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Tag: 2019 Conservative Party Conference

  • Sajid Javid – 2019 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Sajid Javid, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on 30 September 2019.

    Thank you for that welcome…

    And can I welcome my mum.

    You saw her in that video and she is here with us today for her first conference. Twenty years ago, Mum thought it was a big deal when she watched the first Asians move into Coronation Street, here in Manchester. Well, now she’s watched as the first Asians move into Downing Street. Once again, we’re living above the shop… And I’m so happy to make her proud.

    It might be my mum’s first Tory conference…

    … but I’ve now been coming for thirty years.

    Every year, we talk about what is at stake for our country.

    But never in my lifetime has there been a political moment like this.

    We will be remembered for how we respond.

    And we will do our duty. Responsibly, firmly, and democratically. That starts with getting Brexit done. We are leaving the European Union. It’s not a matter of if – it’s a matter of days. 31 days – deal, or no deal.

    We understand that preparing to leave without a deal is not only the responsible thing to do but also the best way of leaving with a deal.

    In all my years negotiating multibillion pound international deals…

    … I never once walked into a room without being able to walk away.

    That’s why on my first day as Chancellor

    I gave a speech to the Treasury…

    … about making No Deal preparations my top priority.

    A few days later I doubled funding for it…

    … taking our Brexit spending to a total of £4 billion this year.

    And to give organisations and Devolved Administrations extra certainty for the year ahead, in the event of No Deal I have now agreed to guarantee all £4.3 billion of EU-directed funding that they would have been expecting. That doesn’t mean that a No Deal would be without significant challenges. I know that some businesses and households are concerned about what a No Deal outcome might mean for them. I recognise that.

    And I understand that the uncertainty around Brexit is challenging.

    But our step-change in preparations has made a Deal outcome more likely…

    …and a No Deal outcome more manageable.

    Every department now has the resources available to prepare for No Deal.

    That means more Border Force staff…

    Better transport infrastructure at our ports…

    More support for business readiness.

    I’ve tasked the Treasury with preparing a comprehensive economic response to support the economy. Working closely with the Bank of England we’re ready to draw on the full armoury of economic policy if needed. And the Bank has already revised its assessments because of the actions we’ve taken.

    Deal or No Deal: We will be ready.

    All that is important –

    but Brexit is not just something to manage or mitigate.

    We understand this is ultimately a question of trust in democracy.

    A strong economy can only be built on the foundation of a successful democracy.

    And by definition, democracy isn’t just for when it suits you.

    Like the Lib Dems – who called for a referendum for years.

    Then sort of changed their mind.

    Then said they’d respect the result.

    Then sort of didn’t.

    Then called for a second vote.

    Then changed their mind again and now want to somehow pretend the whole thing never happened.

    Going back on our promises to the British people isn’t “liberal”.

    And it certainly isn’t democratic.

    And then there’s the Labour Party.

    They’re so split down the middle that even their leader and their Shadow Chancellor don’t agree on whether they support Brexit. So they’ll hold another referendum with two options: perhaps, and maybe. What a leader. A man for the many Brexit positions, not the few.

    What they don’t seem to understand is that millions of people voted in good faith over three years ago.

    The biggest democratic exercise in our country’s history.

    And they always forget one group of those voters:

    The millions who voted not to leave the EU but now completely respect the result and want us to get Brexit done.

    Yes, there are splits of opinion, and strong views on all sides.

    I passionately believe that we need to heal the divisions in our society.

    But the way to do that isn’t to carry on arguing about Brexit forever and ever.

    It is to finally deliver on the original decision…

    … and move the whole country forward.

    People talk a lot about the risks of Brexit.

    Some understandable, some not.

    But the truth is this:

    and it isn’t acknowledged as often as it should be… The most reckless course of all would be to not deliver Brexit at all. If we fail to deliver on the instruction of the British people we are in danger of tearing the very fabric of our democracy. A fabric that has been carefully woven together over centuries.

    And if we do that,

    I fear we may not be able to stitch it up again.

    If people are going to have faith in the ballot box…

    … we absolutely have to follow through on that vote.

    No more second-guessing

    No best of three.

    One vote.

    One mandate.

    One nation, moving forwards together.

    As we get Brexit done and leave the EU…

    … it’s the right time to ask ourselves some big questions:

    Who are we as a country?

    How do we see ourselves in the years ahead?

    How will we shape our economy for the future?

    Last week we saw Labour’s answers to those questions.

    Jeremy Corbyn sees this as an opportunity to bring in nationalisation, protectionism and state control. Let’s be in no doubt about the biggest threat to the UK economy. Whenever I speak to businesses and international investors, the number one concern they always raise is not the form of our exit from the EU.

    The real “project” to be fearful about is the agenda of the Labour Party.

    If they had their way, whole sectors of the economy would be renationalised.

    People’s taxes would rise to the crippling levels of the past.

    People’s jobs would be put at risk with sectoral pay bargaining.

    The return of trade union militancy would once again hold the government to ransom…

    …wasting hundreds of billions of pounds…

    …and hitting families and businesses around the country.

    The British Chambers of Commerce said last week that Labour’s plans will:

    “send an icy chill up the spines of business-owners and investors”.

    And it’s no wonder.

    We have a Shadow Chancellor who says businesses are “the real enemy”…

    … and openly admits he wants to overthrow capitalism.

    Given how much damage they’d do every single day they’re in office…

    I’m glad they say they would only be working four days a week.

    You know, when I arrived at the Treasury…

    … I did have a letter on my desk waiting for me…

    … but it didn’t say there was no money left.

    That’s because we took the difficult decisions needed to get the deficit down by four-fifths.

    We have now taken back control of our financial destiny just as we take back control of our laws and borders. It’s easy to forget how bad things were when we first came in. Labour lost control of our public finances – as they always do. And this was when they still believed in the basics of capitalism.

    Our country borrowed £150 billion in their last year in office the highest level in our peacetime history. And it fell to the Conservatives once again to wipe up Labour’s mess. And I’d like to pay tribute to both my immediate predecessors for their role in that. We may disagree on our approach on Brexit but as Conservatives we can be very proud of what they helped us to achieve.

    Labour left behind a bankrupt Britain – and we’ve fixed it.

    They don’t like to hear it.

    But when the opposition stop hiding from that election…

    … I promise you, it won’t be like last time.

    We won’t shy away from talking about our hard-earned record on the economy.

    And we won’t shy away from telling everyone…

    … about the threat their divisive…

    … backwards…

    … bankrupt…

    …immoral, incompetent, ideological experiments…

    will pose to everyone’s way of life.

    They try to claim the only alternative is a race to the bottom.

    Letting everyone fend for themselves.

    That’s not our conservatism.

    I’m not sure it’s anyone’s.

    We are forging ahead with our positive, One Nation vision for our country’s future.

    We believe in levelling up, skilling-up, and opening up.

    Embracing talent from around the world. And as we look towards a future outside the EU I’m very optimistic we can build on our extraordinary economic strengths and reshape the British economy to seize the opportunities that this new chapter has to offer. We’ll be able to pursue a genuinely independent trade policy. We’ll be able to replace inefficient EU programmes with better, home-grown alternatives. And from retail to green tech, we’ll have the opportunity to design smarter, more flexible regulation. To help us do that, I will launch a Brexit Red Tape Challenge to help identify EU regulations that we can improve or remove.

    Liberating our entrepreneurs, small businesses and consumers….

    … from the burden of over-bearing bureaucracy, wherever we see it.

    Doing what a good pro-business government does.

    After the decade of recovery from the last Labour government…

    … we are now bringing in a decade of renewal.

    With this government’s new leadership…

    …we have the opportunity to hit fast-forward on that renewal.

    It is an opportunity the Prime Minister and I are seizing.

    We are not just neighbours, or even sometimes dog-sitters.

    We are partners.

    We share the same determination on Brexit…

    … the same vision of One Nation conservatism…

    … and we both spend the same amount of time brushing our hair.

    Our vision is based on the people’s priorities, and on Conservative principles.

    Conservatives understand that a dynamic free market…

    … is the only way to fund world-class public services.

    For me, like so many others around the country…

    …public services were my lifelines.

    The teachers who made my career possible.

    The police officers who kept us safe when the street I grew up on became a centre for drug dealers.

    The NHS that cared for my dad in his final days.

    These aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet – they are the beating heart of our country. That’s why public services are at the heart of this government’s agenda. Earlier this month, I announced our spending plans for Britain’s first year outside the EU. A New Economic Plan for a new era.

    Thanks to the hard work of the British people…

    … and our responsible economic management…

    … we are able to invest an extra £13.4 billion in our public services.

    This Spending Round will make a real difference in people’s lives.

    That includes recruiting 20,000 new police officers…

    …restoring our rightful reputation as the party of law and order.

    Increased funding for every school in the country…

    … and a renaissance for further education.

    Continuing our record investment in the NHS…

    … and making a large down-payment on social care.

    These are the people’s priorities.

    These are our priorities. And it’s our Conservative government that is delivering on them. Brexit was a wake-up call that we need to be better connected both across our country, and beyond our shores.

    One of the things I remember most from my international career is the energy in the air you can feel in places like Southeast Asia.

    The quick turnaround between vision to implementation – from new towns to new airports. It echoes our industrial revolution of the Victorian era which laid the foundations for over a century – from the railway network to the electric telegraph. That’s the spirit we need to rekindle in Britain.

    But the truth is, successive governments failed to invest enough for the long-term. We’ve started to put that right, but we can do more – a lot more. This government is going to build Britain’s future, and bring in a new infrastructure revolution.

    Infrastructure is the foundation of everything. It’s the new road that connects local communities. The bus you need to get to school. And the broadband that helps your small business trade around the world. The full benefits of our infrastructure revolution may not be felt for some time. But the work must start here and now.

    So today I can announce the first wave of this revolution…

    … the good kind of revolution.

    Our roads are the arteries of our country.

    We will soon launch the new Roads Investment Strategy…

    … with £29 billion committed for strategic and local roads over the next five years.

    And today we are getting the shovels out early on several important road projects…

    … including upgrading the nearby M60 Simister Island…

    … dualling the A66 Transpennine,

    and starting work on the A428 between Cambridge and Milton Keynes.

    Now buses they haven’t been given the attention they deserve from politicians but they are still the backbone of our public transport in most of the country.

    Well, not only do you have a Chancellor with a well-known family connection to buses but a PM who likes to paint them! At the Spending Round we allocated £220 million to buses alone. This will form part of a National Bus Strategy next year.

    Rolling out new ‘superbus’ networks…

    … expanding our fleet of low emission buses…

    … and delivering better value for money for passengers.

    And last but not least: connecting us to the modern, global digital economy with gigabit broadband.

    We have rolled out superfast broadband but we have fallen behind many European countries on the next generation of technology. And as we catch-up I don’t want any part of our country to fall behind others.

    So I can announce we are committing £5billion to support full-fibre rollout to the hardest to reach 20% of the country. All of these measures will level up areas of our country that feel left out. There are three principles that will underpin our approach to them.

    First, we will be smart and responsible in the way we invest for the long-term. We can do this by taking advantage of incredibly low interest rates and borrowing-to-build, not borrowing-to-waste like the Labour years.

    Second, we will have a bias towards anything that brings our country together.

    For a start that means protecting our United Kingdom. And I’d like to pay tribute to Ruth Davidson, for all she did to prevent a socialist-separatist alliance from running, from ruining – our country. Thank you Ruth.

    Bringing our country together also means rebalancing our economy… That’s why the first big policy decision of this government was to support the development of Northern Powerhouse Rail. And we know it’s no good just decreeing from on high what local areas need. Too many people already feel power is distant to them – be it in Brussels or Westminster.

    So I can announce today we will bring forward a White Paper on further devolution in England.

    Giving more local areas more local powers…

    … to drive investments in the infrastructure and services they know they need.

    We already have four brilliant Conservative metro mayors…

    Let’s get one in Manchester too!

    And third, we will take a dynamic, market-driven approach to driving down our carbon emissions.

    Not only are we the first large economy to commit to Net Zero by 2050.

    Last week at the UN General Assembly…

    … our Prime Minister committed to doubling Britain’s funding

    for global environmental and climate change programmes.

    They are the approaches we will take in building Britain’s future.

    And with so much at stake for our country right now…

    … I’m impatient to get on with it.

    We have achieved so much in just ten weeks.

    And I’d like to thank our brilliant ministerial team in the Treasury… Rishi Sunak, Jesse Norman, John Glen, Simon Clarke. And our parliamentary team… Rachel Maclean, Lee Rowley and Mike Freer.

    The final Conservative principle I want to talk about today is this. We believe in a society where everyone knows that if they work hard, and play by the rules then they will have every opportunity to succeed. They are our values. It’s our mission to help people to get a job, get a home, get ahead.

    But we do have to acknowledge that not everyone in every part of the country feels that they have all the opportunities they should have. Not all parents feel that their children will have it better than they did.

    We need to do more to level the playing field between regions and generations and give all young people the best start in life. Last year I announced the Youth Endowment Fund helping at-risk young people get off the conveyor belt to crime. And I can announce today a new Youth Investment Fund.

    This ambitious £500 million programme will roll out youth centres and services right across our country helping millions more young people get on the conveyor belt to a better life and career. Of course, one of the biggest concerns for the next generation is being able to buy a home.

    To claim their stake in our society.

    We’re on track to increase housing supply to its highest level since 1970.

    But I know from my time as Housing Secretary that we need to do so much more…

    …and the accelerated planning proposals Robert has announced today are just the start. Getting ahead. Getting a home. The best way to achieve both those things is getting a good job.

    On our watch… 1,000 extra people have gone into work every day since 2010.

    And this applies to all corners of our country…

    … with most of the new jobs being created outside London and the South East.

    150,000 more people are in employment in Greater Manchester alone…

    … whenever I meet my counterparts in Europe, they ask me how we are doing it.

    Real wages and household incomes are rising…

    … putting more money in people’s pockets.

    And with full employment and strong public finances…

    … we are now in a position to see what more we can do to help workers…

    … and reduce the cost of living.

    In 2016, we introduced the National Living Wage…

    Giving Britain’s workers the biggest pay rise in two decades.

    In April, we increased the rate again…

    …making 1.8 million workers better off…

    Putting the number of low paid workers at its lowest level in four decades.

    Today, I’m delighted to announce that we will take this much further.

    Over the next five years, we will make the UK the first [major economy in the world] to end low pay altogether.

    To do that, I am setting a new target for the National Living Wage:

    Raising it to match two-thirds of median earnings.

    That means, on current forecasts, this ambitious plan will bring the National Living Wage up to £10.50.

    Giving four million people a well-earned pay rise.

    And to help the next generation of go-getters to get ahead…

    … we will reward the hard work of all millennials too…

    By bringing down the age threshold for the National Living Wage…

    …to cover all workers over the age of 21.

    The hard work of the British people really is paying off.

    It’s clear it’s the Conservatives who are the real party of labour.

    We are the workers’ party.

    Delivering Brexit.

    Boosting public services.

    Backing enterprise and hard work and bringing our country together by levelling up across the nation and across generations.

    That’s the direction we are setting for our country.

    That’s what will be on offer at the next election:

    A decade of renewal, or a decade of reversal.

    We in this room are today’s representatives of the most successful party in the Western world. An institution that has helped to build Britain for over two centuries. And now in 2019, we have a duty to see the country through the challenges ahead.

    We are the only party that can get Brexit done.

    We are the only party that can call ourselves democrats.

    And we are the only party that will truly deliver for workers.

    We are the Conservative and Unionist Party – and we will unite this country.

    We are a responsible, one nation party that focuses on what we have in common, not what divides us.

    We believe in building on the best of the past.

    Not just putting up with modern Britain, but embracing it.

    Saying loud and clear that we love our country.

    We are a welcoming, tolerant and fair society.

    The most successful multiracial democracy in the world.

    We are an open, global, trading nation.

    One of the most prosperous in the world.

    And we are a compassionate, caring, country.

    Not just for those close to home, but also for some of the poorest in the world.

    That’s who we are.

    That’s what this party stands for.

    And that’s what we are delivering for our country.

  • Nicky Morgan – 2019 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on 30 September 2019 at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

    Conference, good afternoon. It is wonderful to be here with you today.

    And wonderful to be able to tell you about the work we are doing in Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

    For some, this may seem a dizzying array of issues –

    – from broadband to the arts,

    – heritage to youth services

    – but it is all brought together by one simple word: place.

    ‘Place’ means reminding ourselves that we are all part of a wider community and that our sense of belonging needs to be central to making policy and enhancing the lives of those we serve – something I think we can all agree is now more important than ever.

    As we grasp the opportunities available to us when we leave the EU on October the 31st, I believe that art and culture will have ever more vital roles to play in Britain’s future.

    Tech

    We are (and always have been) a creative and imaginative nation, we are a nation of unique museums that capture our vibrant heritage and new businesses that show us an exciting high tech future.

    Conference, in the first seven months of this year alone – the UK tech sector attracted 5.5 billion pounds of investment.

    That is more in the first half of this year than for the whole of 2018. This – in the words of some Westminster watchers – despite Brexit.

    Leaving the EU means we can expand our relationships around the world. It’s not by coincidence that more than half of the investment I have just cited came from America and Asia.

    Conference, Corbyn and McDonnell would put all of this progress at risk with plans to tax our tech sector. By taking taxes to their highest ever level in peacetime Labour would simply drive business and investment from this country.

    This would not only stifle our creativity but impact the companies that come here – threatening our tech sector’s unique position on the world stage.

    Almost 40% of the billion dollar tech start-ups in Europe are from the UK. With London forging ahead of both Paris and Berlin.

    But, this success is not just clustered in our capital, other cities are also contributing to our country’s great success in this area; with both Oxford and Cambridge, combined, having more than Paris.

    Broadband

    I want the UK to be the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

    But Conference, the truth is, you can’t start and grow a business if you can’t connect to the Internet. That is the reality facing people in communities across our United Kingdom today, because of poor broadband services.

    The Prime Minister has great ambition and optimism for our country – and I share that.

    We will dramatically speed up the rollout of fast, reliable and secure broadband and get gigabit speeds right across the UK – much faster than our previous target.

    And you only need to remember the situation we inherited in 2010 when we came in to clean up Labour’s mess.

    It wasn’t just the economy Labour had driven into the ground, we inherited a situation from Labour whereby millions were left with appallingly low levels of broadband access and only half of all UK premises having access to superfast broadband.

    Now, we have turned the situation around – 96% of UK premises have access to superfast broadband– but there is much more that we can and will do.

    Why? Because as Conservatives, we believe every corner of the United Kingdom should have the opportunity to thrive. We will never give up on our rural communities.

    Arts

    As well as levelling up digital infrastructure right across the UK, I am determined to do the same for our cultural heritage across the country.

    Our culture should not be limited or clustered to our tourist cities. That is why I am determined that we focus on those left behind areas, supporting both local culture and creative infrastructure

    This all goes back to that word – place.

    Every part of the country has its own history and story to tell, which is at the heart of our shared national culture. These stories should be cherished for future generations for the great – great – grandchildren of those who were there.

    We all know the last few years have been fractious.

    Sometimes we have forgotten the amazing things that unite us, and I believe passionately our shared culture can help bring us together.

    Creative and cultural institutions are the greatest gathering places that give a community its life – they are the heart of place-making.

    Young people

    When we talk of building the infrastructure Britain needs – we must not forget the social infrastructure.

    No matter where you live or where you came from, everyone should have the same opportunities afforded to them. This is why we are Conservatives.

    If we wish to use all the great talent in our country it is vital that we offer opportunities and the chance to build character and resilience to all.

    Increased access to art, culture and sport, not just in school but also outside of the school day. This Government has ambitious plans to ensure that our future generations have the chance to nurture and grow their talents.

    Conclusion

    Conference – our national culture has always been a source of soft power, but today I have set out why it can also be used to drive economic prosperity in communities across the United Kingdom.

    We should never put a limit on our ambition for this country. We must support our vital cultural and artistic sectors, while harnessing new technology to enrich the lives of future generations.

    These values that I have spoken about today are Conservative values.

    A sense of belonging.

    A stake in society.

    Opportunity for all to unleash talent across the board.

    As Conservatives – we will always fight for these values, to unleash and harness the abilities of people in places across the country.

    Because that is how we will truly become One Nation.

  • Grant Shapps – 2019 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on 30 September 2019.

    Conference, firstly, as Secretary of State for Transport it’s my duty to thank the Civil Aviation Authority, staff across Government, but in particular employees of Thomas Cook for helping to deliver the largest peacetime repatriation in this country’s history.

    They carried on, getting people home, even when their jobs were uncertain.

    I know communities have come together and that…

    With support from Government…

    Where jobs have been lost, people will rebuild.

    Nowhere more so then here in Manchester…

    A city that has come together in adversity so many times.

    So conference, please join me in thanking everyone involved, for working so hard…for bringing people home safely.

    —

    Conference…

    We are driving the modernisation of our country’s infrastructure….

    As is evident here in the North West.

    From improving the M60 here in Manchester…

    To tackling congestion and unlocking new homes in Preston.

    And in the North-East, I know how Ben Houchen is working hard to deliver a new Tees crossing.

    Across the country, our road building plan will reduce journey times, drive local growth and cut carbon emissions.

    We’re also improving local bus links …

    And today we’re setting out our £220 million package to improve services.

    When it comes to railways, Conference, I could try to impress you with the record amount we’re investing – that’s £48 billion, over 5 years.

    Whilst pushing ahead with Northern Powerhouse Rail.

    But, as a frustrated commuter myself, I know what passengers really want is for the trains to simply run on time…

    It’s why one of my first acts as in this job was to prioritise punctuality.

    Surprisingly, until last month, a train was considered on time if it was up to 5 or even 10 minutes late.

    I’ve challenged this. Now a train will be considered late if it is more than a minute behind schedule.

    And as the stats show, there’s a lot of work to do.

    In fact, as Transport Secretary, I’m now in the only job in Government where I routinely find myself apologising to others for them arriving late to my meetings.

    But conference, to achieve excellence we must be honest. The current railway is not working as we want.

    Since privatisation we’ve doubled passenger numbers, they’re travelling many more miles and there are record levels of investment…

    But as the 2018 timetable debacle showed, when things go wrong, it’s not obvious who’s in charge.

    That’s why rail expert Keith Williams is reviewing how we should organise the railways in the future.

    And I’m determined to ensure his reforms deliver for passengers.

    A better coordinated railway, pulling in the same direction, to get trains arriving on time…

    And when things do go wrong? We’ll know precisely whose job it is to fix it.

    Because in 2019, in the city once served by Stephenson’s Rocket, it’s frankly absurd we’re still working out how to run our trains.

    —

    But Conference, there’s no point being on time today, if we damage our tomorrow.

    As we improve our infrastructure, we must protect our planet.

    Now, some call for us to make sacrifices.

    To save the planet, they want you to stop travelling…

    To backtrack on economic growth…

    To live a little less.

    As Conservatives, we know the route to sustainable living is through stronger environmental protection, new technology and the market.

    Consider the acceleration in electric car use, for example.

    As I drove up to Manchester in my family’s electric car, I found it easier than ever to plug-in and charge up…

    That’s because there are now more charging locations than petrol stations.

    But we must go further to protect our environment and improve our competitive edge…

    As you may know, we’ve already committed to ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040.

    However, if we’re to become the world-leader in green technology, we must always be looking to expand our ambitions.

    I’d therefore like to see government look again at the 2040 target, and thoroughly explore the case for bringing this date forward.

    The Government’s advisory Committee on Climate Change has said 2035 is a date for which we should aim.

    We will need to test the arguments and work in partnership with industry to examine how to proceed.

    Just as we rejuvenated our automotive sector in the 1980s, we’re going to work with our pioneering car sector to help them sell the next generation of vehicles around the world.

    Providing high-skilled jobs, utilising British know-how and ending dependence of fossil fuels

    —

    And just as we strive as Conservatives to preserve what we cherish for the next generation…

    So we know it’s our duty to do right by those in our society, no matter what their circumstances.

    Since becoming Secretary of State I’ve taken steps to boost transport accessibility…

    We expanded the Blue Badge scheme to those with so-called ‘invisible’ conditions like autism, dementia, Parkinson’s and arthritis.

    And, we’ve introduced the 16 to 17 travel card, giving young people half price travel so they can get to college or part-time work…

    —

    As Conservatives, we know that the person best placed to make decisions about your life, is you.

    Yet we also recognise that there is a role for Government, both providing a safety net and expanding opportunity.

    From Disraeli’s education reform to Mrs Thatcher’s Right to Buy…

    Government can deliver.

    And in transport: those canals and railways that saw us incubate the world’s first Industrial Revolution…

    Built with private funds, but often requiring legislation.

    We know that there is a role for Government enabling the ingenuity that has spurred so much of the prosperity we enjoy.

    Conference, our mission is clear…

    To build and run world-class, greener and more accessible transport infrastructure.

    But, my friends, to do this we’ve just got to Get Brexit Done…

    So we can invest in our NHS… level-up education spending… and deliver 20,000 more police.

    So come on, let’s come together, let’s work together and together let’s deliver for our United Kingdom.

    Thank you.

  • Shaun Bailey – 2019 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate to be Mayor of London, at the Conservative Party conference on 1 October 2019.

    Thank you, conference.

    Last year, I introduced myself as your next Mayor of London and shared my story with you all.

    Well for the last twelve months I have been meeting thousands of other Londoners, working out how I can make their lives better.

    And what I’ve found is simple. Londoners don’t want to spend their days thinking about the Mayor of London.

    Londoners want to get to work on time, for a reasonable price.

    Londoners want more houses so they can have a corner of the city they call home.

    Londoners want to breath freely in clean air.

    Most of all, Londoners want to be able to make the most of their city in safety.

    Londoners are busy, optimistic, energetic, ambitious.

    It is the Mayor’s job to make sure that London never gets in the way of Londoners.

    Conference, I could stand here and talk to you for hours about how Sadiq Khan is neglecting to do that job.

    Since I last stood in front of you last year, more than 100 people have been murdered in our Capital city.

    4k people have been stabbed, 20k people have been sexually assaulted, 70k homes have been burgled.

    In the last few weeks there have been stabbings in Camden, Wandsworth, Croydon, Harrow, Fulham.

    Just two days ago there was a stabbing in Ladbroke Grove, where I grew up.

    These are real people; real families being torn apart. Every victim is a Londoner who has been failed by their Mayor.

    As the Police and Crime Commissioner, the Mayor of London should spend his days working to keep Londoners safe.

    But Sadiq Khan spends his time building ‘Brand Khan’ – hosting beach parties, bidding for Labour leadership and plastering his own face all over our city.

    And even though the clue is in the job description – Police and Crime Commissioner- with Sadiq Khan, it is always somebody else’s fault.

    He’s blamed the Government, he’s blamed parents and he’s blamed teachers for the rise in crime.

    Meanwhile violent crime is destroying lives and it is plaguing London.

    London is the greatest city on earth – and Londoners deserve better.

    And we have had better. Does anyone remember the last Mayor of London? Our Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

    Conference, let’s just remind ourselves about what was achieved the last time London had a Conservative Mayor:

    The murder rate – cut by half

    Overall crime – cut by 20%

    And 11,000 knives were taken off the streets

    On his first day in Number 10, the Prime Minister committed to recruiting 20,000 more police officers.

    Our Party gets delivery and safety in a way that the Labour Party simply doesn’t.

    And Boris showed everyone what could be achieved – making Labour failings even clearer.

    And with a Conservative Mayor, who loves and understands our great city, we could achieve so much.

    Many of you already know my story.

    And those that don’t, you already know it too – it’s a very London story.

    I grew up on an estate in the shadow of Grenfell – not far from the stabbing last week.

    Welfare was a lifeline. Work was a life-changer.

    I was a youth worker for 20 years – helping young people grab the opportunities our city offers.

    And now I have my own family. I have a house. I’m an elected representative. I’m your mayoral candidate.

    Everyday, I’m thankful for being born in a city that has allowed me to build the life I wanted to live.

    And I know what can be achieved when the barriers are removed and crime is under control.

    If our young people are protected from gangs, they can avoid crime.

    If our young people can find work, then they have a path out of the hood.

    If we support families, then our communities struggle less.

    You see conference, what London really needs is a full-time Mayor, someone focused on making the city a safer place to live.

    Whose ambition is not to improve their own public image, but to lift up millions of people in London and show them that they have another choice.

    Because I know that my first duty as Mayor would be to keep Londoners safe.

    If we have safe streets, we have safe schools.

    If we have safe streets, businesses can invest.

    If we have safe streets, communities feel secure.

    London needs better transport, cleaner air and far more homes for people to live in.

    But if the streets aren’t safe, our Capital simply cannot thrive.

    And I have a plan to make our streets safe.

    To fund a record number of police in London using the money that already exists in City Hall.

    To take a zero-tolerance approach to tackling crime.

    To call for mandatory sentences for those who carry knives and acid on the first offence.

    And I will introduce Operation London Ceasefire, a programme to de-escalate tensions on the streets by providing opportunities to London’s young people.

    Conference, we need a ‘get real’ approach. That’s what I am offering.

    As part of the ‘get real approach’:

    I will launch Homes for London – a City Hall backed developer with a singular goal: to build the homes that Londoners need.

    I will electrify London’s entire bus fleet – the equivalent of taking a million cars of the roads.

    As a start, I’ll build five youth zones across London – to help our young people get the support and learn the skills they need to succeed.

    But the first step has got to be to solve London’s crime emergency.

    So I pledge to you today that I will fight every minute of every day for the next eight months for a safer London.

    And when we win in London.

    When we win in London.

    I will work tirelessly – so you don’t need to spend any of your time thinking about the Mayor of London.

    I will make sure that our city always works for us. Keeps us moving. Keeps us secure. Keeps us safe.

    So that Londoners can concentrate on seizing the opportunities that London offers.

    Conference, please stand with me.

    Thank you.

  • Robert Buckland – 2019 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Robert  Buckland, the Lord Chancellor, on 1 October 2019.

    Good afternoon Conference.

    I’m sorry I can’t be with you in Manchester for this session.

    One of my duties as Lord Chancellor is to attend the Opening of the Legal Year at Westminster Abbey, so that’s what I have been doing today.

    The Opening of the Legal Year is a great occasion.

    A celebration of the Rule of Law.

    Ever since Magna Carta, over 800 years ago, the Rule of Law has been the cornerstone of our Constitution.

    And our independent, impartial judiciary is renowned throughout the world.

    ***

    One of the key components of the Rule of Law is openness and transparency.

    I’ve spent a lifetime working in criminal justice.

    Firstly as a barrister, part-time judge, and then in politics as Solicitor General, Prisons Minister and now in Cabinet.

    As a sentencing judge, I have had to make hard choices: sending people to prison is never easy, but often, it is absolutely necessary.

    But time and again, over many decades, I have talked to victims of crime who feel let down by the system.

    Victims who just don’t see that openness and transparency.

    Victims who experience a system that sees rapists getting sentenced to nine years in prison but later automatically released after half that time.

    Don’t get me wrong – some form of earlier release has its place in the criminal justice system.

    It can be used to incentivise good behaviour.

    But this is not the system we have, Conference.

    There used to be a tougher system.

    But in 2005, Labour replaced it with automatic release at the half-way point.

    It didn’t matter to Labour if prisoners pose a risk to the public.

    It didn’t matter to Labour if prisoners misbehaved in prison.

    It didn’t matter to Labour if criminals didn’t show remorse.

    This is madness.

    ***

    The Conservatives are going to fix it.

    We’re going to restore faith in the sentencing system.

    Because we Conservatives believe release should be earned.

    We have, of course, made great strides in criminal justice in the past nine years of Conservative Government.

    But there is more to be done.

    And that’s why, for the most serious violent and sexual offenders, I’m announcing this Conservative Government will abolish automatic early release at the halfway point.

    These criminals will be required to serve two-thirds of their sentence behind bars.

    Because keeping the most dangerous violent and sexual offenders in prison for longer means they won’t be out on the streets with the opportunity to commit crime.

    We owe it to victims to make this change.

    And just as it is right that criminals face proper punishment, it is also right that we do our best to support them to go straight.

    We need to be tough, but we also need to be humane.

    Punishment and rehabilitation are not opposites.

    We have to do both.

    Conservatives believe in offering a second chance to those who are ready to change.

    Prisons simply cannot be giant academies of crime.

    So we will do more to improve rehabilitation in prison, and support our probation services in their vital work to supervise and resettle former prisoners.

    And we will ask employers to play their part too.

    ***

    Conference, only the Conservatives can be trusted on law and order.

    You may not have heard of Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Justice Secretary, Richard Burgon, and you can be forgiven for that.

    He’s not known for his brilliant ideas about criminal justice.

    Rather, he’s better known for saying “Zionism is the enemy of peace”.

    Then he denied using these vile, anti-Semitic words.

    Then video emerged.

    Then he admitted he actually did say it.

    Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell were two of only three MPs to vote against sending people caught carrying a knife a second time to prison.

    The fact is, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour is loose with the truth, soft on prisoners and weak on sentencing.

    Soft on crime and soft on the causes of crime.

    We cannot let that happen.

    We must keep the public safe.

    That’s why, with one of his first acts, the Prime Minister announced we will recruit twenty thousand new police officers.

    More bobbies on the beat means more arrests, more victims getting justice.

    And an investment of two-and-a-half billion pounds to deliver ten thousand new prison places.

    More and better prisons to support our brilliant prison officers, the unsung heroes who day in, day out face huge risks in their workplace.

    To help them, we have announced one hundred million pounds for new security measures, such as the scanners at Her Majesty’s Prison Leeds, checking people as they go in and out of prisons.

    These scanners show us the ways drugs are smuggled in are often creative.

    When we visited HMP Leeds, the Prime Minister wondered what exactly the small plastic container coming up on the body scanner was – I think we all had something of a Kinder Surprise.

    The PM then wondered aloud how the small capsule had got to where it was.

    Now, there’s always that moment with a new boss when you’re not quite sure what you can and can’t say.

    I did think about explaining, but I knew in my gut it was a bad idea.

    Much as the prisoner did!

    ***

    More seriously, Conference, prison is a hugely important tool to tackle crime but it is not the only one.

    We must make use of smart technologies to prevent offenders from becoming re-offenders.

    Because prison only works if it reduces reoffending.

    We want former prisoners to be fully-productive members of society, but they must abide by the law at all times when they are back on our streets.

    Many criminals who carry out anti-social behaviour have problems with alcohol.

    Get a grip on this, and we can massively reduce crime.

    When he was Mayor of London, the Prime Minister piloted putting sobriety tags on offenders.

    If criminals drink alcohol, they are instantly detected, brought in front of a Judge and may be sent to prison.

    The pilot was a huge success with over 90% compliance.

    So, we’re going to take that idea and establish it nationally.

    I am pleased to announce, Conference, that from next year, sobriety tags will be used across the country to monitor criminals and reduce re-offending.

    ***

    Conference, in London today I’ve been taking part in a ceremony almost as ancient as our criminal justice system itself.

    I know we must restore public faith in sentencing.

    We must be clear only criminals who earn their liberty should have it.

    We must keep Britain safe for everyone who lives here.

    Thank you.