

    So, I can announce today that we will restore the Office of the Lord Chancellor to its former glory.

    We will reverse the constitutional vandalism of Tony Blair and New Labour.

    The Lord Chancellor will once again appoint the judges. No more quangos.

    And they will be instructed to never permit activists of any political hue to don the wig, ever again.

    They will also be responsible for issuing new sentencing guidelines.

    The two-tier Sentencing Council is not fit for purpose, so it must be abolished altogether.

    Never again will this country and our people face the prospect of two-tier justice under two-tier Keir.

    Every single person will be treated exactly the same.

    Not equity. Equality.

    That, ladies and gentlemen, is the conservative, no, that is the British way to do justice.

    Now, I know you’re all wondering: who’s the fourth blonde I mentioned at the beginning?

    The one who would point the way to how we recover the fortunes of our party.

    Is it Margaret Thatcher? Not this time.

    Boris Johnson? No.

    Lord Heseltine? Bear with me.

    Now, as you can imagine, Michael Heseltine and I do not agree on everything.

    But he told me that when he was a young man in opposition in the 1970s under Margaret Thatcher, he would wake up every morning and ask his wife, “How am I going to fight, fight, fight Labour today?”

    And at the end of that day, he would lie in bed and ask his wife (he obviously wasn’t the most romantic man), “Tomorrow, how am I going to fight, fight, fight Labour?”

    Now, I don’t say that to my wife in bed.

    But I do think it.

    And that is what each and every one of us must do.

    Fight this failing Labour government. Fight for the future of our country.

    And when we fight, we win.

    Like forcing Sadiq Khan to go after those fare-dodgers who blight the capital.

    Stopping two-tier sentencing rules and guidelines.

    And ensuring there is equality before the law for everyone.

    And, most importantly of all, led by Kemi, shaming the Labour Government to hold a full national inquiry into the rape gang scandal.

    Don’t let anyone tell you that opposition is pointless.

    It matters. And right now, it matters more than ever.

    And, Conference, your support matters.

    To the door knockers, the pavement pounders, the envelope stuffers, the tweeters, and the TikTokkers, the members and councillors across the length and breadth of this country: let me say to you, thank you.

    Each day, in all kinds of ways, you’re getting things done far away from the wood-panelled corridors of Westminster.

    Thank you for everything you are doing. You are making our country a better place.

    And please, though it may feel tough, don’t ever forget what you are doing for all of us right now.

    Now, we all know that feeling when you’ve eaten too much and you simply think, “Enough.”

    As those of you who have known me for a while will know, I used to feel that a lot more often than I do today.

    But speaking to people out in the country, I think the British people are now using that same word: enough.

    Enough of being overlooked.

    Enough of being treated like fools.

    They see it, don’t they? When they watch freeloaders brazenly walk out of shops laden with goods they haven’t paid for.

    They hear it when morons blast their music in public places with utter disregard for others.

    And they feel it when they see the police ignore all these things yet find time to knock on someone’s door and scold them for a post on social media.

    Dismissed, derided, and demeaned for so long.

    The British people are patient and tolerant.

    But only up to a point.

    They’ve had enough.

    I’ve read countless stories about how talented young people are abandoning the UK, emigrating to Dubai, Singapore, or Australia.

    And not just because of the weather.

    Conference, this is my message to you: we may be a little down, but our country is not out.

    Because there is a better way.

    There is so much good in our country that’s worth fighting for.

    We’ve got so much to cherish about who we are.

    Blue remembered hills, seen from Black Country towns.

    Big skies over the flat acres of Nottinghamshire.

    The best farmers, food, and drink in the world: from Aberdeen Angus beef to Hawkstone Lager.

    A love of pubs, a love of animals.

    The common law, jury trials, a Royal Family so admired that they make the most powerful man in the world go weak at the knees, a military that has defeated every force on the planet.

    The roar of the crowd at Twickenham when the Red Roses beat the Canadians, or Chris Woakes, arm in a sling, goes out to bat at the Oval.

    The quiet kindness of our hospice movement.

    The millions of volunteers whose helping hands and broad shoulders make our society strong.

    The spirit of builders, of makers, of doers, of givers.

    These are the reasons our hearts swell when we think of Britain.

    I see it, Conference, and so do you.

    I see it when I travel around our country, even making the occasional video.

    I’ve developed a Michael Portillo-esque knowledge of Britain’s motorway service stations.

    So, if you’re watching, hello to all my friends at Greggs at Peterborough North Services. You might see me later this week.

    But above all, as I’ve been visiting communities, I’ve asked a lot of questions.

    And I’m telling you, out there, the spirit is strong.

    I felt it when I went to Epping and stood with local mums, sick of illegal migration and determined to keep their families safe.

    I felt it when I went out with tradesmen, gasfitters like my dad, sick of their livelihoods being wrecked when scumbags break into their vans and nick their tools, then sell them in plain sight at the local car boot sale.

    I felt it when I talked to folk putting up flags, sick of their identity being sneered at.

    The collapse of the old order is in sight. A new one is coming.

    Because the British people are fighting back.

    And, Conference, there’s absolutely nothing Labour can do to stop them.

    The only choice we have is whether we have the spirit to fight with them.

    Are we going to quit when the going gets tough? Or are we going to dig deep and fight like never before?

    How long will our battle last?

    As long as it takes.

    Because Britain, for all its present flaws, is too precious to lose.

    Let me not see our country’s honour fade.

    Let us see our land retain her soul, her pride, her freedom.

    Conference, every tide turns. And I can feel Britain’s fortunes turning.

    So, let’s pick ourselves up and dust ourselves down.

    Let’s draw on Britain’s greatness to make it greater still.

    Let’s fight for a better future.

    Let’s build this new order.

    Let’s take our country back.

  • Robert Jenrick – 2025 Comments Defending “White People” Speech

    Robert Jenrick – 2025 Comments Defending “White People” Speech

    The comments made by Robert Jenrick in Manchester on 7 October 2025.

    I was very clear in the remarks that I gave at that meeting, this is not about the colour of your skin or the faith that you abide by. It’s that, wherever possible, I want communities to be well integrated, and for people of all faiths and skin colour to be living side by side in harmonious, well integrated communities. That does not happen in all parts of our country.

    I do not want my children to grow up in a country where people of one skin colour live in one part of town, people of another skin colour live in another world, the Muslims, the Jews, the Christians have got their bits of town. Come on. We’re better than that. This is Britain.